AJ McClean says he supports his nine-year-old daughter’s decision to change her name to Elliott

AJ McLean spoke about his nine-year-old daughter’s decision to change her name from Ava to Elliott.

The 44-year-old singer said that while he and his wife, Rochelle Karidis, were not expecting the change, they fully supported their child’s decision during an interview with People that was shared on Friday.

The performer said that while he supported the decision, he still loved his daughter’s former name: “It’s her body, it’s her name, it’s everything to her.” And she’s still Ava. She will always be Ava to me,” he said.

The Backstreet Boys member and his wife, who took their vows in 2011, share both Elliott and their five-year-old daughter Lyric.

McLean pointed out that his oldest child’s decision to change her name didn’t mean she began to identify as a man.

“When my daughter asked to change her name to Elliott, I wasn’t sure at first if it was a transgender thing, which it isn’t, but it’s a personal choice,” he said.

McClean then noted that he and Karidis wanted their daughter to make her own choices.

Whatever reasoning it is, that’s hers, and I’m going to support it one million percent, my wife will [too],’ he claimed.

The hitmaker recalled that his daughter chose to change her name in an effort to differentiate herself from her friends.

He said she said to him, “Dad, I just feel like my name isn’t so unique and not so original, and there’s a lot of Avas in dance and a lot of Avas in school.”

McClean further noted that he and his wife wanted to encourage their children to follow their aspirations.

“Whatever journey both of my girls are on, I will be in their corner a million percent, my wife will be in their corner and support them, whatever their path and whatever their journey. That’s just the family we are,” he said.

The singer and his wife first met in the early 2000s, although they only started dating in 2009.

The hitmaker was previously linked to several other individuals and was briefly engaged to Sarah Martin.

McClean and Karadis became engaged in 2010 and tied the knot the following year.

The happy couple then started a family with the birth of Elliott in 2012.

The couple later expanded their family with the arrival of Lyric, five years later, and their daughters have appeared on social media several times over the years.