There's so much to prepare for before welcoming a newborn: the nursery, finding the perfect formula or diaper brand, and getting health insurance that covers any emergency, just to name a few. But one of the most exciting to-dos is choosing the perfect name. And it seems like no one gives this more thought than celebrity parents who've made some unexpected decisions. So if you're looking for baby name inspiration or are in the mood to be left scratching your head, you've come to the right place.
Zuma Nesta Rock
If there was a competition between who gives their children weirder names, musicians or actors, we're pretty sure that the musicians would have it in the bag. There are just some names they pick that are so weird, we're convinced we never could've thought of them. The perfect example? Gwen Stefani's son's name. When she and Gavin Rossdale were married, they wound up naming one of their children Zuma Nesta Rock.
Now that Gwen is married to Blake Shelton, we're not sure what to expect in the name department. If they have a kid, maybe they'll give it a country-fied name.
X AE A-XII
Elon Musk isn't exactly known for being the most normal guy on the planet. So, it's no surprise that when he and musician/artist Grimes had a child, the baby got an incredibly unique name. After a few tries, the couple settled on calling their child X AE A-XII. Here's what the child's mother had to say about the name: "X is the unknown variable, AE is for love and artificial intelligence, and A-XII represents the [our] favorite non-violent aircraft."
And while Elon and Grimes are indeed strange in their own ways, both as individuals and as a couple, their name selection still managed to surprise the world.
Bear Blu
We've seen a lot of celebrity kids being named after animals or colors, but in this case, we've got both going on at the same time. Famous actress Alicia Silverstone from Clueless wound up marrying and having a child with musician Christopher Jarecki, and the pair decided to name their son Bear Blu. The couple had a number of names they were trying to choose between and ultimately went with the one suggested by Grandma.
We think this is one of the more fun celebrity names we've come across. It's playful, unique, and not so weird that it's impossible to pronounce.
Journey River
Megan Fox is now famously dating Machine Gun Kelly, forming a new Hollywood bad boy and bad girl power group alongside Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker. Still, we're curious what MGK and Fox would name their child if they had one because Fox is already a mother and has a few strangely named children in her brood. The strangest was given to her third child, a baby boy named Journey River.
One of Journey River's other siblings also has a mystical name. His name is Bodhi, which Fox said means the all-encompassing understanding possessed by Buddha.
Kulture Kiari
If you're known as one of the most luxurious rappers on the planet, and you wind up marrying another lavish-loving rapper, chances are your kid will have a weird name. That's exactly what happened with Cardi B and Offset and their first daughter Kulture Kiari. Cardi said the name just made sense, and anything else would've been too basic. And we can't disagree; nothing about the name Kulture is basic.
Kulture isn't the only family member with a unique name. When her younger brother was born, her parents named the boy Wave!
Apple
The woman, the myth, the legend: up next on our list of celebrity parents who gave their children unusual names is Gwyneth Paltrow. She named her daughter Apple. Yes, like the delicious fruit. The idea for the name came from Paltrow's former partner, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin. He and Paltrow both loved the name, and wait until you hear the inspiration behind it.
The couple enjoyed the name because of its biblical context and the fact that apples are nice, sweet, and wholesome.
Memphis Eve Sunny Day
There are loads of famous people who changed their names to make them more palatable to audiences. So, we're surprised more celebrity kids don't go through this practice, considering the strange names their parents choose. But one famous celeb kid did: Bono's daughter, Memphis Eve Sunny Day. The aspiring actress had her name legally changed and now goes by Eve Sunny Day Hewson instead; a slight change that makes a big difference.
If you'd like to see some of Hewson's screen work, you can check out Universal Pictures's Sing 2 (including Hewson's father, Bono) or the popular Netflix series "Behind Her Eyes."
Blue Ivy Carter
Everything Beyonce does becomes a worldwide phenomenon, so it's no surprise that everyone freaked out when she announced she was pregnant a few years ago. Her first child with Jay-Z was a baby girl who the spotlight still can't get enough of, and the couple decided to name her Blue Ivy. At first, people were skeptical, but the name actually seems to fit. Still, we don't think we could get away with naming our kids after colors or houseplants.
Blue might think she's got a weird name, but a few years later, her twin siblings were born and made things even stranger since they're named Rumi and Sir.
Moroccan Scott
When we first found out Mariah Carey was expecting kids with her then-hubby Nick Cannon, we knew that those babies' names would be nothing less than fabulous. After all, we're talking about Mariah Carey here. And the talented singer did not disappoint: she named her twins, a boy and a girl, Moroccan and Monroe. Monroe is named after Marilyn Monroe, and wait until you hear who/what Moroccan is named after.
Moroccan is apparently named after the decor in the room where Cannon proposed. Romantic, isn't it?
Dusty Rose
Have you ever heard someone say their name and assumed they were using a nickname or shortened version? We thought that was happening with Adam Levine's kid, Dusty. But it turns out that's the kid's real name. Well, Dusty Rose is her name, but are the famous parents really expecting everyone to call her that all the time? Anyway, we just hope the little Duster turns out to be a good cleaner.
Fun fact: Ellen Degeneres was the one who came up with the name Dusty for the child.
Banks Violet
Was there anyone cooler than Lizzie McGuire back in the day? Hilary Duff was like everyone's perfect role model as she wowed us with her performance navigating middle school and all the problems it creates. So it's no surprise that she chose some cool kids' names once she graduated middle school (on our screens) and became a full-fledged adult with a family. We expected nothing less from the Hollywood icon.
Duff decided to name one of her children, a daughter, Banks Violet. We don't know why but we're big fans.
Kal-El
Back in the 90s, Tim Burton was working on a Superman project called Superman Lives, which was supposed to feature Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel. Cage was always a huge comic book fan, so it was a dream role for him. Unfortunately, a few things with the project fell through, and we never got to see Cage as The Last Son of Krypton. Still, he remained a massive fan and even named his own son Kal-El.
If you're not much of a Superman buff, Kal-El was the hero's name in a few comics when Superman lived back on Krypton.
Summer Rain
Christina Aguilera is from Staten Island, so from the start, we knew her kid would probably be given an extraordinary name. If it was a boy, we were hoping she'd name it Marshall or something, just to rekindle that Eminem feud again (joking). Thankfully, when she and guitarist Matthew Rutler got together and started thinking of what to call their daughter, they came up with something wholesome and sweet: Summer Rain.
As Aguilera explains, summer is a time of new beginnings, and rain washes away the old to let in the new, so we think it's a great name!
Bear Blaze
Kate Winslet is one of the biggest movie stars we've got, so it's no surprise her kids have some pretty crazy names fitting of a mega-celebrity's spawn. When she got together with Edward Abel Smith (more on that in a second), and the two had a child together, Winslet wanted to do something to pay homage to great people in her life. So, she took a good friend's nickname from childhood and the circumstances of her meeting Abel Smith and then named her son Bear Blaze.
Bear was a great guy Winslet was very fond of growing up. Blaze came out of the fact that on the first occasion of Winslet and Smith's meeting, they escaped a house fire together!
North
Kim Kardashian: reality television queen turned beauty empire empress. And when Kim got engaged to Kanye, everyone knew that something crazy would happen. If you take two mega-rich celebrities, one who's a bit of a visionary and a self-proclaimed genius, you can guarantee the kids will have some exciting names. So while no one was surprised, we all enjoyed learning their firstborn's name: North. Yes, North West.
And North wasn't the last family addition with a one-of-a-kind name. The couple had a few other kids before splitting: Chicago, Saint, and Psalm.
Jermajesty Jackson
Growing up wasn't easy for any of the Jackson children. But, you'd think that another generation down the line, things would get easier. Not the case if you're one of Jermaine's children because he's decided to name a few of his kids different iterations of his own name. The craziest one we heard is a name that actually sounds like a joke, but it's this person's real, legal name. So, without further ado, we'd like to introduce you all to Jermajesty Jackson.
The name was probably meant to make his son feel like royalty.
Briar Rose
It's one thing to be a Disney kid, but being a Disney adult is a whole other bucket of worms. Yes, many grown-ups enjoy the classic theme parks and movies, but how many do you know that have named their child after an obscure Disney reference? That's what happened with Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen's child, Briar Rose, who was named after Sleeping Beauty's original name in the 1959 film.
Most people know Sleeping Beauty as Aurora, which is a beautiful name on its own. But not many know that the fantasy character is also known as Briar Rose.
Tu Morrow
Back in the 90s, the TV show Northern Exposure and actor Rob Morrow were some of the hottest commodities on the planet. Well, since the show was set in Alaska, maybe we should say coldest. Anyway, Morrow played the show's central character, Dr. Joel Fleischman, who's a little neurotic when it comes to, well, everything. But, in real life, Morrow is much more of a joker. So much so, in fact, that he named his daughter Tu.
Do you get it? Tu Morrow? Tu is a popular Vietnamese name, but Morrow isn't Vietnamese. He just loves it when a good pun comes together.
Rainbow Aurora
Holly Madison made quite a few waves back in the day when people found out she was dating Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. But she raised even more eyebrows when she got together with Pasquale Rotella. It wasn't the couple being together that surprised people so much as it was the name they gave their baby girl: Rainbow Aurora. To be fair, though, it is a cute name, so the kid can't be that upset.
Madison's reasoning behind the name is pretty stellar. When she was a little girl, she had a classmate named Rainbow and was always envious of the name. So, she passed it on to her daughter!
Satchel
We wouldn't expect anything ordinary coming from the Spike Lee household, which is why we were surprised when he and wife Tonya Lewis named their son Jackson. Things made more sense to us back when the couple named their daughter, born two years before, Satchel. Yes, like a handbag. It was apparently quite the popular name for men in the late 19th century, and the power couple decided to bring it back.
Whatever the reasoning for doing this, we think the name has a certain distinctive quality. The fact that it was already a real name, and has now been made more androgynous, is pretty cool in our book.
Harley Quinn
Kevin Smith was one of the greatest directors of the 90s with classic films like Clerks, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Dogma. You can clearly see the influence that comic books had on Smith in these movies, which is why it's no surprise his daughter got a classic comic book name when she was born. He could've named her Diana after Wonder Woman or Lois after Lois Lane, but instead went with the wildly eccentric Harley Quinn.
Harley is now a mini-celebrity of her own. She's performed in a number of her father's projects and has a semi-successful acting career that's still developing.
Lyra Antarctica
Ed Sheeran's pop music might not be everyone's cup of tea. But, you have to admit, he seems by all accounts to be a nice, interesting, well-rounded young man. So, even though he's a celebrity, you wouldn't really expect his child to have a weird name, right? Wrong. He and his wife Cherry (okay, maybe we should've seen this one coming) named their firstborn girl Lyra Antarctica. The child's name is based on a novel, and TV series called His Dark Materials.
Sheeran called the show the greatest love story ever told and named his daughter after the series's heroine, Lyra.
Bronx Mowgli
The 2000s were a strange, strange era. It was a time when Fall Out Boy ruled the radio, and fashion trends pushed waist heights on pants lower and lower and lower. But, there's nothing weirder about this period than some of the celebrity couples and celebrity baby names that came out of it. One of the most unique comes from the Fall Out Boy frontman, Pete Wentz, and starlet Ashlee Simpson. The former couple named their now-grown baby boy Bronx Mowgli.
It's easy enough to see why the couple named the child Bronx– who doesn't love the good old BX? And Mowgli came after the couple found their shared love for the Jungle Book.
Diezel and Denim
Toni Braxton and Keri Lewis were a celebrity power couple back in the day. And although the pair isn't together anymore, the iconic names they gave to their children have stuck around in fans' minds for all these years. The two boys were named Diezel and Denim. You read that right. Gasoline and pants. It's original, but we can't decide whether these are interesting names or just downright questionable ones.
Denim was named as such because of a nurse at the hospital who couldn't pronounce his intended name. Diezel is after Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine.
Moxie CrimeFighter
Penn Jillette is one of the world's premier magicians today. He and his partner, Teller, are responsible for attracting thousands of people to the art of magic, and if you've ever seen their act, it's easy to see why. Still, something less relatable about the pair is the fact that Jillette decided to name his daughter one of the most unique things we've ever heard. He decided to call her: "Moxie CrimeFighter."
Unlike some of the other celebrity names on this list, Jillette actually had a pretty good reason for this one. He said Moxie is another way to represent the concept of Chutzpa, a Yiddish word that describes self-confidence and audacity, and CrimeFighter was just in case she winds up tangled up with the law down the line.
Jamie Oliver's Kids
We're used to celebrity actors and musicians giving their children weird names. But did you know that celebrity chefs are just as bizarre as the rest of their contemporaries when it comes to naming their kids? Look no further than Jamie Oliver for proof of this theory. His children sound like characters out of an animated cartoon TV show, as their names are Poppy, Petal, River, Daisy, and Buddy. How adorable!
These kids also have unusual middle names simply because Oliver's wife Juliette couldn't decide. One of the children is even named after a My Little Pony character, so we weren't too far off with the idea of cartoons!
Pilot Inspektor
Whatever happened to naming your kid after your grandparents? We guess that tradition just isn't rock and roll enough for some of these Hollywood stars. That's why Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf named their child Pilot Inspektor. The unique title was inspired by the lyrics to one of the actor's favorite underground rock and roll ballads, "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot."
The song in question is by a band called Grandaddy, a semi-popular indie rock group from Modesto, California, formed in the early 1990s.
Frank Zappa's Kids
Frank Zappa was never known for staying inside the lines, so when it came to naming his kids, he was thinking outside the box. Zappa's nonconformity and eccentric style were exactly what endeared him to the hearts of so many fans, so maybe he felt the same thing would happen if he gave his children strange names. That being said, the kids didn't seem to mind and retained their original names all their lives.
Zappa named his four kids Diva Muffin, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, Ian Donald Calvin Euclid (called Dweezil), and Moon Unit. What an eccentric bunch, right?
Princess Tiaamii Crystal Esther
Katie Price - media personality and model - is known for living her life just how she wants to and paying no mind to the haters. So it's hardly shocking that she chose this attention-catching name for her daughter with British singer Peter Andre. Are you ready for this one? Price's daughter is named Princess Tiaamii Crystal Esther. Yeah, that's a mouthful, but she'll never have to worry about sharing a name with anyone she meets.
The name came about because the child is their princess and because the mother and father wanted to combine their names.
Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence
This one is going to be a doozy, so stick with us. Actress Uma Thurman already has a pretty strange name. Her former partner, French Financier Arpad Busson, had an even stranger name. So, when the two combined forces and had to figure out what to name their daughter, their creativity did not disappoint. Like we said, get ready for this one. They decided to name their daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson.
It seems like this wild name would require an even wilder explanation, right? But Thurman admits that they just decided to give their daughter five names because they couldn't decide on one.
Seven Sirius
Being a celebrity's kid can't be all that bad. You'll probably have a crazy name, but at least you'll be rich! And, you'll probably have some of your parent's talented genes too, don't you think? That's what happened in the case of Erykah Badu and Andre 3000's son Seven Sirius. The young man lives a largely private life, so the public doesn't get to enjoy his talents, but we hear he takes after both his parents a bunch!
The name has some divine influences, as well as one from Harry Potter. The third book came out right around the child's birth, so his middle name could've been derived from the character Sirius Black.
Winter Mercy
There's nothing better than kicking your feet up and listening to a little Alanis Morissette. Although, we can't be sure if her kids feel the same way. We're sure she's a good mother, but she's given them such weird names that it's possible they could be holding a little resentment. The Canadian singer-songwriter named her first child Ever and her second Onyx. So, you knew she would do something special for the third.
Morisette's third child got the name Winter Mercy. Plot twist: the child was born in the middle of August!
Rekker Radley
Cam Gigandet was widely feared for a few years while playing the villain James in the Twilight series. He was so convincing and good at the role; not everyone can play a villain that well. In the actor's personal life, he was busy developing a relationship and growing a family with partner Dominique Geisendorff. They had two children together before their third came along, a boy they named Rekker Radley.
Rekker is a play on wrecker, meaning they're expecting this boy to be a troublemaker.
Everest
George Lucas will go down as one of the greatest filmmakers of his time, and his creations (like the Star Wars universe) will continue developing long after he's gone. Still, while here, he's not just focused on making movies. He's also focused on raising his child, a beautiful baby girl that he and his wife Mellody Hobson named Everest. The name stems from a very close friend of the couple, but who that is, no one is entirely sure.
This mysterious Everest is also a friend of presenter Charlie Rose's. Hobson mentioned the two's connection in an interview with Rose a number of years ago.
Huckleberry and Marmaduke
No one has ever accused Bear Grylls of being ordinary. The man is named after an animal, after all. And you can see him on TV eating placenta and all other manners of ridiculous stuff, so it's no surprise his kids got a few strange names too. Grylls and his wife, Shara Cannings Knight, actually have three children, all boys, and two of the three got pretty strange picks in the names department.
Their first son, Jesse, got off easy. But then the next two boys were called Marmaduke and Huckleberry.