Zooey Deschanel Reveals Daughter’s Name

Zooey Deschanel revealed on Monday that she and husband Jacob Pechenik named their new daughter Elsie Otter.

The couple announced their 3-month-old daughter's name at the "Rock the Kasbah" premiere in New York. The 35-year-old actress found some inspiration from the animal kingdom for the name, according to People.

"It's Elsie ..." Deschanel said, with Pechenik chiming in right after, "Otter."

"Like the animal," the actress said, with her husband again adding, "Sea otter!"

The "New Girl" star later explained on the "Today" show on Tuesday, Oct. 20 the exact reasoning behind the couple's choice of names.

"We just really liked the name Elsie and then we both love otters -- they're very sweet and they're also smart," Deschanel said. "They use tools ... they hold hands while they sleep, there's so many amazing things about otters. They're wonderful animals."

Elsie, the first child for the couple, was born in late July in Austin, Texas. The pair announced both their pregnancy and marriage in August.

While on the morning show, Deschanel also spilled the details on Megan Fox's guest role on "New Girl." The "Jennifer's Body" actress will temporarily be filling in while the star is taking a break from the show due to maternity leave. Fox's character will be renting out the room of Deschanel's character, Jess, who has jury duty on the show.

"It's insane to me that such a gorgeous person can be so funny, but I guess we just all have to accept it," the show's executive producer Liz Meriwether said in a statement. "I've been a fan of her comedic skills since 'This is 40' and I'm so excited to have her on the show. We had Megan in mind when we wrote this part - she's the perfect person to come in and shake these guys up."

Season 5 of "New Girl" is set to premiere in January 2016.

Deschanel can next be seen in theaters in "Rock the Kasbah" alongside Billy Murray on Friday.