Will Ferrell Welcomes Son Axel

Noel Vasquez/Getty

Exit Conan, enter Axel!

Hours after performing “Free Bird” on the final Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, comedian Will Ferrell and wife Viveca Paulin welcomed their third son.

Axel Ferrell arrived Saturday morning, Jan. 23 in Los Angeles, his rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively, adding, “All the Ferrells are well.” Baby boy joins older brothers Magnus, 5 ½, and Mattias, 3.

Will and Viveca, 40, — who met in an acting class 15 years ago and wed in 2000 — announced the pregnancy in September.

Will, 42, will next appear in this year’s The Other Guys, set to be released in August.

– Oliver Jones

Comments

Love the name and fits with the other Scandinavian names. Is his wife Scandinavian?

- shirese on January 27th, 2010

Such a hilarious comedian, and sweet too! Congrats on another beautiful child!

- nevergiveupblog on January 27th, 2010

i love it’s all swedish names (i’m from and live in sweden, apparently they bought a house on a island around stockholm or something)

- sara on January 27th, 2010

Congratulations to the Ferrell family …… I didn’t expect them to name their new son Axel ….. I figured that they would go with another M name.

- Bancie1031 on January 27th, 2010

I love Will Ferrell. They were great on Conan’s last Tonight Show. I didnt think she was going to have the baby the next morning….I wonder if she was in labor while filming??!! Congrats!

- robin on January 27th, 2010

Just read that Viveca is Swedish!

- robin on January 27th, 2010

I was hoping for another “M” name!! But Axel is kinda cute!

- JMO on January 27th, 2010

Axel, makes me think of Kingdom Hearts. But congrats anyways!

- Allie on January 27th, 2010

l like it!

- aurora mia on January 27th, 2010

Axel matches perfectly with their other boys’ names. Three boys is going to be so much fun in that house!

I can’t believe she had her baby hours after performing on Conan’s exit show–that makes for a great story to tell him one day!

- momof4 on January 27th, 2010

They suprised us all by going with Axel instead of another ‘M’ name! But I like it

He’s like the little wild child, the youngest boy! Axel is a great name IMO.

These two are so funny – I loved their Conan send off!!!

- mommaruthsays on January 27th, 2010

Shirese, Yes, his wife is Swedish.
I love that they keep choosing Scandinavian names. Love the name Axel

- Sandrine on January 27th, 2010

Love the names of his sons.

- ll65 on January 27th, 2010

Axel Rose!!

- Momof3 on January 27th, 2010

Woah – my son’s name is Axel. Clearly he has good taste.

- crimpe on January 27th, 2010

congrats to them! I love the name…I agee w/ the others, it goes well w/ Magnus and Mattias.

- CTBmom on January 27th, 2010

Wow, she looked great to be that close to delivering that child on Friday night! Congratulations all around. I wonder if little Axel was rocking out along with Mom and Dad, thinking, “Okay, this is my cue, let’s do this!”

- jenny on January 27th, 2010

Its a strong name. It sticks with the theme, so i like it!

- Electra on January 27th, 2010

Aw, congrats! I thought they would go with another M name, but love that they chose another Swedish name!

- Mary-Helen on January 27th, 2010

when i was watching the video on here the other day i was thinking to myself that she is looking very uncomfortable! im wondering if she was starting to go into labor during the performance! congrats to the family!

- sara on January 27th, 2010

that is hilarious. She’s a trooper!!

Congrats to them – awesome name!

- Jen on January 27th, 2010

when i saw the video, i wondered if she was trying to induce labor. she looked pretty cooked to me. bet she was feeling contractions during the performance.
personally, i’m glad they didn’t go with another M name. it’s a little matchy-matchy for my taste, although I can see how that could be cute too. I kinda thought they might go for Axel though. Especially because they are Swedish. It has a lot of good qualities: classic, strong, masculine, dignified, easy to pronounce and spell, and first in alphabet

- fuzibuni on January 27th, 2010

love it. love all 3 together, and love that they didn’t choose another M name

- Reader on January 27th, 2010

Eh not too sure on the name but it could have been worse. Congrats Ferrell family!

- Mandy on January 27th, 2010

Wow it seems like everyone you hear about lately has 2 or 3 boys. Congratulations to them, but I don’t like the name, or any of their kids’ names. It must be busy (and loud) in their house with 3 little boys.

- Erika on January 27th, 2010

I quite like the name, but I’m not sure it goes well with the last name IMO. I think it’s lovely though that all boys have got Scandinavian names

- Philippa on January 27th, 2010

I have no problem with the name Axel. I just think it does not go well at all with the other two names.

- Micheley on January 27th, 2010

What a great story! How many kids were dancing in their mom’s tummies on national televsion a few hours before they were born?

Like Axel but not with Ferrell. Having two 2-syllable names that both end with the same letter just doesn’t sound good to my ear. It definitely does sound great with his big brothers’ names though!

- Tara on January 27th, 2010

I just don’t like it with the last name.

- Mandy on January 27th, 2010

Congrats to them and I LOVE the name!
Axel is a very popular name again here in Sweden and I’m a big fan of our classic and traditional names. I could totally name a son of my own Axel. Acually, I would probably name him Erik Axel Gunnar.

- Hea on January 27th, 2010

That is gonna be one crazy family when all 3 get grown up.

- Baby Carriers Backpacks on January 27th, 2010

Ya know, I just can’t picture Will Ferrell with a daughter. Haha. Random statement, but it’s true.

Major congrats to them! And what a time to be born, hours after they finished Conan.

- Mallory on January 27th, 2010

Congratulations to the family on their new addition. I love the name Axel, and was really glad that he didn’t get another M name. I don’t care for matchy sibling names, it’s not like they’re trying to put an outfit together.

- dee on January 27th, 2010

It kinds of rhymes with the surname but I like it with the other boy’s names.

- Jane on January 28th, 2010

Wouldn’t use ‘Axel’ personally but quite like it (although agree with other posters re the fit with his surname, too many ‘l’s going on IMO). Prefer it to his big brothers names, esp Magnus, nice to see also that they didn’t go with some tacky ‘M’ initial theme. Bound be a chaotic, loud, fun household with 3 boys under 6, LOL. Congrats on baby boy’s safe arrival.

- Sam and Freya's mum on January 28th, 2010

I am SO jealous – I love the name Axel but will never get to use it as my husband (being of the Axl Rose generation) has firmly vetoed it. I adore the name and thinks it matches the rest of the sibset brilliantly.

- traxie on January 28th, 2010

ps hope they are all healthy and well. how funny that CBB posted photos of a heavily pregnant Viveca only a day or so ago!

- traxie on January 28th, 2010

Tara – I have a feeling that it depends on how you pronounce the name. The way we swedes say Axel is, I think, a bit different from the way americans do which makes Axel Ferrell sound better to us.

- Hea on January 28th, 2010

I don’t think Axel sounds good with Mattias and Magnus at all… You can’t have 2 super matchy names and 1 totally not match. Doesn’t everyone know this rule??!!! (j/k) It should’ve been either another M name or a name that ends in S.

- AJ on January 28th, 2010

aw, congrats to them. really don’t like the name myself as it means armpit in German which is one of my mother tongues so i just have weird connotations with it. but obviously i understand that they wanted a scandinavian name. i wish the whole family health and happiness.

- JM on January 28th, 2010

i just heard through the grapevine that she went into labor before the show but told them to go ahead and do it! what a woman lol!

- sara on January 28th, 2010

Axel means armpit in German? I don’t remember that. It means shoulder in Swedish.

- Hea on January 28th, 2010

Oh, you mean Achsel?

- Hea on January 28th, 2010

Axel is both Swedish and German. In Swedish, it is a biblical name, derived from Absalom. It means “Father of Peace”.

- crimpe on January 28th, 2010

Yes, she’s Swedish

- Barbara on January 28th, 2010

I didn’t know that was his wife on the last Conan show–I thought it was an actress with a “”padded pregnancy belly”!!! That’s so cool she was on that! She was really dancing a storm, but you can tell she was tired at the end…what a trooper! Congrats to the family!!

- Sarah on January 28th, 2010

hea, yes i do mean achsel, but where i’m from it’s pronounced exactly the same so you know…. connotations…

- JM on January 28th, 2010

JM – Oh, I know, I was just desperately trying to remember something from my high school german classes.

- Hea on January 29th, 2010

oh ok, no worries.

- JM on January 29th, 2010

Not too fond of the name but congrats to them. I wonder if they are secretly hoping for a girl? I bet having 3 boys would be pretty crazy and dirty!

- Holly on January 29th, 2010

I like the name! I wouldn’t use it myself, but it’s quite cute. My cousin has 4 boys ranging from 3 to 10, and the entertainment value at her house is AWESOME sometimes. It’s crazy, but fun!

- Sarah M. on January 30th, 2010

Holly – Um, why would three boys be more crazy and dirty than two boys and a girl or whatever?

- Hea on January 30th, 2010

I also named my son Axel! Congratulations to the Ferrell family!

- Sarah on February 25th, 2010

I named my 13 yr. old the same but spelled it Axl, in Hebrew it means Father of Peace

- pauline on December 30th, 2010

Outstanding name choice, Will.

- Axel on November 1st, 2011