‘Dancing With The Stars’ Couple Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Peta Murgatroyd Welcome A Baby Boy; Find Out The Meaning Behind His Unique Name

It’s a boy for “Dancing With the Stars” couple Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd. The two welcomed their first child together in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Proud papa Maksim made the official announcement on Twitter, revealing the unique name he and his fiancée chose for their little bundle of joy. The duo decided on Shai Aleksander Chmerkovskiy.

According to Nameberry, Shai is a Hebrew boy’s name. The site suggests it means gift. The name is not wildly popular, ranking as the 664th most popular name in 2016. Maksim and Peta’s son’s middle name is Greek in origin and means “protector of mankind.” It’s popular among Slavic and Nordic nations according to Behind the Name, especially this particular spelling.

Maksim, 36, teased the impending arrival of his son on Instagram Monday, snapping a photo of Peta putting on makeup in a hospital bed. The photo suggested that the former “DWTS” pro was preparing to give birth, but putting on “a little make up” first. An hour before, Maksim posted a video of he and Peta driving to the hospital, which many took as further proof she had gone into labor.

Although this is Maksim’s first child, he’s been preparing for this for years. In September, he opened up to Us Weekly about wanting to be a father, saying he’d been looking forward to it since he “was like 21.” He added that he was thankful that he waited, and truly felt that he was finally truly “ready” and so was Peta.

“I think she’s going to be an amazing mom. We’re going to look back on this process and say we had one of the easiest pregnancies,” he assured Us.

Maksim and Peta announced their pregnancy in July during a birthday celebration. The pair did so subtly, debuting a three tier cake with tiny baby booties on it. The exciting news came several months after their December 2015 engagement. At the time, the couple had been together on and off for three years.