JOLIE AND PITT. Their kids’ names are in an idiosyncratic class all their own. Photo from www.closermag.fr
Our recent article on the outrageous names some stars think up for their children was enthusiastically received, but it certainly wasn’t the last word on the subject—as evinced by the unexpectedly huge number of other weird, loopy and far-out names that celebrities have come up with for their specially stellar progeny!
It’s as if famous people believe that they’re so uniquely blessed that they can’t possibly choose “ordinary” names for their children—so, they have to think up the most colorful and idiosyncratic monickers possible—even if they have to concoct those names themselves—like Pilot Inspekter, Sage Moonblood and Fifi Trixibelle!
Our “sequel” to last month’s “outrageous names” piece starts off with a name that doesn’t sound all that weird, but we’re focusing on it because of the unique “back story” that explains why the star in question chose it for her child:
Obscure reference
The name is “Apple,” for the child of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. No, Mom didn’t think it up as an oblique tribute to Newton and the law of gravity that he figured out with the help of Adam’s favorite body part (to make the reference all the more obscure).
Let Gwyneth herself reveal the real derivation for the inspiration, which came to her as early as 2004, when she guested on “Oprah”: “Basically, it was because, when we were first pregnant, her daddy said, ‘If it’s a girl, I think her name should be Apple.’ And it just sounded so sweet, it conjured up such a lovely picture for me—you know, apples are sweet, they’re wholesome—and it’s biblical.” (We were right about the reference to Adam!)
After Apple, we follow up with other stars’ “natural” or “environmental” inspirations for their kids’ names (a continuing theme in our survey): Blue Ivy (the daughter of Beyoncé and JayZ); Peaches Honeyblossom (daughter of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates); Heavenly Hirany Tiger Lily (Michael Hutchence); Amber Rose Tamara and Saffron Sahara (Simon LeBon and Yasmin); Spec Wildhorse (John Cougar Mellencamp);
Willow Sage (Pink); Sparrow James Midnight and Harlow Winter Kate (Nicole Ritchie); Sophia Rose. Sistine Rose and Scarlet Rose (Sylvester Stallone); Rufus Tiger and Tiger Lilly (Roger Taylor); Thyme (Isaiah Washington); Dusti Raine and Keele Breeze (Vanilla Ice).
What about names that are “tributes” to famous people, places or film titles? Take a referential gander at: Brooklyn (son of David and Victoria Beckham), Dylan Thomas (son of Pierce Brosnan), Beckett (son of Melissa Etheridge), Coco Riley (daughter of Courteney Cox and David Arquette—some people believe that “Coco” is short for Courteney Cox), Eddy and Nelson Eddie (twin sons of Celine Dion named after Nelson Eddy);
Title character
Bingham Hawn (son of Kate Hudson named after Kate’s mother Goldie Hawn), Egypt (son of Alicia Keys), Hud (son of John Cougar Mellencamp, named after the title character in the film, “Hud,” played by Paul Newman), Bogat Che Peyote (son of “Puck” Rainey after Humphrey Bogart and a hallucinogenic mushroom!), Pearl Minnie (daughter of Maya Rudolph named by the comedy star after the veteran comedienne, Minnie Pearl), and Iman (daugther of Isaiah Washington, named after the famous supermodel).
Finally, Brad Pitt and Angeline Jolie’s natural and adopted kids are in an idiosyncratic class all their own: Zahara Marley, Maddox Chivan, Shiloh Nouvel, Pax Thien, Knox Leona and Vivienne Marceline!