Update: Gretchen Mol and Kip Williams welcome son Ptolemy John

Update: Ptolemy John arrived on September 10th in NYC.

Originally posted October 20th: Actress Gretchen Mol, 34, and her husband, director Tod ‘Kip’ Williams, 38, welcomed a son in mid-to-late September. No announcement was made or details released — Gretchen simply showed up skinny to events on October 16th and 17th.

The couple had announced the pregnancy in May and revealed the sex in July, with Gretchen mentioning that they were not making a final decision on the name until their son made his debut.

Source: PEOPLE

Comments

Just because she “showed up skinny” does not mean they’ve welcomed a son… they may not have announced the birth for a reason…

Sarah’s note: True, but in this case we did speak to two different companies from which congratulatory baby gifts were ordered and sent in late September with birth information and the name. So we’re confident they did have a live baby.

- Meg on October 21st, 2007

Congrats to them, WOW, she looks gorgeous in the photos where she “showed up skinny”

- Campbell on October 21st, 2007

Well, that is certainly an interesting name. Welcome little PJ! I am sure he is cute.

- Heather on October 23rd, 2007

How do you pronounce that name?

- Heather on October 23rd, 2007

WOW!! I have never seen anyone look that thin only 6 days after giving birth. I think she may have set the record for getting back your body after baby…or else she was wearing the best girdle on Earth! LOL

Angela’s note: Her son was actually born September 10th

- legemc on October 23rd, 2007

Wow, I don’t know about that name. The only thing that comes to mind about Ptolemy was that he was the ancient philosopher who believed the Earth was the center of the solar system. And how the guy who theorized that the sun was the center (which is obviously correct) was killed because everyone believed Ptolemy. =[ I don’t know about naming your child that. I think PJ is much better!

- Noelle on October 23rd, 2007

Oh, and for those wondering, it’s pronounced (TAHL-uh-mee). The “P” is silent. I guess my interest in ancient Greek history is showing itself, haha =D

- Noelle on October 23rd, 2007

As for his name, I think the P is silent and that it’s pronounced toll-em-ee. There was a Greek astronomer/mathematician by that name.

- legemc on October 23rd, 2007

hmm, how is that pronounced? Is the “p” silent? Maybe they will cal him PJ, thats would be adorable!

- morgan on October 23rd, 2007

It’s pronounced “toll-uh-me”. Ptolemy was a famous astronomer and there were several Egyptians by the name, including Cleopatra’s son.

- sarah on October 23rd, 2007

Aha! So that gave her 5 weeks to get skinny…which is still amazing though.

- legemc on October 23rd, 2007

i have no idea how to pronounce it, but Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer and geographer.

- cindi on October 23rd, 2007

I love the name! It is a Greek name meaning warlike or aggressive. Ptolemy was the name of one of Alexander the Great’s generals. After Alexander’s death he claimed Egypt and gave his name to the line of rulers. As a Classicist it is always pleasing to see little Ptolemys (or Vergils)!

Heather – Ptolemy is pronounced Tall-uh-me.

- katey on October 23rd, 2007

Your update is incorrect. The People site says September 10, not October 10.

- sdh on October 23rd, 2007

Oooor, they could just pull the kids underwear over his head BEFORE they send him to school and save everyone the trouble.

- mama bear on October 23rd, 2007

Don’t laugh.

I have a friend who named her kid Archimedes. We all call him Archi, as does his parents.

Guess they both loved their Classics classes.

- Principesa, not Ptolemy on October 23rd, 2007

Interesting, they must be into geography and astronomy …

From wikipedia:
Ptolemy was the author of several scientific treatises, three of which would be of continuing importance to later Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise that is now known as the Almagest (in Greek, Η Μεγάλη Σύνταξις, “The Great Treatise”, originally Μαθηματικἠ Σύνταξις, “Mathematical Treatise”). The second is the Geography, which is a thorough discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the astrological treatise known as the Tetrabiblos (“Four books”) in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day.

- Kelly on October 23rd, 2007

I think Ptolemy was a name used by some royalty in ancient Egypt. I’ve always heard ‘Ptolemy’ pronounced ‘Tol-em-y’ with a silent ‘P’.

- Belle on October 23rd, 2007

Ptolemy was Cleopatra’s father and I think its pronounced ‘tall-ah-mee’ though some say you can say it ‘puh-tall-ah-mee’. Odd choice but oh well.

- Kim on October 23rd, 2007

People’s website says September 10th not October 10th

- Vanessa on October 23rd, 2007

People.com says baby was born on Sept. 10 not Oct. 10. I was wondering how she looked SOOOOOOO good only days after giving birth. It was actually a month and a few days, still short but a lot more reasonable.

- Misti on October 24th, 2007

Wow!!! She had that baby 7 days before that event and she looks like that? That is amazing.

Sarah’s note: No, Shannon updated the post and put the wrong date.

- Kayla on October 24th, 2007

That name is definitely a new one. There’s an Greek astronomer with that name. Maybe that was there inspiration.

- say on October 24th, 2007

i believe it’s pronounced ‘puh-toe-lem-ee’ like the greek mathematician/astronomer…

- amanda miller on October 24th, 2007

For the previous poster who asked, the name is pronounced Tolemy: (Tall-em-y.) The P is silent. Of all the wackadoo names that celebs give their kids, I think this is the most egotistical. It’s like naming your baby Socrates or Aristotle or Plato. Not to mention, that until he gets to a college philosophy class, no one will know how to pronounce his name.

- Sarah H. on October 24th, 2007

Heather- If they are pronouncing like the same-named Greek philosopher, then it’s pronounced Tall-em-y. The P is silent.

Pronunciation aside, I think that it is an incredibly pretentious name. It’s equivalent to naming your child Socrates or Plato or Aristotle. On top of which, no one will be able to pronounce or spell it until he takes a philosophy class in college.

Congrats to Gretchen and Tod and good luck to Ptolemy.

- Sarah H. on October 24th, 2007

it can be pronounced tal-ah-mee or tol-ah-mee, either way, the ‘p’ is silent

- Sia on October 24th, 2007

Ptolemy is pronounced “pa-toll-a-mee” at least according to how it was pronunciated back to me. According to wiki, Ptolemy was a Greek geographer, mathematician and astronomer so perhaps that was an inspirational name to them?

- Lindsay on October 24th, 2007

My apologies… Apparently the p is silent so it’s pronounced “Tall-a-me”

- Lindsay on October 24th, 2007

You pronounce it Tolemy – for some reason there is a silent ‘P’ at the beginning. x

- tempany on October 24th, 2007

P-tol-eh-me is how we pronounce it here. He was an ancient scientist/astronomer who believed the earth was the centre of the universe among other things.

- Lilybett on October 24th, 2007

hehe…sounds like a medical term to me. Anyone have any idea how to pronounce?

- Mandii on October 24th, 2007

The People article says the baby was born Sept. 10, not Oct. 10, as you posted.

- jen on October 24th, 2007

I was so interested, I had to Google the name. This is what the web is saying:
Pronunciation: tah-lah-mee. Name of 15 kings of Egypt 323–30 b.c. Names always sound a little cooler to me when you know a little history.

- Mandii on October 24th, 2007

Sarah,
I don’t know if my previous comment went through, but I’ll try again. The PEOPLE article says the baby was born Sept. 10, not Oct. 10, as you posted.

Sarah’s note: Yeah, I didn’t post that. Shannon updated the post with the wrong info. Angela corrected it this morning so hopefully it’s all good now. Thanks!

- jen on October 24th, 2007

Oh i love ancient Greek names – i’ve always liked the name Hephaistion but i don’t think i’m brave enough to name a son it.

- clair on October 24th, 2007

In greek Ptolemy is actually Ptolemaios and we pronounce it Pto-le-mae-os.So Ptolemy should be pronounced Pto-le-my..Just like that, the P is NOT silent (at least in greek) but I guess in english it’s a different story.

Also the name is not quite used here.

And yes, throughout the course of history there has been an astronomer/mathematician, egyptian king and one of Alexander the Great’s generals, maybe I am forgetting a few other namesakes..

Anyway, beautiful name =]

- Althea on October 24th, 2007

I like the name. As for the pronounciation I guess it depends on the language. Does anyone know how Greeks say it? In Slavic languages the P is not silent.

- Sanja on October 24th, 2007

I like the name.It’s strong. I find it funny people are complaining about this name when just a few months ago people were complaining about every boy baby being named Henry.

- Renee on October 24th, 2007

Not a cute name at all IMO. But congrats to them

- gianna on October 24th, 2007

WOW.. what a very interesting name. What ever happen to naming our children the old fashion names? Like Matthew,Mark, Luke, or William? Kids today already have the unnessary pressure of society with out adding the confusion of a name no one isn’t going to know how to pronounce. If I had to live with a name like that, I would be more than ready to have any nickname that is avaiable. Just called me PJ or John for short.

- Candygirl on November 2nd, 2007