


On this morning’s episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, Mark Consuelos brought up a recent poll among Americans, and he revealed that 32% of people surveyed dislike their first names. The host asked his wife and co-host Kelly Ripa if she is among those who disliked her name, and somewhat surprisingly, she admitted that as a kid, she hated being named Kelly.
She explained, “Because ‘smelly’ rhymes with Kelly,” prompting big laughs from the audience before adding, “And then if your last name is Ripa, smelly Kelly has a rip-a in her pants.”
“Did you have a name in mind that you liked? Cher?” Consuelos asked jokingly. Ripa then revealed that she actually always liked the name Jacquie.
“I always liked the name Jacquie but I know it’s because my friend in school, Jacquie Maloney, she was just the coolest – I always say was, she still is the coolest – “
“It was Jacqueline?” Consuelos asked.
Ripa replied, “It was Jacqueline, but she spelled it J-A-C-Q-U-I-E, and I just thought ‘Oh my God, even her name is cool, call me Jacquie!'”

Consuelos then asked if Ripa ever considered going by her middle name, Maria, instead of Kelly, to which she responded, “It never occurred to me, I think because all my cousins, we were we were all named after our grandmother, everybody had the same middle name.”
Consuelos revealed that he personally has always liked his own name, and Ripa responded, “Well yeah, what’s bad about ‘Mark’? It’s strong, it’s masculine, it’s Mark.”
Live with Kelly and Mark airs on weekdays. Check out their website for your local listings.