Actor Forest Whitaker and his late ex-wife, Keisha Nash, were the parents of four children:
- Ocean, b. 1990 (Forest’s son from a previous relationship)
- Autumn, b. 1991 (Keisha’s daughter from a previous relationship)
- Sonnet, b. 1996 (daughter)
- True, b. 1998 (daughter)
Their youngest, True Whitaker, was interviewed several days after the birth of Khloé Kardashian’s daughter True (in April of 2018). In the interview, she told the story behind her name:
Whitaker discovered that her parents originally planned to name her Truth before deciding on True, which was inspired by Lauryn Hill‘s version of “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” by Frankie Valli. “I remember to this day my mother singing the lyrics ‘You’re just too good to be True’ to me in my little cradle.”
True Whitaker’s birth did not noticeably affect the usage of the baby name True in the late ’90s, but the birth of her older sister did give the rare name Sonnet a boost in 1997.
Sources:
- Marine, Brooke. “True Whitaker, Daughter of Forest Whitaker, Is Delighted to Share Her Name With True Thompson, Daughter of Khloé Kardashian.” W Magazine 17 Apr. 2018.
- Aizin, Rebecca. “Forest Whitaker’s 4 Kids: All About Ocean, Autumn, Sonnet and True.” People.com 8 Dec. 2023.
Image: Adapted from Forest Whitaker by David Shankbone under CC BY 2.0.
I’m not really a fan of True, although I don’t mind it, or Tru, as a nickname for Trudy, Gertrude, Truman, etc. The story behind it’s use here it is sweet though.