Simon Cowell is considering starting a family with girlfriend Terri Seymour.

The music mogul, who has always ruled out the possibility of having children, has hinted he may be ready to become a father and has even started picking out names.

Simon's friend, PR guru Max Clifford said, "I had a chat with Simon the other day and he said he was going to call his first son Max, after me. It's very flattering."

However, aware of Cowell's previous reluctance to have children, Max quipped, "I'll probably have to wait until I'm 100 to see if Simon will keep his promise. It's very kind of him, though."

British reality TV star Kerry Katona recently named her newborn son Maxwell after Max, who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Simon, 46, has always said he would never have children because he is too committed to his work.

He said, "There are some things that you have to sacrifice. You can't have everything."

"My shows, my work, are my babies. I put the same amount of care and attention into them as you would a child."