Who doesn’t love coming up with baby names?
The Atlantic's Sarah Baird, whose interest in unusual baby names took her deep into a world of websites and message boards, sure does.
“What I love most about these baby names websites, and the message boards therein, is that they’re places of eternal optimism about the future,” Baird wrote. “There’s nothing but pure, radiating excitement about the days lying ahead and unabashed hopefulness for new life.”
In her article, Baird explained how some cultures believe a person's name can actually shape their future and the ways they are perceived by society. This is perhaps why many parents, especially celebrity parents, put so much thought into their children's names.
According to The New York Times, celebrities choose unique and sometimes wacky names to make themselves and their kids stand out from among the rest and have a longlasting future.
Here are 15 wacky baby names from celebrities that definitely make these famous kids unique.
Apple — Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
So many apples. There are the apples you eat and the ones you surf the Web with. But for Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, it’s the name of their daughter. According to The New York Times, it remains one of the wackier celeb names out there.
Axl Jack — Fergie and Josh Duhamel
The pop star singer and Hollywood hunk actor named their kid Axl after Fergie had a dream where Axl Rose, singer of Guns N Roses, came out on a concert stage, right after Jim Morrison and Bob Marley both appeared in the dream. The name stuck with Fergie, all the way until her son was born, according to US Magazine.
Bear Blaze — Kate Winslet and Ned Rocknroll
Kate Winslet’s two other children, Joe and Mia, don’t have unusual names. Her third, though, does. According to CNN, Winslet and her husband settled on the name Bear Blaze early on since Winslet grew up with the nickname “bear” and wanted it for her child.
Bronx Mowgli — Ashlee Simpson and Peter Wentz
Speaking of bears, Ashlee Simpson and Peter Wentz named their child after the character Mowgli from “The Jungle Book,” according to People magazine. Bronx was something they just “came up with,” but Mowgli was added because “it’s a cool name,” Wentz told People magazine.
Egypt Daoud — Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz
Both Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats are building blocks on the pyramid of hip hop, so it’s no surprise they named their son Egypt, according to MTV.
Blue Ivy — Jay-Z and Beyoncé
She’s probably the most popular baby out there right now. She’s featured in Beyonce’s songs and music videos, and she’s been all over the entertainment world acting all adorable. Some said Beyonce chose the name because of a sentence in the novel “A Field Guide to Getting Lost,” which focuses a lot on the color blue, according to The Daily Mail.
North West — Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
Hold on, Blue Ivy. There’s another young rich and famous baby girl out there, and that’s North West. No, not a direction, but the offspring of celebrities magnets Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. According to an article in The Mirror, West and Kardashian named their child "North" for spiritual reasons. North is the highest something can go, and their daughter is the most powerful thing the power couple will have in their lives, The Mirror reported.
Kal-El Coppola — Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim
Leave it to Nicolas Cage to name his kid after a Superman character. According to People magazine, Cage and his wife Alice Kim thought about naming their kid Kyleand, but wanted something more pungent instead. So Cage remembered Kal-El — Superman’s original name — and went with it because of its positive connotations.
“So I wanted a name that stood for something good, was unique and American and that’s all three,” Cage said to People. “I just thought it was a beautiful name and it had kind of a magical ring to it.”
Knox Leon — Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
The celebrity power couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt chose Knox as their child's first name because it was similar to the names of their other kids, Maddox and Pax. According to US Magazine, Pitt and Jolie wanted the three kids to have similar names and make “a cohesive threesome” between the trio of children.
Luca Cruz — Hilary Duff and Mike Comrie
There’s no real origin story for Luca Cruz, but it’s certainly a unique name for a child to have — especially when you’re the daughter of Lizzie McGuire, the most wacky character from modern Disney sitcoms.
Livingston — Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves
Matthew McConaughey may have just been soaring around space, but his son is a little more grounded. According to Yahoo! News, McConaughey’s son’s name Livingston means “dear friend’s place,” and is a marker of the calm and cool environment the parents want their son to live in.
Pilot Inspektor — Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf
It’s a wacky name, but it doesn’t have a wacky origin. According to Time magazine, Jason Lee and his wife named their son Pilot after a song from indie rock band Grandaddy. The song calls someone a “pilot,” and apparently that was inspiration enough for Lee to choose that name.
Quinlin Dempsey — Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor may not have chosen Quinlin for a unique reason, but he is already off to a hot start in his acting career. He’s done voice work in “Megamind” (2010) and “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” according to his IMDB page.
Sparrow James Midnight — Nicole Richie and Joel Madden
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are both stars whose fame is stuck in the early 2000s, but their kids’ name has everlasting meaning. According to People magazine, Richie and Madden named their son Sparrow James Midnight because it had a very masculine feel to it, which coincided perfectly with their daughter’s name, Harlow Winter Kate, they told People.
Zuma Nesta Rock — Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale recently had a new baby boy, one that they said was inspired by God. But before Apollo came to be, Stefani and Rossdale welcomed Zuma Nesta Rock, whose name comes from a variety of sources — like Neil Young’s album “Zuma” and Bob Marley, whose given name was “Nesta,” according to People magazine.