Singer AJ McLean spoke about his 9-year-old daughter’s decision to change her name and revealed that he and his wife Rochelle Karidis were fully supportive of her.
In an interview with PEOPLE, the performer said that did not expect their daughter to wish to change her name from Ava to Elliot.
“It is her body, it’s her name, it’s her everything. And she’s still Ava. She’ll always be Ava to me,” he expressed.
The singer explained that Elliot’s decision did not mean that she started identifying as a male.
“When my daughter asked to change her name to Elliott, initially, I didn’t know if it was a transgender thing, which it is not, but it is a personal choice,” he said, adding that he and Karidis wanted to let their child make her own choices.
“Whatever reasoning it is, that’s hers, and I’m going to support it a million percent, my wife will [too],” he added.
The singer recalled the moment his daughter told him how she wanted to change her name to differentiate herself from her friends.
McLean said that Ava told him at that time: “’Dad, I just feel like my name is not that unique and not that original, and there’s a lot of Avas at dance and a lot of Avas at school.’”
He and his wife, who tied the knot in 2011, have a younger daughter named Lyric, aged 5.
“Whatever journey both my girls have, I will be in their corner a million percent, my wife will be in their corner and support them, whatever their path is and whatever their journey is. That’s just the family that we are,” he added.
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