Goofy Names for Kids of Celebrity Parents

[Sampiro]

Suri Cruise, if a bit porn-starrish, is at least an okay name, as is Grier Henchy. The names are uncommon enough to stand out but not trendy, fabricated or just stupid.

I lost a lot of respect for Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller) when, a first time father in his late 50s (an age at which you'd think he'd gotten goofiness out of his system) he named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter Jillette. They're currently expecting a boy they'll name Zolton (though this is his wife's maiden name so it's not quite as gimmicky).

Nicholas Cage made headlines for christening his son Khalel Coppola (his kids go by his birth surname, but the Khalel was the headline grabber).

Jason Lee's son can one day write an autobiography entitled MY NAME IS PILOT INSPEKTOR.

For years Dakota was the fallback of the unimaginative (Melissa Gilbert, Don Johnson and several others). Michael Jackson has his Princes and Blanket. Steve Allen's oldest grandson (though that doesn't really count as celebrity kid, but I'll mention it anyway) was named "Possibility Allen" as his parents were free-love hippies and not certain or concerned about his paternity [he was later renamed a conventional name]).

What are some other odd, strange, curious and or just plain silly and stupid names given by famous people (need not be actors) to their spawn?

[Ms Macphisto]

One of Bono's sons got stuck with a real mouthful: Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q. The other three didn't fare too badly (Jordan, Memphis Eve and John Abraham), so I'm not quite sure what happened with that poor kid.

[Baker]

Wasn't Frank Zappa's daughter stuck with the name "Moon Unit" ?

And Bill Lear, the jet designer, named his daughter Shanda.

[foxymoron]

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's girls are Rumer Glenn, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle.

Frank Zappa (and his wife Gail) named their kids Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet, and Diva Muffin.

Bob Geldof's daughters are Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, and Pixie.

[yellowval]

There is of course Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's little sprout, Apple Blythe Allison Martin. Just add an "I" on the end, and you've got yourself a nice Apple Martini! Plus, Apple Blythe sounds like some sort of disease. At least Moses, their most recent, isn't quite as bad. It is a name, after all, and not a fruit. Plus, he can always go by Mo.

[Wendell Wagner]

Sampiro writes:

> I lost a lot of respect for Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller) when, a first time father
> in his late 50s (an age at which you'd think he'd gotten goofiness out of his
> system) he named his daughter Moxie Crimefighter Jillette.

Jillette was 50 when his daughter Moxie was born.

yellowval writes:

> Plus, Apple Blythe sounds like some sort of disease.

"Blythe" is the most reasonable part of the name, since it's Gwyneth's mother's name.

[davmilasav]

Surely I wasn't the first to think of Zowie Bowie? To be fair Dave & Angie gave him a couple of normal names, too, so he could change if he wanted. He now goes by Duncan.

Or how about Rob "Northern Exposure" Morrow naming his daughter Tu?

(And "Fifi Trixibelle" sounds like something you'd call a poodle!)

[yellowval]

"Blythe" is the most reasonable part of the name, since it's Gwyneth's mother's name.

I know that, it's just that paired with "Apple," it sounds like a disease. They'd have been better off just naming her "Blythe" after her grandma and dropping the "Apple" (heh).

[Who_me?]

I really don't care what celebrities name their kids, it's not like the kids will be brought up in the suburbs and going to public school anyways.

[ddgryphon]

Though it does filter out to the adoring public -- evidence the rise in kids named Prince (they seem to be all over Louisville).

There's also:

Sage Moonblood Stallone (male)

and

Seargeoh (male) (which isn't so bad as it comes out Sergio) Stallone

Apparently Zappa also has a boy named Rodan.

[bmoak]

Didn't George Foreman name all his sons George?

In a contrary trend, when Meadowlark Lemon's (real name: Meadow George Lemon III) son was born while he was barnstorming overseas with the Globetrotters, his wife named the tyke Meadow George the IV. Meadowlark has having none of that, and changed the tyke's name to George, saying he didn't want his son to have to defend himslef everyday at school like he had to.

[Beware of Doug]

I know that, it's just that paired with "Apple," it sounds like a disease.Blythe's own grandmother was German, and initially thought the name was "Blight."

[don't ask]

I actually like the fact that Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong named his son Jakob so that he can say "Danger is my middle name" - Jakob Danger Armstrong.

[Annie-Xmas]

Woody Allen has Satchel O'Sullivan Farrow, Bechet Allen and Manzie Tio Allen. And that's the least bizarre thing about his family life.

[Marley23]

Apparently Zappa also has a boy named Rodan.
That's one of Ahmet's middle names.

According to a few sources I've seen (Wikipedia, IMDb, etc.), when Dweezil Zappa was born, the hospital refused to write "Dweezil" on the birth certificate. So for some time, his legal name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa - after other guys in Zappa's band.

Per the same sources, Kiefer Sutherland's full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland. None of those is astonishingly weird, but it's enough names for three kids.

[Spectre of Pithecanthropus]

I thought "Scout" (Demi Moore's daughter) was a goofy name until I realized she was probably named for the character in To Kill A Mockingbird. That makes it basically cool.

Before I remembered the movie, I was thinking of Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, military scouts, etc.

[Interrobang!?]

The Baby Name Wizard's recent post (http://thebabynamewizard.ivillage.com/parenting/archives/2006/04/celebrity_baby_names_revealed_1.html) that challenges the "all celebrities name their kids something wacky" meme did remind me that Shannyn Sossamon named her kid Audio Science. Which I have to admit, I kind of like, though I wouldn't use it myself.

(Also, I realize the OP was not arguing that all celebrity parents are crazy. Just to be clear.)

Her conclusion, by the way: Hollywood may indeed have a higher wacky rate, as you'd expect from a community of creative artists...I'd need a much bigger sample to say for sure. Even so, Jacks and Isabellas clearly outnumber Audios by a huge margin. As for the wacky few, do they really point to egos run amok? Could be. But it's not so obvious to me that naming your child Audio shows more ego than naming him -- traditionally, conservatively -- after yourself.

[Honey]

David Duchovny - Kyd Miller
Chef Jamie Oliver - Daisy Boo and Poppy Honey

[stargazer]

Didn't George Foreman name all his sons George?

His daughters are also named George. That must be about the most confusing household!

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jools, named their daughters Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo. Waaaay too cutesy for my taste.

[yellowval]

His daughters are also named George. That must be about the most confusing household!

Certainly couldn't be any more confusing in my family, where I'm constantly called by my sisters' names, my aunt's name, my niece's name, and my cousin's name, and where my niece is constantly called by my name.

[Cliffy]

IMHO, we're conflating a couple different categories -- the kind-of-weird names and the freaky-ass names. Apple, Moxie, and Moon are all in the first category. Kahlel is very much in the second.

--Cliffy

[Millit the Frail]

I actually like the fact that Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong named his son Jakob so that he can say "Danger is my middle name" - Jakob Danger Armstrong.

No way! I like it too, and I was planning on considering the middle name "Danger," but now I'll just look like I'm copying Billie Joe. :( I had Mr. Frail almost sold on it, too!

[Marley23]

I actually like the fact that Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong named his son Jakob so that he can say "Danger is my middle name" - Jakob Danger Armstrong.
That name actually works, which I find surprising. You can picture the kid when he's grown up, saying "I'm Jack Armstrong. Danger is my middle name."

Of course, he'll probably become an accountant, so it might be a wash.

[Beware of Doug]

Jason Lee's baby is Pilot Inspektor. I predict a little sister named Faa.

[Chance the Gardener]

The child of the Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner and Grace Slick was originally named god, with a lowercase g. It was Grace's idea. Her explanation: "No one else was using the name."

I guess she and Paul had second thoughts about the trouble that kid might have, and changed her name to China. China Slick Kantner was a VJ on MTV for a while, but I have no idea what happened to her after that. She'd be 36 by now, I think.

[JohnBckWLD]

The child of the Jefferson Airplane's Paul Kantner and Grace Slick was originally named god, with a lowercase g. Debunked (http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/godslick.asp)

[Chance the Gardener]

Debunked (http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/godslick.asp)

Well, blow me down. You'd think someone who owns every single Jefferson Whateveryoucallit record would have known this already, but I didn't. Thanks for the clarification.

[RachelChristine]

There are a million weird named celeb kids, but don't forget that it isn't relegated just to them. There was a baby in my paper last week named Myracul, which I suppose is supposed to be Miracle. I had a Jehovah in class once (I used to be a teacher), and knew a girl in high school named Y. It was her first name, it wasn't short for anything, and that is what she went by. A good friend of mine has a dad whose first name was E, though he went by his middle name.
Also in recent birth announcemens I've seen Denim DiCaprio (that's his first/middle name) and Beautiful MyLove and LilMike (don't remember the middle name).

I do think someone famous has a Denim though, Toni Braxton maybe? Yup, Denim Cole and Diezel Ky are her sons. And there are two celebs with female Jamisons, which is a little strange (Jim Belushi has Jamison Bess & Chynna Phillips has Jamison Leon!). Eddie Van Halen has Wolfgang.

Has anyone mentioned Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily yet, daughter of Paula Yates?

[Sampiro]

Dennis Miller's sons are named Marlon (after Brando) and Holden (after Caulfield). While not bad names in and of themselves I thought the etymology was goofy.

Let's see- Holden Caulfied: teenage mental patient who hates his parents and is thoroughly miserable and self centered, and Marlon Brando- a by all accounts (including his own) self absorbed and depressed and thoroughly debauched actor turned morbidly obese and increasingly psychotic impossible to work with old bastard presiding over a murderously dysfunctional family... yeah, that's who I'd hope my sons would emulate with their lives. Then I could have daughters and name them AnnaKarenina and Plath.

[elelle]

Ya know, a smart celeb might name their spawn Rose Issa Rose Alice B...

Not to start a trend, at all, at all...

[Shirley Ujest]

Bill Murray has a son named Homer.

So does Richard Gere ( named after his father, which is cool.)

[Rodgers01]

That name actually works, which I find surprising. You can picture the kid when he's grown up, saying "I'm Jack Armstrong. Danger is my middle name."

Of course, he'll probably become an accountant, so it might be a wash.

That especially works if you consider that Jack Armstrong was the name of a famous adventure character from the early days of radio: "Jack Armstrong, All American Boy," kind of an early Johnny Quest.

There are a million weird named celeb kids, but don't forget that it isn't relegated just to them. There was a baby in my paper last week named Myracul, which I suppose is supposed to be Miracle. I had a Jehovah in class once (I used to be a teacher), and knew a girl in high school named Y. It was her first name, it wasn't short for anything, and that is what she went by. A good friend of mine has a dad whose first name was E, though he went by his middle name.

I had a teacher who swore she once had a student in Arkansas named Lemonjello. Except the kid insisted it was pronounced leMONjello.

[Annie-Xmas]

Bill Murray has a son named Homer.

So does Richard Gere ( named after his father, which is cool.)

So does Matt Groening (named after his father, which is cool.)

[Jonathan Chance]

Eddie Van Halen has Wolfgang.

Though to give Eddie a bone here his background is Dutch so there's some justification for 'Wolfgang'. He was born in Nijmegan and moved to the States when 7.

[Wendell Wagner]

The story of two brothers named Lemonjello and Oranjello seems to be an urban legend:

http://www.babynamewizard.com/blog/archive/2004_09_01_nameblog-archive.html

[Ceejaytee]

Woody Allen has Satchel O'Sullivan Farrow, Bechet Allen and Manzie Tio Allen. And that's the least bizarre thing about his family life.

But Mia Farrow changed Satchel's name to Seamus. Which is sad, because Satchel's a kick-ass name.

But as davmilasav mentioned earlier, I think the worst is Rob Morrow naming his daughter "Tu." That's just so wrong.

[Annie-Xmas]

But Mia Farrow changed Satchel's name to Seamus. Which is sad, because Satchel's a kick-ass name.

But as davmilasav mentioned earlier, I think the worst is Rob Morrow naming his daughter "Tu." That's just so wrong.

No, Seamus changed his name when the family was living in Ireland. Mia respected his wishes. She must have done something right--Seamus graduated from law school at age 17!

How is naming a child "Tu" any different that naming one "Elle"?

[BiblioCat]

How is naming a child "Tu" any different that naming one "Elle"?Because her last name is 'Morrow.'
The poor kid's name is 'tomorrow.'

[vivalostwages]

One of Bono's sons got stuck with a real mouthful: Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q. The other three didn't fare too badly (Jordan, Memphis Eve and John Abraham), so I'm not quite sure what happened with that poor kid.

And the Edge and his first wife named one of their daughters Blue Angel. Kinda pretty, if a bit odd.

[Rodgers01]

The story of two brothers named Lemonjello and Oranjello seems to be an urban legend:

http://www.babynamewizard.com/blog/archive/2004_09_01_nameblog-archive.html

Damn you, Mrs. Chichester, you lead me astray! (I think. She didn't say anything about a twin, just insisted she had a student named Lemonjello.)

[SkeptiJess]

I think Moxie is a great name for a little girl. It sounds cute (like Dixie or Trixie, which I also kind of like) but means 'courage & determination.' How neat is that? I admit, however, that 'Crimefighter' as a middle name is just stupid.

And I always thought that Demi & Bruce named their girls well -- the names sound kind of goofy, but all three girls are named for cool enough people that I'm willing to forgive the pretentiousness. Scout is named (as has been said) for the heroine of To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the great characters of American literature. Rumer was named for one of my favorite authors, Rumer Godden, who was also, IIRC, a friend of the family. And Tallulah was named for Tallulah Bankhead.

[iamthewalrus(:3=]

I think Moxie is a great name for a little girl. It sounds cute (like Dixie or Trixie, which I also kind of like) but means 'courage & determination.' How neat is that? I admit, however, that 'Crimefighter' as a middle name is just stupid.I was coming in to post basically this. Except that I just think "Crimefighter" is fun and cool (like "Danger"). And it's a middle name, so it's not like she'll have to actually use it if she doesn't want to.

[Rubystreak]

I think Moxie is a great name for a little girl.

It sounds cute for a little kid, but this kid is going to grow up and have to be taken seriously. Moxie? That's a stat in Kingdom of Loathing, not a name for a person.

Scout is named (as has been said) for the heroine of To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the great characters of American literature.

Her real name was Jean Louise Finch. Why not give the kid a first name that's not a nickname, then call her Scout? It's another name that's cute for a little kid but would be really lame for an adult woman who wants to be taken seriously.

And Tallulah was named for Tallulah Bankhead.

Hey, I like Bankhead as much as the next guy, but she's no more a role model than Marlon Brando, when you come right down to it, if we're basing that on the person's lifestyle choices and all that.

[Guinastasia]

There is of course Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's little sprout, Apple Blythe Allison Martin. Just add an "I" on the end, and you've got yourself a nice Apple Martini! Plus, Apple Blythe sounds like some sort of disease. At least Moses, their most recent, isn't quite as bad. It is a name, after all, and not a fruit. Plus, he can always go by Mo.

Blythe Allison without the "Apple" would have been a beautiful name.

Wendall Wagner, Allison is the name of Chris Martin's mother.


Bruce and Demi should have named their second daughter Jean Louise, if they wanted to honor the character.

Anne Heche named her son Homer. Sadly, her husband's last name is Lafoon. Homer Lafoon. The poor kid.


I'm with Rubystreak-who is going to take these poor girls seriously? How is Apple Martin ever going to be thought of as anything other than cutesy Apple Martin, teen actress?

[Mahaloth]

Per the same sources, Kiefer Sutherland's full name is Kiefer William Frederick Dempsey George Rufus Sutherland. None of those is astonishingly weird, but it's enough names for three kids.

Alexander Sidig's name from Deep Space Nine and Syriana is:

Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abderahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi

[voice of Gob Bluth]

Oh, come on!

:p

[Wendell Wagner]

Guinastasia writes:

> Wendall Wagner, Allison is the name of Chris Martin's mother.

And my name is Wendell - W E N D E L L. I'm sorry, but I'm so tired of people misspelling it. I've never met anyone who spells it Wendall. Why do misspell it that way, especially people who must have read my name several thousand times?

[RetroVertigo]

My all-time favorite celebrity baby name is Nico Blue. The daughter of Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon

[SkeptiJess]

It sounds cute for a little kid, but this kid is going to grow up and have to be taken seriously. Moxie? That's a stat in Kingdom of Loathing, not a name for a person.Maybe I worry about this (the kid being taken seriously as an adult) less than most people because my given name is 'Tammy.' And yet people manage to take me seriously when I need to be taken seriously. I've known grown women named Dixie and Trixie -- both were professional and respected women. And I don't know what Kingdon of Loathing is -- when I hear 'Moxie' I think 'courage & determination.'

[Sternvogel]

Bill Murray has a son named Homer.

The full name bestowed by Cubs fan Bill is Homer Banks Murray, a reference to the call of "Homer, Banks" that greeted many a round-tripper hit by Ernie Banks of Chicago's National League baseball club. (http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=other/misc/book_reviews/cubs_gone.htm)

Woody Allen's son Satchel was named in honor of Negro Leagues pitching legend Leroy Paige, who got his nickname because his barnstorming lifestyle led him to live out of a satchel (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/submit/Frommer_Harvey19.stm) as he traveled the world.

[Rubystreak]

Maybe I worry about this (the kid being taken seriously as an adult) less than most people because my given name is 'Tammy.' And yet people manage to take me seriously when I need to be taken seriously.

What's wrong with Tammy? I don't see how Tammy is a non-serious name. It sure ain't Fifi Trixiebelle.

I've known grown women named Dixie and Trixie -- both were professional and respected women. And I don't know what Kingdon of Loathing is -- when I hear 'Moxie' I think 'courage & determination.'

If you want to know what Kingdom of Loathing is, check out the url of the same name. Moxie is courage and determination, but it's not really a person's name. It's kind of pretentious and lame to me. If you want to get creative, I say choose a venue other than your kid's moniker. S/he is going to have to wear it for life and there more than enough reasons to tease someone without being named Moon Unit.