12 Wacky Celebrity Baby Names
Remember the time when celebrities named their kids “normal” names? Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr. were parents to Lucy and Desi. One of Mick Jagger’s kids is named Jade, another Georgia. Paul McCartney has Stella and James. Then Frank Zappa came along and introduced the world to Moon Unit, Dweezil and Diva Muffin Zappa along with the kind of normal sounding Ahmet. What gives? Marcia Layton Turner (www.marcialaytonturner.com), the New York-based author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide: 40,000 Baby Names certainly knows a thing or two about the topic. “Celebrities are our role models in many ways, not the least of which is in baby name selection. Given their places in the public eye, you know they spent months brainstorming and comparing dozens of possibilities to come up with a name that is memorable and attention-getting, which is what most celebrities want for themselves."
1. Amy Adams’ daughter is named Aviana Olea. Aviana means “bird” and is a variation of the Latin “Avis." Olea relates to olives and oil and is also considered to mean “moon” or “night” in Old Hebrew.
2. Barbara Hershey and David Carradine’s son is named Free. Pretty much defines itself.
3. Erykah Badu’s son is named Seven Sirius. Sirius comes from the Latin and even further back, Greek. It means “burning."
4. Gillian Anderson’s daughter is named Piper Maru. Piper comes from the English and refers to a pipe or flute player. Anderson’s boss, X-Files creator Chris Carter, named an episode of the cult classic series after her.
5. Jason Lee’s son is Pilot Inspektor. Jason says his son’s name was inspired by the band Grandaddy’s song ”He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot."
6. Penn Jillette’s daughter is named Moxie CrimeFighter. Jillette has been quoted as saying he loves the name “Moxie” because it stands for old-fashioned spunk and energy. As for CrimeFighter? It was a joke that he and his wife thought up.
7. Sylvester Stallone’s daughter Sage Moonblood. Sage is Latin and means “wise” and “herb” but the meaning of “Moonblood” is unknown. Maybe it means the “Blood Moon?” Your guess is as good as ours.
8. Alanis Morisette’s son is Ever Imre. Imre is Hebrew for “well spoken.”
9. Alicia Keys’ and Swizz Beat’s son is Egypt Daoud. Dauode is an Arabic form of the Hebrew name David, which means beloved.
But not all crazy celeb baby names stick.
10. Grace Slick’s daughter was god. No really. In Slick’s autobiography, the rock star remembers joking with a nurse: “We spell it with a small ‘g’ because we want her to be humble.” Her daughter’s actual name is China.
11. Michael Jackson’s son *Blanket*—whom the pop star infamously dangled over a balcony as a baby—has changed his name to Bigi. It’s German in origin and means idealistic, sensitive and inspirational.
12. David Bowie’s son Zowie Bowie is a renowned artist and filmmaker in his own right. He goes by Duncan now.
So whether your choice is to go wild or stay tame in naming your wee one, remember that wild might be unique, but you’ll have to spend a lot of time explaining origins, reasons and a lot more to more people than you care to count. But in the end, it’s probably worth it. Layton Turner says, “People are more adventurous nowadays. They want their kids to stand out in the world and what’s more instant, more personal, than a name? It’s an immediate talking point.”
Shelley Moench-Kelly is a New England-based writer and editor whose freelance clients include Google, L’Oreal Paris and TheWeek.com. You can follow her on Facebook
