Young Sheldon Reveals The Name Of Sheldon And Amy's Son
After 12 seasons and 279 episodes, The Big Bang Theory finally came to an end in 2019. The last episode saw pregnancies getting announced, and majors awards being handed out, leaving everyone in a great position. Audiences were left with the happy knowledge that these characters would be all right ... but still, some fans wanted to continue hearing updates about Sheldon (Jim Parsons), and the rest of the nerds, to see what they're up to these days.
Fortunately, viewers can still tune in to the prequel series Young Sheldon, which just started its fourth season. The show follows a younger version of Sheldon Cooper (played by Iain Armitage, this time around) trying to navigate childhood as a socially awkward genius, but luckily enough, the show's existence means that fans didn't have to say goodbye to Parsons permanently: He returns for the series in the form of a voice-over, guiding us through each episode and occasionally providing updates for what he's doing in the modern day.
The season 4 premiere of Young Sheldon used this narrative device to great effect, to reveal not only that Sheldon and Amy (Mayim Bialik) have a child together, but also, the heartwarming name of said child.
Sheldon and Amy's child is named ... Leonard Cooper
The season 4 premiere of Young Sheldon sees the exceptionally bright titular kid graduate from Medford High School when he's just 11 years of age. His family throws him a backyard party to celebrate, and it is during this event that audiences are treated to voice-over narration from Jim Parsons, where he reveals the aforementioned major piece of information about his and Amy's life. The narration goes: "It was the best graduation party I had ever been to — that is, until the one we had for my son, Leonard Cooper."
Before you ask, yes, Leonard is the name of Sheldon's long-time best friend on The Big Bang Theory, played by Johnny Galecki. Of course, this being a comedy, Parsons quickly follows up this revelation with a joke, stating that, "I wanted his name to be Leonard Nimoy Cooper, but Amy wouldn't let me." In other words, it appears as though Sheldon actually wanted to name his child after the Star Trek actor, but his wife wisely jumped in, to ensure a more sentimental meaning for the name.
The Big Bang Theory fans were treated to another surprise in the season 4 premiere, though, when Mayim Bialik herself offered a quick bit of narration to close out the episode. After the Leonard Nimoy joke, Amy interjects, "Be happy I let you name him Leonard!"
It's a sweet moment, and shows fans that Sheldon and Amy are still happily together, all these years later. The scene also suggests that similar moments could pop up on Young Sheldon, as the series continues. After all, the shows have already crossed over once, so it's entirely possible that Parsons, Bialik, and the rest of the old cast could come up at some point down the line — and fans will certainly be more than delighted to check back in with their favorite geniuses, now and again.