Dania Ramirez Welcomes Twins Gaia Jissel and John Aether
John Shearer/Invision for A&E Networks/AP
This maid is now a mama!
Dania Ramirez and her husband, director John Beverly Amos Land, welcomed fraternal twins on Tuesday, Dec. 17, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.
Daughter Gaia Jissel Ramirez Land weighed in at 4 lbs., 12 oz. and measured 17 inches long, while son John Aether Ramirez Land weighed in at 4 lbs., 9 oz. and measured 18 inches long, the Devious Maids star’s rep tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Dania’s so in love with them,” the rep adds.
After marrying Land last February, Ramirez, 34, announced her pregnancy in July. The actress celebrated her baby shower in September, revealing the sexes during the party. Although she had already chosen their names, Ramirez decided to keep them private until she met the babies.
“We have these really beautiful and powerful names for them,” the former Heroes star told PEOPLE at the time. “I want to say them out loud once I see them for the first time, just to make sure that it all feels right.”
Now that Ramirez is sure her choices fit, she explains them to PEOPLE.
“Gaia is the Greek goddess of Earth. Aether is the god or personification of the upper air that only the gods can breathe, hence the medical term ‘ether,'” she tells PEOPLE, adding that they call their son by his middle name.
“They were actually siblings in Greek mythology. My 12-year-old stepson’s name is Kai, which means ocean, and we wanted to connect them all. So now we have water, earth and air.”
As for the twins’ other names, they each honor family.
“John is after my husband,” Ramirez explains. “Jissel (pronounced Giselle) is my middle name and I was called that while I lived in the Dominican Republic. When I moved here, everyone called me by my first name because of roll call at school, so I stuck with Dania.”
The second season of Devious Maids will premiere April 20 on Lifetime.
— Sarah Michaud with reporting by Lee Hernandez