What's in a Name? Why Jessa and Ben Seewald Are Calling Their Son Henry Wilberforce

Henry Wilberforce was not chosen at random — both Jessa (Duggar) Seewald and husband Ben put a lot of thought into their second son’s unique moniker.

Baby Seewald, who was born just one week ago, was given the name after William Wilberforce. The late Wilberforce was a politician and philanthropist instrumental in putting an end to the slave trade.

Wilberforce was born on Aug. 24, 1759 in Hull, England, the son of a wealthy merchant, according to the BBC. In 1785, he became an Evangelical Christian, which resulted in major lifestyle changes and a lifelong concern for reform. He is remembered for his active participation in getting Parliament to outlaw the slave trade for 20 years.

The philanthropist died in 1833, just three days before Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which effectively banned slavery in the British Empire.

The couple decided on Henry mainly because Jessa “really like it.”

“We just thought it was cute, but also there was another great man of God name Matthew Henry who lived before Wilberforce and he wrote a lot of great commentaries,” Ben said in the video posted on TLC.

Jessa, 24, and Ben, 21, who have been married since November 2014 and are also the proud parents to 15-month-old son Spurgeon, shared the first photo of the new family of four on Wednesday. They also shared a short video clip of baby Henry with Jessa saying, “We are so excited to introduce our little baby boy to the world.”

“I think it’s really awesome that we have two little boys so close together in age,” she continued. “I know they’re going to be best friends and love growing up and doing everything together, so I’m looking forward to seeing that. I know Ben’s probably going to have them out in the backyard playing football in the next couple of years!”

Counting On airs Mondays (9 p.m. ET) on TLC.