Mindy Kaling revealed her son’s middle name, “Avu”, in an Instagram comment on Thursday after fans noted that both her kids have “very Caucasian names.”
The actress, director and writer revealed in October on CBS's "Late Show With Stephen Colbert" that she had given birth to a son named Spencer on Sept. 3. She shared on Instagram Thursday her December 2020 Vogue India cover, which she shot only six weeks after giving birth.
“I was so excited to be asked to be the cover of @vogueindia’s December issue but seriously nervous because I would have to shoot it six weeks after giving birth to my son, Spencer,” she said in the post. “I was not feeling body confident, and even considered saying no.”
Kaling also spoke about her 2-year-old daughter, Katherine, in the interview, and a fan commented under the post asking if her children had Indian middle names, given the actress’s South Indian heritage.
“Not my business but do your children have Indian middle names?” the user asked. “You are proud of your culture and I was wondering why the kids have very caucasian names.”
Kaling responded to the comment, saying that her son’s middle name is Avu and her daughter’s middle name is Swati, both traditional Indian names. The name “Swati” is in honor of Kaling's mom, whom she described as having had a close relationship with in her Vogue cover interview.
“The best relationship I had in my life was the one with my mom,” she said. “It was so pure and so fun and uncomplicated, and I hope that I can have that with my son or daughter — if I’m lucky, with at least one of my kids — when they get older.”
Comments also poured in on that and previous posts from fans and other celebs congratulating Kaling on being a mom of two.
“As a fellow single South Asian mom by choice of two, I welcome you to the club!” one person said. “Not many members here but we are all happy and fulfilled.”
