It's all in a name!

People have all kinds of interesting hobbies. I have a number of them myself including but not limited to, scrapbooking, reading, writing (blogging), playing WOW, and touring open houses. Another hobby I used to have before I was a mother myself, was making baby name lists. I think every young girl who dreams of having children one day has at some point done this. If a name was deemed to off the wall or cutesy, I would keep it around for a possible pet's name (i.e. Gypsy, Riley). Anyhow, now that I have named my two munchkins...I have moved onto just being a spectator as celebs introduce their little bundles of joy with fascinating name choices. Most everybody knows that celebs are notorious for choosing unique and/or crazy names for their offspring. It's as if they forget that their child will be the one carrying around their moniker in the years to come. Some names look great in print, but don't always roll off the tongue. Let me give you some examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly of celeb baby names past and present. You'll find some of them to be easily within the confines of what we deem normal, while others will definitely stretch the boundaries of your imagination and make you go "what were they thinking?!"

Here is a sample list compiled from Listology.com and Infoplease.com:

• Rumer Glenn, Tallulah Belle and Scout LaRue (daughters of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore)
• Jett (son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston)
• Moxie Crimefighter (Penn Jillette)
• Diezel and Denim (sons of Toni Braxton and Keri Lewis)
• Speck Wildhorse and Hud (sons of John Mellencamp and Elaine Irwin)
• Pilot Inspektor (son of Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf)
• Tu Morrow (daughter of Rob Morrow and Debbon Ayre)
• Audio Science (son of Shannyn Sossamon and Dallas Clayton)
• Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, Dweezil, and Diva (children of Frank Zappa)
• Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, and Pixie (daughters of the late Paula Yates (Tiger Lily's dad is the late Michael Hutchence; Bob Geldof is father to the other three))
• Zowie (son of David Bowie -- he later changed his name to Joe before settling on Duncan);
• Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (son of Bono)
• Chastity and Elijah Blue (daughter of Cher and Sonny Bono, son of Cher)
• Banjo (son of Rachel Griffiths)
• Jaz (daughter of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf),
• Romeo and Brooklyn (sons of Victoria and David Beckham),
• Aurelius (son of Elle Macpherson),
• Lyric and Zephyr (daughter and son of Robby Benson),
• Hopper (son of Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn),
• Kyd (son of David Duchovny and Tea Leoni)
• Reignbeau and Freedom (daughter and son of Ving Rhames)
• Jermajesty (son of Jermaine Jackson).
• Kal-el Coppola Cage (son of Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim )
• Sailor Lee (daughter of Christie Brinkley)
• Apple Blythe Alison and Moses Bruce Anthony (daughter and son of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin)
• Maddox Chivan, Pax Thien, Zahara Marley, Shiloh Nouvelle, Vivienne Marcheline, and Knox Leon (many children of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt)
• Phinneus and Hazel (twins of Julia Roberts)
• Sunday Rose (daughter of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban)
• Suri (daughter of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise)
• Bogart Che Peyote and Rocco Kokopelli (sons of David "Puck" Rainey of Mtv's Real World)
• Rocket, Racer, Rebel, Rogue, and Rhiannon (sons and daughter of Robert Rodriguez)
• Sage Moonblood, Seargeoh, Sophia Rose, Sistine Rose, Scarlet Rose (sons and daughter of Sylvester Stallone)
• Piper Maru (daughter of Gillian Anderson)
• Dusti Raine and Keelee Breeze (daughters of Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice)
• Poppy Honey and Daisy Boo (daughters of Jamie Oliver of Food Network)
• Coco Riley (daughter of Courtney Cox and David Arquette)
• Bluebell Madonna (Geri Halliwell aka Ginger Spice)
• Kingston James MacGregor (son of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale)
• Calico and Sonora Rose (daughters of Alice Cooper)
• Jeffrey, Mackenzie, Chynna, Tamerlane, and Bijou (son and daughters of John Phillips)

*I especially like the sound of Coco Riley, Harlow Winter Kate and Sunday Rose (so their parents' did well in my book. So I'm wierd, so what!).

There is another trend that is more acceptable in my book. The first name is fairly normal, but the middle name strays from the norm and borders on silly. Frances Bean Cobain is a great example of this. Her middle name doesn't have to be used, so she could simply go by Frances Cobain if she felt like it. However, the media rarely lets us forget and insists on listing celeb children by their full names when possible. Britney Spears and K-Fed's kids always go by Sean Preston and Jayden James (pretty decent names actually) in the media. Why not just Sean and Jayden? Just an observation on my part.

Then there are the children who carry on their parents' names. There is Michael Jackson's two boys, Prince Michael and Prince Michael II (aka Blanket). That is just plain self-indulgent and creepy to do. Yet the Prince of Pop isn't the worst offender of this tradition. George Forman sired ten children. All five of his sons are named George: George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI. He is able to distinguish one from another by the use of nicknames such as "Monk", "Big Wheel" and "Little George". His daughters all bear "normal" names. I like how Will Smith and his lady loves went about their choices. Will's first son from his first wife is named Willard Christopher III (goes by Trey) after his proud papa. Will and his second wife, Jada Pinkett, named their two children Jaden Christopher Syre and Willow Camille Reign. They allowed their kids to carry on their namesakes in a creative and tasteful manner.

All in all, I would agree with the notion that naming one's child is an intimate process for the parents and is one of the fun parts of having a baby of your own. While I say to each their own, I always remember the cardinal rule that my own mother instilled in me while I was growing up. She took note of some of the names on my personal list and said simply..."remember that the child is the one who has to wear the name throughout their life and deal with its consequences...at least until they can legally change it at eighteen." It helped me temper many of my more offbeat choices. Though I believe my choies were pretty sedate in comparison to what we see out there nowadays. If I had any more children, I would be more adventurous with their middle names, but stick with slightly obscure, but not crazy first names.

Just for fun, here are some of the early names that I considered over the years (some complete with middle names and others that I just couldn't settle on one):

Girls:

• Olivia Jude (thought it flowed well)
• Carol Anne (yes, from Poltergeist, would've called her Carrie)
• Alicia Beth or Alicia Rose (always loved the name of my childhood best friend, Elisha)
• Kyra Rose (still love this one!)
• Marianna
• Nadya (for the gymnast and my an idol of mine)
• Alison Satomi (thought of during my time as an exchange student in Japan)
• Samantha LaVonne (middle name is my mom's)
• Madison Lee (from Splash)
• Maile Rose (Hawaiian name, long before Miley Cyrus fame)
• Emma (from Terms of Endearment)
• Tija Rose or Tija Elizabeth (pronounced Tee-ah and from Escape from Witch Mountain)
• Kaya Rose
• Amelia Jade
• Nina (from Young and the Restless)
• Melody and Marissa (wanted twins very badly)
• Rhianna (a variation of the Stevie Nicks' song Rhiannon)
• Nara (for the Japanese city)
• Lindsay (from a family friend)
• Arlina (liked it from the movie Switched at Birth)
• Taryn (loved the name of this former coworker)
• Ariel (from children's cartoon, Thundarr the Barbarian and The Little Mermaid)
• Davalee (a gal I went to school with)
• Cassidy or Cassandra (wanted to call her Cassie)
• Martina (wanted to call her Marty or Tina)
• Malerie (for Mallory of Family Ties)
• Charlene (pronounced Shar-leen)
• Aurelia (pronounced Ah-ray-lee-ah, for a Romanian gymnast)
• Thea
• Dulcinea (pronounced Dul-sin-e-ah, gal from high school)
• Marisol (love how this one sounds for some reason)
• Isabella (variation of Isabel from Fools Rush In)
• Aquinnah Jade (pronounced Ah-keen-ah, liked the first name from one Michael J. Fox's twin daughters)
• Avery Grace (loved it how it sounded and is Angie Harmon's {from Law and Order} daughter's name)
  

Note: Yes, I know I overused Rose as a middle name. I loved the flower and was also for Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I didn't stress too much as my plan was to choose a family name or one of a few simple ones from a short list. Also, I realize how many girls names are listed vs. the boys. That's because boys names were easy for me to settle one, girls were much more challenging to choose from for me.

Boys:

• Alan (from Splash and for my dad's middle name)
• Aidan James
• Alex (not Alexander, for Alex P. Keaton)
• Liam
• Brandon
• Sean
• Ethan (of MI movies)
• Tristan (from Legends of the Fall)
• Kyle (from a childhood friend)
• Andrew
• Hayden
• Owen (youngest son from Party of Five)
• Tobias (would've gone by Toby, but again too cutesy)
• Albert (from Little House on the Prairie, yes I'm glad I didn't choose this either)
• Lucas
  

Note: Middle names would've simply been a family name, so omitted from list.

Yes, I was heavily influenced by names found in the movies or on tv shows. Since my dream is still to one day write a book or screenplay, they played a powerful role in my name choices. I could literally go on and on about this topic. However, since I just realized I've been typing for quite awhile, I think I'll stop. If you managed to get through this marathon blog, my hat's off to you. Feel free to share some of your personal name faves, I'd love to hear about them! For the those of you who care, I settled on Nicholas Allan and Kirsten Marie (whom I always refer to as N and K in this blog) for my children's names.