Ashanti and Nelly Welcome Their First Baby Together and Reveal the Name

Ashanti announced the arrival of her first baby with Nelly by sharing an empowering postpartum image on her Instagram.  

“Funny how life’s plans aren’t…always on time.. lol. I’ve been waiting to be a mom for a long time now but nothing could prepare me for EVERYTHING motherhood brings! This is what postpartum looks like,” she writes, along with a photo of herself wearing shorts from Frida Mom.

Referencing her 2002 single, “Baby,” Ashanti also says, “I’m so proud of my body for giving me my baby, baby, baby, baby, baby.” 

The singer didn’t give any more details on social media but her rep shared the baby’s name with People: Kareem Kenkaide Hayes. The baby boy was born on July 18, according to the publication, making the newborn a Cancer sign.

The baby's middle name likely pays homage to Ashanti's father Ken-Kaide Thomas Douglas, but it's a unique one without much info. The name Kareem, on the other hand, is fairly popular. Here are the details.

Kareem

• Origin: Arabic
• Meaning: Noble, generous, according to Nameberry.com.
• Similar Names and Variations: Karim, Khalid, Kamal, Ibraheem
• Famous Namesakes: Former NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is easily the most notable person with this name.
• Peak Popularity: The name hit the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) top 1,000 baby boy names list in 1972, shortly after Abdul-Jabbar won an NBA championship. It came in as the 405th most popular name that year. It was the 626th most popular name in 2023.

Ashanti announced her pregnancy in April 2024, bringing attention to the growing number of people having babies in their 40s. 

She wed Nelly in 2023, about two decades after they first met. They rekindled their romance years after a breakup. Nelly is also dad to a son, age 25, and daughter, 30. He also adopted his niece and nephew following the death of his sister in 2005.