Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who has been married and divorced twice and shares three children from those relationships, recently opened up about the meaning behind his children’s names. In a candid conversation on Aap Ki Adalat, Aamir addressed why his kids are named, Junaid, Ira, and Azad, despite both his former wives being Hindu. (Also Read: Aamir Khan says it is his ‘dream to make Mahabharat’, wonders if he’ll ‘have a role in it to play’)

When Rajat Sharma mentioned that Aamir’s first wife was named Reena, his second wife Kiran, and his future wife would be named Gauri, Aamir couldn’t stop blushing and crossed his fingers. He added, “All these are names of goddesses, but why are the children’s names Ira Khan, Junaid Khan, and Azad Khan?”

Aamir Khan says he had no role in naming his kids

Replying to this, Aamir said, “Mere bacchon ke naam jo rakhen hain, yeh meri biwion ne rakhen hain. Ismein meri koi dakhal andaazi nahi thi (The names of my children were chosen by my wives. I had no say in it). You’re a husband too, so you know that husbands don’t really get a say—it’s the wife who decides what the child will be named. So Reena chose the names Junaid and Ira. And let me tell you, Ira is another name for Saraswati. Have you heard of Irawati? Ira is the short form of that. She picked the name Ira from Maneka Gandhi’s book, Book of Hindu Names.”

Aamir Khan on Kiran Rao naming their son Azad

He added, “Azad was named by Kiran, and she chose the name because we are from Maulana Azad’s family, and he made great sacrifices for us and for the freedom of our country. He fought shoulder to shoulder with Nehru ji, Gandhi ji, and Patel ji in the struggle for independence. So he is an inspiration for us. That’s why Kiran said we should name our child after him. But Azad is not a Muslim name. Have you heard of Chandrashekhar Azad? So, Azad doesn’t belong to any one religion. It’s a neutral name—and I didn’t even choose the name myself.”

For the unversed, Aamir got married to Reena Dutta in 1986, and they became parents to a son, Junaid Khan, and a daughter, Ira Khan. However, he parted ways with her in 2002. Later, in 2005, Aamir married Kiran Rao and, in 2011, they announced the birth of their son, Azad Rao Khan. However, they too parted ways in 2021 and are now co-parenting their son. Aamir is now in a relationship with Gauri Spratt, whom he introduced to the media on his 60th birthday.