Did Jimmy Fallon Name His Baby After Winnie Cooper? Comedian Calls 'Wonder Years' Character 'The Coolest'

Did Jimmy Fallon Name His Baby After Winnie Cooper?
Talk show host Jimmy Fallon attends the TIME 100 Gala celebrating the "100 Most Influential People in the World" at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Tuesday April 23, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Talk show host Jimmy Fallon attends the TIME 100 Gala celebrating the "100 Most Influential People in the World" at Jazz at Lincoln Center on Tuesday April 23, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Scrutinizing celebrity baby names has become something of a cultural pastime, so when outgoing "Late Night" (and incoming "Tonight Show") host Jimmy Fallon revealed that his newborn daughter's name is Winnie, many TV buffs began speculating it was a homage to "The Wonder Years'" iconic Winnie Cooper (Danica McKellar) -- or the slightly less cool Winnie-the-Pooh.

During an interview with "The Today Show's" Savannah Guthrie, Fallon revealed that his daughter's name actually has a more personal origin. "It's not Winnie-the-Pooh at all … though I do love Winnie-the-Pooh," he told Guthrie. "My wife and I got engaged in New Hampshire at this lake house that her family's had forever, and it's on Lake Winnipesaukee. And so we went there every summer as we were dating … I got engaged on the dock at Lake Winnipesaukee." Since the name "Winnipesaukee" would be a bit of a mouthful, Fallon and wife Nancy Juvonen opted for a shorter form.

Still, Fallon added, "Winnie from 'The Wonder Years' is the coolest girl on TV ever," so that positive association probably didn't hurt during the naming process.

Watch Fallon's "Today" interview below, and check out 20 reasons why we think he'll rock at being a parent.

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"Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" airs weeknights at 12:37 a.m. ET on NBC.

Martin Kimmel

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