Novak Djokovic Reveals Why They Named Their Baby ‘Stefan’

Some may think that Novak Djokovic and wife Jelena named their baby Stefan as a tribute to tennis great Stefan Edberg, whom Djokovic looked up to while growing up. Edberg is now coaching Roger Federer. Naming a child is a serious business. For Novak and Jelena, they thought long and hard to find the right name for their little bundle of joy. The new parents reached back to their deep historic roots and chose a name that is well-known yet not as frequently used as baby names.

Novak told the Telegraph Sport that the reason why they chose the name Stefan for their baby is because it has a significant symbolism in their country. The Serb said that the name was very popular to their country's first royals, dated all the way back to the 12^th century.

According to Novak, he and his wife didn't have to fight about the baby's name because they reached an easy consensus on it. Like Novak, Jelena is fond of symbolic representations. He said that both of them like to talk about interesting philosophical issues.

"That you can observe everything from so many different perspectives and analyse it and go deep in it," Novak said. "We are both very connected to Serbian roots and even though Stefan was born in Monaco, he is Serbian," Novak added.

Stefan is indeed a very popular name for the royals of Serbia. Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of Serb state Rascia. He reigned from 1166 to 1196 and was famous for his great contributions to the Serbian culture and history. The name has been passed down to several generations.

The origin of the name Stefan is German. It means crown. After claiming his second Wimbledon trophy in July, Novak has said that their baby is the "crown" of their relationship. They have been together for almost nine years now.

Other famous personalities bearing the name Stefan are LMFAO's Redfoo, whose real name is Stefan Kendal Gordy, Grand Prix motorcycle racer Stefan Bradl, Canadian actor Stefan Brogren, Dutch soccer player Stefan de Vriij, Austrian film director Stefan Ruzowitzky, and Detroit Lions' running back Stegan Logan among many others.