Matthew McConaughey reveals he named his eldest son Levi after his favorite Bible verse

Matthew Mcconaughey Reuters

Matthew McConaughey has talked about what inspired him to name his first son Levi and reveals that the Bible had a hand in it.

The 'Dark Tower' actor said on Good Morning America that he and his wife's choice of name for their son was influenced by the Bible and particularly his favorite verse Matthew 6:22 - 'The eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.' (NIV)

'Levi's another name for Matthew in the bible,' the 'Dark Tower' actor said on 'Good Morning America.' 'We had talked about possibly Matthew, Jr. if he was a boy. And my favorite [verse] in the bible is Matthew 6:22.'

McConaughey, a Christian, revealed that Levi was one out of seven options that he and wife Camila Alves had on the table for their son, who turns nine this month.  In the end, they settled on Levi because the numbers in the verse perfectly lined up with the time of his birth - 6:22am. 

'We find out he's a boy when he's born. You're not thinking about the name, right?' he continued. 'An hour later, the doctor comes up and he hands you that card to fill out: 'Blank was born at 6:22 p.m.' So we went, 'It's Levi.''

Interestingly, Matthew 6:22 is the same verse that McConaughey has engraved on his wedding band - a nod to the person who brought him back to his Christian faith.

McConaughey previously admitted to drifting away from his church roots when he became famous and even stopped going to church altogether after finding super stardom in Hollywood, but later he found his way back - all thanks to his wife Camila's faith.   The couple gone on to have three children together, Vida, Levi and Livingston.  

Since rediscovering his faith, McConaughey has been very open about it in interviews and public appearances. When he gave his acceptance speech for his 2014 Best Actor Oscar, God also got a very big mention.  

'First off I want to thank God, because He's the one I look up to,' he said.

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