Actor-director Tyler Perry welcomed his son with longtime girlfriend, Gelila Bekele, into the world last Sunday.

Perry and Bekele, an Ethiopian model and activist, have been on and off as a couple for the past five years.

The couple named their son Aman Tyler Perry. The name "Aman" means "peace".

Like Us on Facebook

A source close to the couple shared that since the baby was born over Thanksgiving weekend, and because the holidays are fast approaching, Perry wanted the name "Aman" because it evokes "'the true meaning of Thanksgiving and then, of course, the holiday season."

According to the source, both Bekele and the baby are healthy, and that 45-year old Perry is extremely happy to be a new father.

In 2009, the performer shared that he suffered physical and verbal abuse from his mother until he was 19 years old. The source shared that Perry is looking forward to being the best father he could be to his child, because "sees this as an opportunity to make things right".

Before the baby was born, Perry has been very vocal about his excitement over the birth, even sharing with a publication last September that he had already set up a nursery, and was looking forward to daddy duties and changing nappies.

In an interview with "Extra", Perry shared, "The greatest gift I'm being given right now is the opportunity to give the little boy in me everything I never had, so that's what I'm excited about...This beautiful human being that God has allowed to come into my life for me to get to know, because they come with their own personalities, who they are, to shepherd and usher him."

When asked about his relationship with Bekele and the probability of marriage, Perry shared that he is very much in love with her and might just be married before the public knows it.

TagsTyler Perry