Oprah Winfrey Reveals Why Gayle King's Grandson Might Say Her Name First

King's daughter, Kirby, welcomed her son in September 2021.

Oprah Winfrey believes that Gayle King’s grandson, Luca, is going to say her name first! During Tuesday’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the media maven shares that the name King wants her grandson to call her is nearly impossible. 

“Gaia, which means Mother Earth,” Winfrey says about her best friend’s nickname. “I say, ‘You’re not Mother Earth. You’re not mother of the earth, you’re just one grandmother.”  

King’s daughter, Kirby Bumpus, and her husband, Virgil Miller, welcomed little Luca in September. Winfrey confirms that King's favorite grandson is a “real cute baby” with a “big head” and that she’s already teaching him the correct name to say.  

“Babies decide for themselves what they wanna call you,” Winfrey, 68, tells DeGeneres. “I have to tell you though, every time I see the baby -- which I see the baby more than she does -- every time I see the baby, I’m like ‘O..O...Auntie O.’” 

She adds, “It’s so easy to say, ‘Auntie O.' So I’m thinking the baby is going to say Auntie O...O’ before the baby goes ‘Gaia.’”  

In October, King opened up to ET about Luca’s special name for her. "I'm trying to decide. I don't want to be called 'grandma' or 'nana' because that just sounds -- no offense to the grandmas or nanas. No offense -- but I'm looking for a nice grandma name," the CBS Mornings co-anchor told ET. 

"Right now I kinda like Gaia because it means Mother Earth and it kinda sounds like Gayle. But I don't know, I'm open." 

She added, "Maybe the baby will make up something. Maybe my favorite grandson, Luca, will come up with something for me." 

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