What is it with celebrities and what they name their babies?
Decades ago we had Frank Zappa, who named two of his kids Moon Unit and Dweezil - but we sort of expect that from a rock star, don't we? To top it off, he named his other two kids Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva - so at least in that family they all have rather unique names.
I admit that I thought it was pretty cool when Demi and Bruce named one of their daughters Scout, in honor of the young heroine from "To Kill A Mockingbird" - but then they went and named the other two Rumor and Tallulah Belle. Not sure why they did that - thankfully they seem like nice, normal kids.
No need to discuss what Michael Jackson named his children - that's the least of his, or their worries, frankly.
I had a cat named Coco when I was a child, and now David and Courtney Cox Arquette have a daughter named Coco. And how about Apple for a name? Seriously, why would an Academy Award winning actress name her child Apple? Will Gwenyth name the one she's expecting this spring Banana? Or maybe go with something from the vegetable family?
Don't get me wrong - I think trying to find a unique name for your child is wonderful. There are more than enough Bob's in the world right now (my husband being one of them). But aren't there better ways of choosing a name for your baby than drawing a name out of a hat or trying to recall what you ate just before conception? And isn't life already going to be hard enough for these celebrity kids without being saddled with bizarre names?
Not all celebrities have given their offspring strange names. Thankfully, Britney Spears named her son Sean, and Kate Winslet chose the simple, but strong, Joe for her son. And there are lots of celebrity sons named Jack and Henry out there, along with a few Grace and Samantha's, so not all is lost.
But what I wonder is if celebrities know there are "Baby Naming" books out there to help them. Years ago we got one of those books when we considered starting a family. With the last name Ryder, of course we played around with some fun names - like Ezekiel Zechariah - E.Z. Ryder. Or Paperback. Maybe Horseback. But would we have actually done that? Of course not. Well, at least not Paperback or Horseback. Then, when we didn't have children, we used the book to name our pets. We may be the only people in the world with a Siamese Cat named Dugan - and actually know what it means! And we used the book to offer "helpful" suggestions to family and friends.
These books are great - not only do you get thousands of possible names, you also get their heritage and meaning. So if any of you know Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, I have a suggestion for the perfect baby shower gift for them - a baby naming book. Or who knows what those two might come up with for a name. I shudder even thinking about it.
