Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert's journey to choosing a baby name was a long and intricate dance. After welcoming their daughter Everley Capri into the world on December 29th, the Dancing With the Stars judge and professional dancer revealed the sweet meaning behind their newborn's moniker—and how long it took them to decide on it.
"Everley was always at the top of a list that I had," Hayley told People in an interview published on January 21st. "I actually saw this post the other day that was like, 'It's crazy that I've seen your name in my notes app for so long, and now you're here with me.' I was like, 'That's exactly what it's been.'"
In fact, Derek, 40, recalled that it took "almost a week" after Everley's birth to make the final call. And ultimately, the meaning behind the name played a significant role. Indeed, in numerology, Everley comes out to a master number of 11, which holds a lot of significance for the couple and their journey to becoming parents.
"Everley was 11 days late," Hayley explained. "I'm born on October 11th. It just called to us, and we were like, 'This is right. This is it.'" Derek had a similar recollection of how they landed on Everley, noting that it was "cool" to learn the numerology behind the moniker whether "you believe in that kind of stuff or not."
"When we looked at the meanings of it, it was like, 'OK, this is beautiful. We love this,'" he continued. "It felt right. It just was a feeling." And the spelling that the duo—who tied the knot in 2023—chose for their baby girl's name holds significance as well, with Derek highlighting that they decided to use the same three ending letters as Hayley's name. "It's very intentional," he emphasized, "the way we spelled it."
As for their tiny tot's middle name? Capri was simply the perfect complement to Everley. As Derek put it, "Capri is the little spicy part of her." Echoing that sentiment, Hayley, 31, added, "When we threw Capri in there, we were like, 'Oh my gosh, this is beautiful.'"
