Heather Dubrow Explains the Surprising Inspiration Behind Her Children's Unique Names

Heather Dubrow and her husband Terry Dubrow have four children: Nicholas, Maximillia, Katarina, and Collette. Though those monikers might not be as far out as some celebrity baby names, you definitely don't hear them every day. Luckily, Heather spilled on how she came up with each of her children's names during the latest episode of her Heather Dubrow's World podcast released Tuesday. And once you hear the whole story, it'll all make a lot of sense.

Heather first got on the topic of her kids' names toward the end of her podcast as she answered questions from listeners. One listener asked if it's appropriate for the mother to take control over baby names if the couple can't come to an agreement since she had to do the heavy lifting of carrying their child in her belly for nine months. Heather agreed with that statement, but she also mentioned that she and Terry picked Nicky and Max's names together. They gave Nicky, who was almost named Oscar, the middle name Kent, which is Heather's maiden name. "I only have a sister, so I thought to keep it alive, we'll give him the middle name Kent," she explained, admitting that she didn't remember how they came up with the name Nicholas.

Maximillia was also inspired by Heather's side of the family. "We both liked the name Max for a girl, but we didn't want Maxine, so we named her Maximilia, Maximilia Beatrix after my grandmother that had passed away," Heather said.

Katarina was in line with the Russian theme of their kids' names Heather and Terry were going for. However, it actually had some feline inspiration, too. Heather originally wanted to give Katarina the name Kitten, but Terry shot down that idea, saying "it's a stripper name," Heather recalled. The two thought about what other name could have the nickname Kit, Kitten, or Kat, which would more commonly be Katherine, but the two went for Katarina to make it more unique. They gave Katarina the middle name Alexandra, which was originally supposed to be Heather's first name, but her family changed it after her grandfather died, and they wanted to honor his memory by giving her the same initials that he had, H.P. for Heather Paige.

Heather and Terry easily settled on Collette's middle name of Kennedy to honor Terry's late brother Kevin Dubrow with a name that began with a "K." However, the couple came at odds over her first name. By that point, they had exhausted all of the Russian names they liked. But Heather actually found inspiration while overhearing her children watch the Pixar movie Ratatouille, which featured a character named Collette. She also wanted to call her daughter Coco for short.

Unfortunately, Terry hated that idea. "Terry of course immediately goes, 'Like Chanel? Really? That's what we're naming her? No,'" Heather said of Terry's reaction to the name. "He Fought me the whole time." 

Finally, Heather had to assert her maternal authority in the situation. "At the end of the day, I think I went, 'I carried the baby. I have to feed the baby. I have to wipe the baby's butt. Come on. Let me have it.' And then he finally acquiesced," she said. "I think the true answer is it would be nice if you could come to an agreement, but maybe you could make a deal, like you pick the first name, and your husband picks the middle name. And then if you're planning on having more, you could switch off. Or, you could put both names that you like in a hat and pull them out one at a time and decide which one's the first and the middle."

Although, Heather admitted that she's too much of a control freak to choose baby names that way. Well, if Heather and Terry ever do decide to have more children, their naming process is definitely going to be interesting.

See some pics of Heather as a kid and with her kids, below.