Rumer Willis Reveals Her Daughter’s Name Is a Tribute to Dad Bruce Willis

Rumer Willis is sharing how her dad Bruce Willis inspired her daughter's name. 

The 35-year-old, who welcomed daughter Louetta Isley with boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas earlier this year, opened up about how they settled on what to call their 8-month old after her arrival.

"Her name is a mix of things I love," Rumer wrote in a Dec. 19 Instagram Story alongside a photo of her and her baby. "I have always loved the name Lou so was thinking of that for both a boy or a girl but then when we found out she was a girl we came up with Louetta."

"We wanted to give her options," she continued. "Me and my dads favorite singers are Lou= Louie Armstrong, Etta= Etta James, Isley= Isley Brother."

And Rumer—the eldest daughter of Bruce and Demi Moore—saw her baby's name as the sweetest way to honor her relationship with the Die Hard star, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February.

But her and her dad's shared musical interests aren't the only way the couple settled on their baby girl's name. After all, it started as an accident. 

"We were thinking about the name Loretta, and it was a typo," Rumer admitted in an August interview with People. "Her dad and I were texting, and he left the 'R' out of Loretta, and it was just Louetta."

In fact, it was a sign for the Sorority Row star.

"I feel like it was one of those kind of divine intervention universe moments," she explained. "And we figured it out actually quite early in my pregnancy."

The name would also be versatile and give their daughter a chance to form her own identity in the future.

"If she doesn't feel like a Louetta, she can go by Lou, she can go by Etta," the Empire alum shared. "She can go change it up throughout her life. Whatever she wants."

Want to learn more about what inspires Rumer's parenting? Keep reading for more insight into her life as a mom.

Rumer Willis welcomed her first child with boyfriend Derek Thomas in April 2023, introducing their daughter Louetta Isley Thomas Willis to the world in an Instagram post.

"You are pure magic," Rumer captioned the photo. "You are more than we ever dreamed of."

Rumer, the eldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, revealed Lou was born at home and later shared images of her birth experience.

One month after Lou's birth, Rumer penned an emotional message to her daughter, sharing that she had "waited and dreamed of you my whole life."

"You have changed my life in the most profound way," the House Bunny actress continued. "It is the privilege and honor of my life to be your Mother and I will do everything and anything for you always. I hope you never stop wanting to sleep next to me or take baths with me."

Rumer went on to thank her sisters, Tallulah Willis and Scout Willis, for supporting her through her pregnancy and at-home birth experience. 

To my sisters, my best friends, my partners in crime," she wrote, "to have you there to share in the moment that I was able to bring my girl in the world is a moment I will never forget. You have watched and supported me on the journey and know what it meant to bring another precious girl into our lineage."

"One of the first things i said after you were born was 'oh my girl, I missed you,'" Rumer revealed in a May 14 Instagram post. "I feel like i have always known you and you me. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever met."

The actress added, "Every moment and contraction and every bit of the pain of birth was worth it and I would do it a thousand times over if it means getting to spend one sec with you."

"I am so grateful to have you in my life and our daughters life," Rumer captioned a birthday post for Thomas in May. "You are such a great dad and our girl is so lucky to call you papa."

Rumer paid tribute to her dad on Father's Day, writing that seeing the Die Hard actor—who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia earlier this year—hold his first grandchild as "something I will treasure for the rest of my life."

"His sweetness and love for her was so pure and beautiful," Rumer shared of Bruce. "Papa I'm so lucky to have you and so is Lou. Thank you for being the silliest, most loving, coolest Daddio a girl could ask for." 

In an Aug. 11 post, Rumer listed several life happenings that had brought her joy lately, including putting "tiny bows in tiny hairs," the "most precious toe buttons" and "mini naps with mini hands." 

Just days before her 35th birthday, Rumer posed nude in an Instagram photo, reflecting on her body image in the caption.

Sharing that she had spent "so many years trying to shape and mold" her body into something she "thought was desirable," the Dancing With the Stars champion celebrated that she is "a little softer and rounder and jiggly and different" after giving birth.

"That's ok, more than ok it's kind of amazing because I grew a person inside of it," she wrote. "I know my body is still readjusting, but whatever shape it ends up in I am just grateful for all that it did and continues to do."

Acknowledging her "ongoing process of transformation," Rumer explained that she was "grateful for every twist and turn" of her postpartum journey.

"My breasts, might be bigger and perhaps ever so drifting downward but what a gift and privilege that they can feed and provide nourishment for my Lou," she wrote. "They also make a fantastic pillow while we cosleep. My hips and tummy, now softer and rounder, cradle my daughter in safety, warmth, and love."

Rumer marked her 35th birthday by sharing a photo of herself breastfeeding Lou, writing on Instagram, "This past year has come with so much growth, so many challenges and fears to overcome but right along side more joy than I could ever imagine. I truly learned what it is to surrender into the deepest core of myself and find a strength and a primal power I didn't know I had."

"This new version of me is someone I love more than I ever thought I could. I feel more comfortable in my skin," she continued. "More confident than I ever imagined. I have known for so many years that being a mother would bring me into alignment with a divine purpose I have always felt and to known that my intuition was right has given me a trust within myself that I am so deeply grateful for."