Why Did Jenna Bush Hager Name Her Daughter Poppy? ‘Today’ Host Shares Touching Story Behind Moniker

Today host Jenna Bush Hager shared the touching reason behind the meaning of her daughter Poppy's name, and it will warm your heart.

Why Did Jenna Bush Hager Name Her Daughter Poppy?

Jenna welcomed daughter Poppy Louise Hager with her husband, Henry Hager , on August 13, 2015.

“Welcome to the WORLD Poppy Louise Hager — named after my darling Gamps who went by Poppy during his childhood. We are in LOVE,” Jenna wrote on Instagram at the time.

The name is in honor of Jenna’s late grandfather George H.W. Bush, who was delighted by the gesture.

"Poppy, my wild 3-year-old, was named after her great-grandpa, my grandfather," the former first daughter said during an episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna in May 2019. "So I FaceTimed my parents, who were with him, and I said, 'Gampy, meet Poppy.'"

George had an emotional reaction to learning that Jenna decided to pay tribute to his childhood nickname when her daughter was born.

"He was not expecting it, so he cried,'' she recalled. "And of course, I cry at like Teacher Appreciation Day commercials (so) I'm, like, crying over the baby and Henry's kind of like wiping the baby's face off because there's like tears in the baby's mouth."

Jenna Bush Hager Remembers the Advice Her Grandfather Gave Her

In June 2017, Jenna shared a sweet photo of her grandfather holding Poppy on Instagram. “Happy birthday Gamps! Can't wait to celebrate,” she captioned the post. “Pictured here with one lucky girl who is named for our greatest love.”

George died on November 20, 2018, at age 94. Just recently, she broke down in tears on Today while recalling the great advice her grandfather once gave her about life.

“It reminded me of this evening I spent with my grandpa and he could barely speak and I was sitting between him and he leaned over to me and he’s like, ‘Don’t forget to enjoy the game,’” she said.

“And it was at the end of his life and at sort of the beginning of mine, relatively. And to hear somebody that had done everything, be like, ‘Don’t forget to be in it,’ to enjoy it, to be part of it, I’ll never forget it,” she added as she wiped away her tears.

What Are Jenna Bush Hager’s Other Kids’ Names?

In addition to Poppy, Jenna is a mom of two other kids. Jenna’s eldest daughter, Magaret Laura "Mila" Hager, was born on April 13, 2013. Her middle name is a tribute to her grandmother Laura Bush . The Sisters First author welcomed her third child, Henry Harold "Hal" Hager, on August 2, 2019. He was named after his father.