The Story Behind Sunday

(Getty Images)

Eyebrows were raised when Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban announced their newborn daughter's name as Sunday Rose.

There must be a deeper meaning behind it, many assumed, and that indeed there was.

A day after Sunday's birth, Nicole's father Antony shared the inspiration -- and namesake -- behind his granddaughter's unusual name -- Sunday Reed, the muse of famed Australian artist Sidney Nolan.

"There was a lady named Sunday Reed who was a prominent patron of the arts in Victoria," Antony tells News.com.au. "The name Sunday struck me as being a nice name for a woman, so my wife and I mentioned it."

Nicole and Keith fell in love with the moniker and their interest showed when the couple attended a Sidney Nolan exhibition shortly before confirming her pregnancy.

Other names were in the running, Antony said, but ultimately "they decided [Sunday] was the name they wanted."

As for Sunday's middle name, Rose, it is far more common, but has a special meaning as well. Rose is in homage to Keith's grandmother, who passed away in 2004, his brother Shane tells Australia's Sunshine Coast radio station.

"It's a wonderful wonderful thing, I'm so, so proud," he says.