Politics - News Analysis

Ivanka Trump’s Name Isn’t Actually Ivanka…and Most People Had No Idea

We all know that Ivanka Trump is one of Donald Trump’s most loyal advisers.

But what you probably didn’t know is that Ivanka isn’t actually her first name. It’s Ivana.

Yes, much like her older brother was named after their father, Ivanka was named after their mother, Ivana Trump. In 2010, the current assistant to the President was asked how she got her name, and she tweeted that what she’s generally called by is actually a nickname.

“In Czech, Ivanka is the baby name for Ivana, like Bobby is to Robert,” she wrote. And a cursory fact check with 2017’s foremost informational resource—Wikipedia—indicates that Ivanka’s real name is Ivana Marie Trump, just like her mother’s.

The elder Ivana Trump was born in Czechoslovakia and emigrated to Canada in the 1970s. She was married to Trump from 1977 until 1992 and together they had three children: Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric Trump.

Twenty-five years after their marriage dissolved, the elder Donald and Ivana are still on good terms, and Ivana said that she’s the one who encourages Trump’s notorious stream-of-consciousness tweets. Her comments came while she was promoting her book, Raising Trump, and were not Ivana’s sole thoughts on the First Family. She also made after starting an unprompted feud with Trump’s current wife, Melania Trump—one that began when Ivana claimed that she was the true First Lady of the U.S.

Melania, however, quickly shut down Ivana’s remarks.

The First Lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, issued a pointed statement. “Mrs. Trump has made the White House a home for Barron and the President,” Grisham said. “She loves living in Washington, D.C., and is honored by her role as First Lady of the United States. She plans to use her title and role to help children, not sell books. There is clearly no substance to this statement from an ex. Unfortunately only attention-seeking and self-serving noise.”

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