Betty Reynolds: Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds announce daughter's name in new Taylor Swift song

The couple's third daughter was born in September 2019

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds share three daughters together. Getty

She may be approaching her first birthday, but the world is only now learning the name of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' third daughter – and we have Taylor Swift to thank for that.

Swift surprised fans by announcing the imminent release of her new album, Folklore, on Thursday, July 23. Created as a result of staying home during the coronavirus crisis, Swift's eighth album has taken on a much more indie sound than fans are used to, and has been widely praised by critics and audiences alike.

Lively and Reynolds, good friends of Swift's, are also no stranger to a good surprise.

The couple only made passing mention to their third child's arrival in October 2019 during an interview, and it was revealed Lively had given birth weeks earlier.

So, when Swifties heard the song Betty, from Folklore, there was cause for speculation that Lively's good friend had actually announced her child's name in song form.

Taylor sings: "You heard the rumors from Inez / You can't believe a word she says / Most times, but this time it was true / The worst thing that I ever did / Was what I did to you . . . She said, 'James, get in, let's drive' / Those days turned into nights / Slept next to her, but / I dreamt of you all summer long."

Inez and James are the names of the Lively and Reynolds' other two daughters. So, naturally, fans quickly made the connection and decided that their third child must in fact, be named Betty because of the song's title.

"Inez??? James??? What if Betty is the name of Blake Lively's third kid," one fan wrote on Twitter.

Another said: "The way that Taylor used the names Inez and James in Betty because those are the names of Blake and Ryan's children. She really does love those kids."

Later on the day of the album's release, a source confirmed the news to People magazine, saying that the song was named for Lively and Reynolds' third daughter.

This isn't the first time the famous couple's daughters have been included in new Swift music. In her song Gorgeous, from the Reputation album, their oldest daughter, James, can be heard speaking on the beginning of the track.

Swift is well-known for the "Easter eggs" that she leaves fans in her songs and lyrics, as well as on her social media.

However, even her most hardcore fans didn't see this latest album coming – and it seems to have been a surprise to even Swift herself.

In a statement announcing the release, she said: "most of the things I had planned this summer didn't end up happening, but there is something I hadn't planned on that did happen", the creation of the album.

The release comes less than a year after her last album, Lover, was released in August 2019.

"In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness," she wrote on Instagram on Friday, July 24.

"Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history and memory. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder and whimsy they deserve."