Celebrity Baby Names
By: Julie Parker
Celebrities are not like everyday people. They have busy
schedules, drive expensive cars, and wear jewelry that others can
only dream of owning. Maybe it is because celebrities are so far
removed from normal life that they often give their babies unusual
names.
Some names are just a little different. John Travolta and Kelly
Preston have two beautiful children. Their daughter's name is Ella
Bleu. Their son's name is Jett. Jett is different, but anyone who
knows anything about John Travolta knows he has a love for flying.
Gwyneth Paltrow, pregnant again, came under scrutiny for naming her
first child Apple. While it is unusual, it is somewhat cute, like
in the "apple of their eye." Chris Martin, her husband, tired of
the controversy over the name Apple, has jokingly stated their
second child, whether male or female, will be named Banana. Another
cute name is Dandelion, the name of Keith Richards' daughter. Julie
Roberts recently gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl - and
received flack over the names she chose. She received almost as
much grief over the choice for her daughter's name, Hazel, as she
did the more eccentric choice of Phinnaeus for her son.
Many people speculated what Madonna would name her first child.
Lourdes Maria seems a fitting name for child who's mother's name is
Madonna, but she often goes by Lola. Her son is named Rocco, which
sounds a bit like a cartoon character, but at least it is a tough
sounding name. Actor Casey Affleck and fianc Summer Phoenix
recently had a son named Indiana August, which leads one to wonder
what state and month their son was conceived in. Toni Braxton has
two sons, Denim and Diezel. While both useful products, they make
somewhat strange names for children. Rob Marrow decided it would be
cute if he named his daughter Tu Simone Ayer, calling her Tu
Morrow. Wonder if she will think it is cute 20 years from now?
Actor Jason Lee named his son Pilot Inspektor, but magician Penn
Jillette may have topped them all. He named his daughter, Moxie
Crimefighter, saying "because when she's pulled over for speeding
she can say, `But officer, we're on the same side, my middle name
is CrimeFighter."'
If you think it is a new trend, think again. Back in 1971, David
Bowie and his then wife Angela decided to name their son Duncan
Zowie Heywood Jones. He soon became known as Zowie Bowie. Cher
named her children Chastity Sun and Elijah Blue.
The Phoenix family is well known for their unusual choice of baby
names. Summer Phoenix's siblings are the late actor River Phoenix,
actresses Rain and Liberty Phoenix and actor Joaquin Phoenix.
Joaquin felt his name was so out of place with his siblings, that
when he was four, he decided to change his name to Leaf. By the
early 1990's, he had reverted back to using his birth name. Another
family infamous for their choices of baby names is the Zappa
family. Frank's children are Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmed Emuukha
Rodan and Diva Muffin. While many people think that Dweezil is his
given name, his birth name was originally Ian Donald Calvin Euclid
Zappa because the hospital refused to register the name Dweezil.
Always called Dweezil, when he was a child, he wanted to make the
name official and his parents took him to have it changed legally.
Paula Yates, former wife of Sir Bob Geldof and girlfriend of late
rocker Michael Hutchence, also had a knack for giving her children
unusual names. Among her brood are Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches
Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa, Heavenly Hiraani
Tigerlily, and Little Pixie.
Some celebrity baby names make sense if you know the story behind
them. Eurythmic's Dave Stewart named his son Django after jazz
guitarist Django Reinhardt. Stevie Wonder named his son Mandla
Kadjaly Carl Stevland, however Mandla means "powerful" in Zulu and
Kadjaly means "born from God" in Swahili. Helen Hunt just gave
birth to a baby girl she named Makena'lei Gordon. The name
Makena'lei is from a friend's dream and means "many flowers of
heaven." Gordon, an unlikely girl's name, was to honor of Helen's
father, television director Gordon Hunt. Nicolas Cage just named
his new baby boy Kal-el. Because Nicolas took his stage name of
Cage from comic book character Luke Cage, he decided to name his
son Kal-el after one of his favorite comic book heroes. Kal-el is
Superman's kryptonian name.
So, do the children like these unconventional names given them by
their parents? In some cases, they do. The Phoenix's seem to love
their nature-inspired names and the Zappa children seem to have had
no ill effects from their eccentric names. However, some children
tire of the peculiar names quickly. Zowie Bowie had had enough of
his moniker by the time he was 12 and asked to be referred to as
"Joey." Although Dandelion Richards does not seem too bad, she has
since started referring to herself as Angela. Recently, Peaches
Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof has been the
most outspoken about the odd choice her parents made in naming her.
She has been quoted as saying, "I hate ridiculous names. My weird
name has haunted me all my life."
While having an unusual name might be difficult for any child, the
celebrity of a child's parents may enhance it even further.
Thankfully, celebrity children who decide they don't like their
given names can switch to a nickname or even eventually have their
names legally changed.
Julie Parker is a successful writer and publisher providing valuable tips and advice on finding the top baby names, unusual baby names, and baby name meanings. Her numerous articles offer thoughtful tips and valuable insight into baby naming. Check out the "Top 100 Baby Names" list from the last 6 years.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
