How Sunday Rose Kidman Got Her Name

Sunday Rose Kidman was born on July 7, and already she is at the center of a mystery. Her name seems unconventional, but there’s a story behind it. Kidman’s father Antony told Australian newspaper The Daily Telegraph:

"I have read a bit about Sunday Reed and her husband John – she was a key mover and shaker in the arts around the beginning of the century. The name Sunday struck me as being a nice name for a woman, so my wife and I mentioned it."

Sunday Reed was famous for her patronage of the arts, but also for her relationship with Sidney Nolan. Reed and her husband took part in a menage-a-trois type affair with the artist, which lasted nine years in the 1930s and resulted in Sunday becoming Nolan’s muse.

The connection could be the reason behind Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s keen interest in a Sidney Nolan exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW shortly before they announced the pregnancy.

The exhibition, in January, featured a quote about birth from Nolan which was scrawled across a wall. "When you are young you are given a good view of life, because of your closeness to birth," it read.

Kidman appeared mesmerised by this quote, staring at it for a long time before Keith wrote it down.

"It was among other names being mentioned but they decided that was the name they wanted," Dr Kidman said.

Urban’s brother Shane could not contain his excitement as he spoke to a Sunshine Coast radio station, revealing the baby’s second name was a tribute to their late grandmother Rose.

"It’s a wonderful wonderful thing, I’m so, so proud," he said.

Kinky.