Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet's son is named in honour of the fire she escaped in 2011.

The 'Divergent' actress met her now-husband Ned Rocknroll when they fled a fire on his uncle Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island two years ago, so their little boy Bear Blaze was given a middle name to remind them of the incident.

Kate said: "Bear's second name is Blaze because my husband and I met in a house fire basically. Well, we did! The house burned down and we survived. But we wanted something of the fire and so Blaze was the name that we came up with."

Kate - who also has children Mia, 13, and Joe, 10, from previous relationships - chose three-month-old Bear's name early in her pregnancy and he is named after one of her old friends.

She explained to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres: "When I was pregnant with Mia and Joe, I didn't name them before they came out because I always felt like I just have to see them and see who they're going to be. But of course, this time around there's Mia and Joe and the whole pregnancy is about 'what are we gonna call the baby?' So it was really lovely, actually. They were very much included and we settled on Bear quite early on. A friend of mine when I was younger was nicknamed Bear and I just had always really loved it. And he was very much a bear. He was everyone's shoulder to cry on. He was a big bear hug, he was a great figure in my life, and I just had always remembered him and so that's where it came from."

The 'Labor Day' actress was also asked why her new baby didn't take the surname of his father, who was born Abel Smith but changed his name several years ago.

She smiled and said: "Why do you think, Ellen?"