Jenna Bush Hager shares the code names the Secret Service gave her and Barbara
To the rest of the world, they were Jenna and Barbara Bush.
To the Secret Service, they were like a soft rock band from the '70s: Turquoise and Twinkle.
Jenna Bush Hager revealed the fun Secret Service code names for her and her twin sister on TODAY Tuesday during a chat with co-host Willie Geist.
The topic came up after Willie recalled that he used to call his wife, Christina, by the nickname "Bubba" when they were in college.
"I don't remember why ... (she's) not a 'Bubba,'" Willie said. "When you think of a 'Bubba,' it's not Christina."
"I'm not sure that's an affectionate terminology," Jenna offered.
Jenna and Barbara were in their early 20s during former President George W. Bush's time in the White House when they were given their Secret Service names.
"It's so funny, and I don't know where this is coming from, but when you have Secret Service, you have a code name, and my sister's code name was 'Turquoise,' because her eyes are really beautiful and turquoise,'' Jenna said.
As for Jenna, her nickname wasn't so straightforward. It also caused some unfortunate confusion.
"(It was) 'Twinkle,' which some people got confused with 'tinkle,''' she said.
Luckily it seems like the Secret Service personnel protecting the former president and first lady Laura Bush have had a good sense of humor over the years.
Bush had pizza delivered to them last year during the government shutdown, while Jenna's daughter, Mila, 6, had a meltdown in front of them during a public shopping trip three years ago.
Still, it's clear that Jenna feels she got the short end of the stick compared to her sister when it came to getting a cool code name.
"Would you rather be Turquoise or Twinkle?" she asked Willie.
"Turquoise, I guess,'' Willie said. "I would've called you like 'Tornado,' or something like that. That would've been cool, like a wrestling name."
One again, Jenna was clearly suspect of Willie's taste in nicknames.
"Again, that's a little bit like 'Bubba,'" she said, looking skeptical.