Country singer ERNEST and wife Delaney Royer became parents last week with the arrival of their first child, son Ryman Saint. Baby Ryman was born on Tuesday, April 27 in Nashville, weighing 6 lbs., 10 oz. and measuring 18.75 inches long.
“We are SO thrilled to welcome him into this world and watch him grow. He has an awful lot of ‘uncles’ here in the country music community and several ‘cousins’ and playmates to grow up with, too,” ERNEST told PEOPLE. “All the cliches you hear about what it feels like holding your baby for the first time are spot on. It was the best day of our lives.” On Instagram, the singer added that “this has been easily the best week of my life.” “Ryman Saint Smith showed up on 4.27 and we are just loving every second of it,” he wrote. “@delaneyroyer is a CHAMPION and im the luckiest dude on earth to have them both!”
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The singer received a number of congratulatory comments from famous friends including Lauren Alaina, who wrote “Ahhhhh he’s beautiful! Congrats to you both.” “Congrats bud!!” Chris Lane shared. “Looks like he will drop bombs one day.” Jordan Davis added, “Congrats brother.”
ERNEST, real name Ernest Keith Smith, shared that his son’s name was inspired by two places with a special meaning to him and Royer. “Delaney and I have always loved the name Saint, having spent a lot of time in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. We were married there in January 2017, and frequent the island regularly,” he shared. “We also plan on the little man spending a lot of time there in the future, as well.”
“As for Ryman, the Ryman Auditorium is a staple in Nashville, where Delaney and I were born and raised,” he added. “It’s unique, and having the last name Smith kind of forced us to think outside the box for names.” ERNEST and Royer married in January 2017 and announced in October that they were expecting their first child. “Well, we tested positive…. (it’s a boy),” ERNEST captioned a photo of two pregnancy tests, adding the hashtag #fathERN.
ERNEST signed a publishing deal seven years ago and has since written a number of successful songs for artists like Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt and Lane. In 2020, he notched his first No. 1 as a songwriter with Morgan Wallen‘s “More Than My Hometown” and has also released music of his own — he dropped the LP Locals Only in 2019 and single “Cheers” in 2020.
