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New Girl's Zooey Deschanel welcomes second child - see the animal-inspired name

Zooey and husband Jacob Pechenik are already parents to daughter Elsie Otter

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Gemma Strong
Online Digital News Director
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Big congratulations to Zooey Deschanel and her husband Jacob Pechenik, who have welcomed their second child together. The couple are now proud parents to a little boy, who has been named Charlie Wolf Pechenik, a rep for the New Girl star confirmed to HELLO! adding: "Zooey, Jacob and their daughter Elsie are overjoyed to welcome the newest member of their family." A separate source revealed to People that the baby boy was born in LA last week. Charlie is a younger brother to the couple's first child Elsie Otter, who was born in July 2015.

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Zooey Deschanel and husband Jacob Pechenik have welcomed a baby boy

Zooey seems to have continued a tradition when it comes to naming her son. Following Elsie's arrival, Zooey sat down with Ellen DeGeneres and explained the inspiration behind her daughter's unusual middle moniker. "Is that a family name?" joked Ellen. "In the sense that we're all mammals," Zooey laughed, before saying: "No, we thought Elsie is kind of a classic name, a lot of people have grandmas and aunts name Elsie. And then we were like, the middle name can be a little bit... wild." She added: "I love animals so much. And we love otters because they're so cute, and playful, and fun. And they're really smart. We liked that otters had these particular attributes."

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The couple are also parents to daughter Elsie Otter

Meanwhile, in an interview with Redbook last May, 37-year-old Zooey opened up about her experience of motherhood, describing it as a "huge accomplishment". She explained: "I've never really felt like an adult. But I think it's a huge accomplishment to have a child so maybe I feel like an adult for that reason!" The actress also shared her approach to juggling her career with parenting, saying: "I've slowed things down a bit. I think it's good for your whole self – your creative self, your professional self, and just your soul – to take a little time for yourself and your family. You can spend your while life going after things, but I think you risk missing out on some really powerful self-reflection."

STORY: Zooey Deschanel welcomes daughter and secretly marries!

Zooey first met Jacob on the set of film Rock the Kasbah, which he was producing. They made their red carpet debut at the Emmys in 2014, confirming speculation that they were dating just weeks after her split from screenwriter Jamie Linden. Zooey was previously married to Death Cab For Cutie frontman Ben Gibbons, but the actress filed for divorce in 2012, citing irreconcilable differences.

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