David Henrie and wife welcome a baby girl. Find out the touching story behind her beautiful name. - BabyNames.com Celebrity Baby Blog
@davidhenrie Instagram

Congratulations to former Wizards of Waverly Place star David Henrie and his wife, Maria Cahill Henrie, who just welcomed their first child, a baby girl.

Earlier this month, David and Maria revealed the name of their daughter at their baby shower: Pia. The name Pia is Italian in origin, meaning “pious.”

David announced the news of their arrival on Instagram, sharing some of the challenges they had along the way. The actor wrote: “Today is a particularly special day for Maria and I… and it’s special because in order to get to where we are today, with the joy of our newborn in our arms, my wife and I went through trials. I felt compelled to share this because I had no clue just how difficult trying to start a family could be. See, Pia Philomena Francesca Henrie has brothers and sisters… Maria and I suffered three miscarriages before finally being able to carry Pia to full term.”

He continued: “While it was insanely difficult recovering from miscarriage after miscarriage, we knew if we were ever going to be able to hold a baby of our own in our arms that we must not let the tragedy affect our marriage, but rather grow closer together! We stayed faithful to that conviction and had a little help from @franciscus. The reason Pia’s middle name is Francesca is because I personally asked pope Francis to pray for Maria and I to have a baby. He took our hands, held them together, said a special blessing, then looked up and told me not to worry that a baby would be coming – that was pretty much exactly nine months ago.”

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Kate Fann (she/her) is the BabyNames.com celebrity blogger, as well as an established content writer, aspiring author, and social media expert. She has been featured in online publications such as Bolde, ManoByte, Medium, The Social Observer, and more. Kate has ghostwritten numerous romance novels and is currently working on publishing her own works in the Young Adult genre.

Kate lives in East Tennessee with her husband Casey and her two sons, Quinn and Noah. When she's not writing or scrolling Instagram, Kate can be found tasting delicious wines, playing with make-up, baking yummy treats, or hiking the beautiful Smoky Mountains.