Barron Trump: Everything to Know About Donald Trump's Youngest Son

Donald and Melania Trump welcomed their son Barron in 2006

Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, grew up in the White House, but he lives outside of the spotlight.

Shortly after the former president tied the knot with his wife, Melania Trump, in 2005, the couple learned they were expecting a baby. Barron was born on March 20, 2006, becoming Donald's fifth child and Melania's first.

Barron spent his childhood at his family’s lavish penthouse in New York City while attending prestigious private schools on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. When Donald was elected president and began his term in January 2017, Barron and Melania stayed behind in Manhattan so that he could finish the school year. That summer, he enrolled at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland and officially moved into the White House with the rest of the family.

Related: Melania Trump Is 'Very Protective' of Barron, 17, and Spends Little Time Making Friends at Mar-a-Lago: Sources

While Donald’s older children — Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr., Eric and Tiffany — took a more hands-on role in their father’s presidential presidency, Barron’s privacy was heavily guarded. Even after Donald's term ended, Melania has continued to shield her son from the public eye.

Amid the twice-impeached former president's legal issues — including lawsuits and investigations at both the state and federal level — a source told PEOPLE in March 2023 that "Barron has always been a first priority in [Melania's] life."

"Of course she is worried and concerned about the legal issues, but she has not done anything more to protect Barron now than she ever did," the insider added. "She has always put him first. She is a good mother."

Related: Every Crime Donald Trump Has Been Charged With

Donald appears to be putting his son first when it comes to his legal issues, too. When his criminal hush money trial began in April 2024, his counsel asked Judge Juan Merchan to adjourn court for Barron's high school graduation in May. The judge said that he "cannot rule" on that request until he knows if everything is going "according to schedule."

From his early days growing up in N.Y.C. to his life in the White House and beyond, here's everything to know about Donald and Melania Trump's son Barron.

Donald was surprised to find out Melania was expecting

In 2005, Donald and Melania discovered they were expecting their first child together about six months after their wedding. While looking back on the moment she told Donald she was pregnant, Melania admitted her husband was a bit taken aback by the news.

“He came home [one day last August], and I told him he’d be a daddy. And his reaction was ... at first he needed to take it in. It was a real surprise. And then he was very happy,” she shared with PEOPLE.

Donald added, “I expected we were going to have children, so I wasn’t totally surprised. But I was surprised by the speed of it. It happened very quickly.”

Barron was born in March 2006

On March 20, 2006, Melania gave birth to Barron, with the little boy weighing in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. Donald chose not to be present in the delivery room, explaining he thought it would be “easier” for Melania if he wasn’t there. Melania later said that her eight hour labor was, in fact, “very, very easy.”

"Everyone’s perfect. She’s really happy and it’s really great,” Donald told PEOPLE following the birth.

Donald was the one to choose Barron's name, as he had always liked it but hadn't had the chance to use it for his other sons. Melania was on board — but at the last minute, Donald had second thoughts about the name.

“It’s a name I’ve always loved but I never had the courage to use. I gave the idea to Melania and then I was going to take it away at the very end and she said, ‘You can’t take it away! I’ve been calling him Barron while he’s been in my stomach and you just can’t take it away!’ ” Donald said on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Barron has attended school in New York, Maryland and Florida

Growing up, Barron has attended numerous prestigious schools. While living in New York City, he was enrolled at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. After Donald began his presidential term in January 2017, Barron remained in N.Y.C., finishing out the school year.

During Barron’s final year at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, he took his entire fifth-grade class on a trip to Washington.

A group of about 80 students joined Barron (along with teachers and Secret Service agents) on an excursion to the White House, where they met Barron's father. The group also toured the nation’s capital and stayed overnight at a hotel before returning home.

Then in May 2017, it was announced that Barron would be attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland.

Tuition at St. Andrew's cost the Trumps about $40,000 a year. Barron's enrollment marked a departure from the precedent set by previous first families — including the Obamas, Bushes and Clintons — who sent their children to Sidwell Friends, a private Quaker school located in D.C. and Bethesda, Maryland.

Following the end of Donald’s presidential term in 2021, it was revealed that Barron would be attending the Oxbridge Academy in Palm Beach, Florida, where he will be graduating with the class of 2024.

Barron, who turned 18 in March 2024, has yet to decide where he'll attend college. According to a source, Melania will likely "follow him wherever he goes to school."

Barron was nervous about moving into the White House

When Donald was first elected president, he shared that Barron was hesitant about leaving his life in N.Y.C. and moving into the White House. He explained that the then 9-year-old loved New York and his school, and the move was a “whole change of life.”

Related: How Donald Trump Told PEOPLE That Son Barron Found a White House Move 'a Little Scary'

Donald said, “He has a very good school in New York where he has a lot of friends. But I tell him if this happens, Daddy will help people, and can help children like him, and that makes him happy. He’s a young boy who is 9 years old and he is strong and smart and he gets it. He sees it.”

Former first daughters Chelsea Clinton and Jenna Bush Hager came to his defense

While his father was in office, Barron faced attacks online.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton came to his defense. Amid the online bullying, Chelsea tweeted on several occasions, asking others to give Barron the chance to grow up without so much criticism.

Related: Comedian Deletes 'Joke Aimed at Trump' About Him & Barron That Melania's Team Called 'Insensitive'

“It’s high time the media & everyone leave Barron Trump alone & let him have the private childhood he deserves,” Clinton wrote in response to a negative article about Barron.

Jenna Bush Hager, another former first daughter, also spoke out about how the attacks on Barron made her “mad” because “the truth is, obviously, Barron Trump didn’t ask his dad to run for president. It wasn’t his decision.”

He speaks both English and Slovenian

Barron is bilingual and can speak both English and Melania’s native Slovenian. As a little boy, Melania says Barron often called his grandmother and spoke to her exclusively in Slovenian. While Melania was a proponent of Barron speaking multiple languages, she noted that she’s on the same page as her husband as to what language Barron should be using in public.

“My opinion is that more languages you speak, better it is, but when you come to America, you speak English,” she told PEOPLE.

Melania is incredibly protective of Barron

Throughout Melania’s career as a model, she was known to keep to herself. Even during her time as First Lady, she primarily spent time with her family instead of friends. Now that Donald is out of office, sources have told PEOPLE that Melania is still very private and keeps a close eye on Barron.

"Melania's friends are her family members," a source shared in 2023. "Many Mar-a-Lago Club members and others know and see Melania. But they aren't friends. They don't get together and gab or socialize. She has always surrounded herself with family. She is a doting mother to Barron and very protective of him. This is nothing new."

The insider added that Melania's parents, who live at the Trump family property in Mar-a-Lago, "are also close to Barron and have been instrumental in his rearing."

In March 2024, a social and political source told PEOPLE that "Melania's main job is taking care of Barron."

“Barron is shy and reserved, and she has been a good mother to him all of these years," the source said, adding, "Melania is all about Barron and her family. She has always been family-oriented, and in addition to some of the charity work she has done, staying ahead of family issues is her priority.

Donald says Barron is 6 feet, 7 inches tall

According to comments Donald made while speaking at his presidential campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, in January 2024, his teenage son is already towering over him at 6 feet, 7 inches. He attributes Barron's height to him eating all of the food that his late grandmother, Melania's mother Amalija Knavs, would make for him.

The Daily Mail reported that Donald called Barron a "special boy" during his speech, adding, "'I said you're gonna be a basketball player. He said, 'well I like soccer dad, actually.' I thought ... at your height I like basketball better but you can't talk them into everything."

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