Baby born on Attenborough’s 100th birthday named after environmentalist

14 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMaria CassidyBBC Wales

Stephen Whyte

A baby born just before midnight on Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday has been named after the legendary broadcaster and environmentalist.

Ambrose Attenborough Whyte was born at 23:58 BST on 8 May weighing 7lb 5oz.

Proud parents Stephen Whyte, 35, and Lauren Evans, 27, from Powys, said they wanted to honour the conservationist in their own way.

Whyte said Sir David has been present in both their lives for as “long as they can remember”, and they have a “great amount of respect for him”.

Stephen Whyte

He said when the couple were younger they would watch Attenborough documentaries, helping to foster their “love for animals”.

The couple had an appointment for Evans to be induced on 7 May, and it was only when labour started that she realised the baby could be born on Sir David’s birthday.

“There had been things going on in some of the local schools. Either people picking up litter and being really active in the community to celebrate his 100th birthday.

“I was like, ‘oh, it would be really nice if he was born on the same day as David Attenborough’s birthday’,” Evans said.

Whyte said the couple had another middle name planned but decided “on the cuff” to change it to Attenborough.

Getty Images

After being taken into theatre, the couple told medical staff of their plans.

“They said, ‘we’ll see what we can do’,” said Whyte.

Whyte said he hopes that, like them, their son grows up with Sir David as an inspiration.

“He’ll certainly grow up watching nature documentaries. Hopefully he’ll build up an interest in conservationism,” he added.

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