Once Haley Richardson and Robert Dillon found out they were expecting a girl, they picked her name “almost right off the bat.”
Richardson recalls the couple driving around Kansas City, throwing out baby names. “I just was like, ‘What about Kelce?'” she tells TODAY.com.
The couple’s baby, born in Kansas City on July 24 just before 11 a.m. CT, has already become a viral star. Just one day after she entered the world, Liberty Hospital posted a photo of the newborn when Richardson’s nurses fell in love with her baby’s name. The hospital is part of the University of Kansas Health System, which is the official health care provider for the Chiefs.
“We are so excited to announce the birth of the youngest Swiftie and newest member of The Kansas City Chiefs Red Kingdom!!” reads the post, which has more than 17,000 likes and been covered by People, USA Today and more.
“Kelce Taylor is officially in her newborn era.”
Baby Dillon’s full name is Kelce Taylor-Grace Dillon, the parents tell TODAY.com in an interview following their discharge from the hospital.
Her first name, Kelce, is a reference to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who’s about to start his 13th season with the 2024 Super Bowl champs. Meanwhile, Taylor is a nod to 14-time Grammy winner Taylor Swift, who has become a Kansas City celebrity in her own right after she and Travis Kelce took their relationship public at Arrowhead Stadium in September 2023.
Dillon, fittingly wearing a No. 87 jersey during the interview, says he’s been a Kansas City Chiefs fan for 34 years. (To note, Dillon is 34.)
“If I was anything else, my dad probably would have disowned me,” Dillon says.
Growing up, Dillon was a major fan of longtime Chief Tony Gonzalez. He played tight end in middle school and in the local Pop Warner youth football program. Though Dillon eventually “fell out of the love of playing the game,” he says he never fell out of love with the game itself.
He recalls witnessing Travis Kelce being drafted to the Chiefs in 2013 and how since then, he’s become “as good as we thought he was going to be.” But Dillon admires Kelce for how he lives his life off the field, citing his organization Eighty-Seven & Running, which aims to provide resources to disadvantaged youth in Kansas City and his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
In other words, for Dillon and Richardson, Kelce is a name to be proud of.
“We felt like the name was appropriate because we would like her to grow up to have his spirit of helping others and making sure his community is better off when he leaves than when he got there,” Dillon says.
“Give her some really great people to kind of emulate as she gets older, if she wants to,” Richardson adds.
The couple say they’ve never met another Kelce. But in the wake of the Facebook post’s virality, Dillon says they’ve seen comments about similar baby name stories, such as a parent in Philadelphia who said they named their child Kelce Lane, after former Eagles center Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.
Richardson says they considered spelling their daughter’s name the more traditional way, Kelsey. Dillon has two more children who also have five letter names that start with K, so following the spelling of Travis Kelce’s last name “fits a pattern,” he says.
As for comments from those who wonder if they know the “real” pronunciation of Travis Kelce’s last name — which the NFL star’s dad, Ed Kelce, clarified in 2023 was “Kels” — the couple are well aware.
In fact, Kels is one of many possible nicknames they already have in mind — part of the reason they picked the name in the first place.
“We wanted to give her that opportunity as she gets older and kind of matures and decides whether or not she wants to go by Kelce or Kels, or even if she’s more like tomboy-ish, she can go by KT,” Richardson says. “We wanted to give her lots of options with her name as she grows up and becomes her own person.”
Their daughter’s middle name, Taylor-Grace, in true Swift fashion, contains another Easter egg, Dillon says.
“TG in the middle — Tony Gonzalez was my first favorite football player, so we kind of snuck that in there as well,” he says.
As for why they picked Taylor, Richardson says after learning more about the singer since her relationship with Travis Kelce began, she’s become a fan.
“I really grew to love her as a human being, more than just the superstar that she is,” Richardson says.
She cites Swift’s well-publicized philanthropy, including her donations to local charities during the “Eras Tour” and the $100,000 bonus checks she gave her truck drivers.
“I really wanted Kelce to have that … be able to (say), ‘Oh this is who I’m named after. Maybe that’s a good person that I should look up to,'” Richardson says.
When it comes to the attention their baby’s name has invited, Dillon says “98% of the comments are positive.” There’s been some hate and even a little confusion that the baby was actually born to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. (“I am flattered that people think my baby is Taylor Swift’s baby,” Richardson says with a laugh.)
Some commenters have also asked the question: What if Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce break up?
“They’re still two people at the top of their respective fields,” Richardson says. “So honestly, we didn’t even think about it. It doesn’t matter to us whether or not they break up. We just wanted to give her people to look up to.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
