People who are famous are not like regular people. They are always busy, drive expensive cars, and wear jewellery that most people can only dream of having. Maybe it's because celebrities are so far from everyday life that they often choose unusual names for their children.
Some names are just a little different. Kelly Preston and John Travolta have two beautiful children. Ella Bleu is the name of their daughter. Jett is the name of their son. Anyone who knows anything about John Travolta knows that he loves to fly. Jett is different. People were surprised when Gwyneth Paltrow got pregnant again and named her first child Apple. Even though it's strange, it's kind of cute, like the phrase "apple of their eye." Chris Martin, her husband, is sick of all the fuss about the name Apple and has joked that their second child, whether a boy or a girl, will be named Banana. Keith Richards' daughter is named Dandelion, which is also a cute name. Julie Roberts just had twins, a boy and a girl, and some people didn't like the names she chose for them. She got almost as much flak for giving her daughter the name Hazel as she did for giving her son the more unusual name Phinnaeus.
People tried to guess what Madonna would call her first child. A child whose mother's name is Madonna could be called Lourdes Maria, but she is usually called Lola. Her son's name is Rocco. It sounds a little bit like a cartoon character, but at least it sounds like a tough name. Casey Affleck and his girlfriend, Summer Phoenix, just had a baby boy named Indiana August. This makes people wonder what state and month the baby was born in. Denim and Diezel are Toni Braxton's two sons. Even though both are useful, they are strange names for children. Rob Marrow thought it would be cute to give his daughter the name Tu Simone Ayer, but he would call her Tu Morrow. I wonder if she'll still think it's cute in 20 years. Jason Lee, who is an actor, named his son Pilot Inspektor, but Penn Jillette, who is a magician, may have topped them all. He named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter, saying, "When she gets pulled over for speeding, she can say, 'But officer, we're on the same side. My middle name is CrimeFighter.'"
Think again if you think it's a new trend. David Bowie and his then-wife Angela chose the name Duncan Zowie Heywood Jones for their son in 1971. He was soon called Zowie Bowie. Cher chose the names Chastity Sun and Elijah Blue for her two children.
The Phoenix family is known for giving their children strange names. The late actor River Phoenix, actresses Rain and Liberty Phoenix, and actor Joaquin Phoenix are Summer Phoenix's brothers and sisters. Joaquin thought his name didn't fit with those of his siblings, so when he was four, he changed it to Leaf. By the early 1990s, he was back to calling himself by his real name. The Zappa family is also known for the names they gave their children. Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmed Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Muffin are Frank's kids. Many people think that Dweezil is his real name, but the hospital wouldn't let them register the name Dweezil, so he was born Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa. When he was a child, he always went by the name Dweezil. He wanted to make it his real name, so his parents took him to court to change it. Paula Yates, who was once married to Sir Bob Geldof and dated the late rock star Michael Hutchence, also liked to give her kids unusual names. Fifi Trixibelle and Peaches Honeyblossom are two of her children. Michelle Charlotte's horses are Angel Vanessa, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, and Little Pixie.
When you know the story behind them, some celebrity baby names make sense. Dave Stewart of the band Eurythmics gave his son the name Django after the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Stevie Wonder named his son Mandla Kadjaly Carl Stevland, but Mandla means "powerful" in Zulu and Kadjaly means "born from God" in Swahili. Helen Hunt just had a girl, whom she named Makena'lei Gordon. Makena'lei is a name that came from the dream of a friend. It means "many flowers of heaven." Gordon is a strange name for a girl, but it was chosen to honour Helen's father, TV director Gordon Hunt. Nicolas Cage's new son is called Kal-el. Nicolas took his stage name, Cage, from the comic book character Luke Cage, so he named his son Kal-el after one of his favourite comic book heroes. Kal-el is Superman's kryptonian name.
So, do the kids like the strange names their parents have given them? Some of the time, yes. The Phoenix kids seem to love their names that come from nature, and the Zappa kids don't seem to have been hurt by their strange names. But some kids get tired of the strange names quickly. By the time he was 12, Zowie Bowie had had enough of his name and asked to be called "Joey." Even though Dandelion Richards doesn't seem like a bad name, she now calls herself Angela. Peaches Honeyblossom, Michelle Charlotte, and Angel recently Vanessa Geldof has said the most about her parents' strange choice of name for her. She is reported to have said, "I hate names that are stupid. My weird name has always bugged me."
Having an unusual name can be hard for any child, but if the parents are famous, it can be even harder. If a celebrity's child doesn't like his or her real name, he or she can get a nickname or even have his or her name legally changed.
