Oprah Winfrey later said she named the son she lost as a teenager Canaan, explaining that the name meant “new land, new life.” Her account of the name was reported in 2015; a 1990 Los Angeles Times report had earlier quoted her saying the baby was born prematurely and died shortly after birth.
Winfrey said she named her son Canaan
In remarks reported from an event in Melbourne in 2015, Winfrey said: “I did have a son. And I named him Canaan because Canaan means new land, new life.” CNN reported her remarks, and Psychology Today reproduced the account.
Winfrey also said a reporter she spoke with before traveling to Australia had suggested she name the baby. The available accounts do not identify that reporter. The reports support the name and explanation, though an official transcript or primary recording of the 2015 remarks is not available in these sources.
What Winfrey said about the loss
In a statement reported by the Los Angeles Times on May 4, 1990, Winfrey confirmed that she had become pregnant at 14 and said: “The baby was born prematurely and died shortly after birth.” The newspaper’s report is the contemporaneous public account cited here.
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In a 2011 interview with Piers Morgan, Winfrey also described her feelings after the baby died, including relief, while discussing the circumstances of the pregnancy. The CNN transcript records her account. Her reported feelings are personal; they should not be treated as a standard for how anyone else responds to pregnancy loss.
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