Anderson Cooper made a surprise announcement Thursday night: He is now officially a daddy.

"I want to share with you some joyful news. On Monday, I became a father," he told his CNN viewers. "This is Wyatt Cooper. He is three days old. He is named after my father, who died when I was 10. I hope I can be as good a dad as he was."

"My son's middle name is Morgan," he explained. "It's a family name on my mom's side. I know my mom and dad liked the name Morgan because I recently found a list they made 52 years ago when they were trying to think of names for me."

Cooper also spoke about what it means to him, as a gay man, to become a father: "As a gay kid, I never thought it would be possible to have a child, and I'm grateful for all those who have paved the way, and for the doctors and nurses and everyone involved in my son's birth."

The out newscaster went on to publicly thank his surrogate: "Most of all, I am grateful to a remarkable surrogate who carried Wyatt, and watched over him lovingly, and tenderly, and gave birth to him. It is an extraordinary blessing—what she, and all surrogates give to families who can't have children. My surrogate has a beautiful family of her own, a wonderfully supportive husband, and kids, and I am incredibly thankful for all the support they have given Wyatt and me. My family is blessed to have this family in our lives."

Cooper's famous besties Andy Cohen and Kelly Ripa shared the good news on their Instagram accounts, with Cohen adding, "You couldn't have come at a better time!"

Congrats to the new dad!