Celebrities are known for giving their offspring some pretty bizarre names in an attempt to be different and unique but these names are just too much. Of course there are some celebrity baby names that are unforgettably bad such as Moxie Crimefighter (Penn Jillette), Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee), Diva Thin Muffin, Dweezil, and Moon Unit (Frank Zappa) but then there are some with completely normal names such as Katherine (Mindy Kaling) and Alexander and Ella (George Clooney). Sure, some celebrities want to stand out in the crowd and one way to do that is by giving your kid a ridiculous name but do any of them think about the poor kids who have to live with these names? Did Nicolas Cage really think that he could name his son Kal-El without his son getting bullied? We'll never know.
Some celebrity parents choose to give their kids unique names that aren't completely terrible and we love them for it. After all, there's nothing wrong with giving your kid a unique name as long as it's not something ridiculous like Moxie Crimefighter. When names like Jennifer, Ashley, and Amanda are everywhere, sometimes there needs to be some change. Some of these celebs have given their kids names that are both beautiful and different and you'll be surprised to see which ones made the cut. These are some of the best and most unique celebrity baby names and some of the absolute worst.
20 Bad: Bronx Mowgli and Jagger Snow
Once upon a time, Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz were the ultimate punk rock power couple and, of course, when their son was born they had to give him the weirdest name ever just to prove how punk rock they actually were. They settled on the name Bronx Mowgli and neither could explain their reasoning very well. According to the Fall Out Boy bassist, they chose Mowgli because the couple had, for some reason or another, bonded over The Jungle Book but the name Bronx didn't have an origin story and nobody knew where the name came from--they just liked it for some reason. After Simpson split with Wentz and married Diana Ross' son Evan Ross, they had a daughter named Jagger Snow which is just as bad as Bronx Mowgli--it might even be worse. Why did Ashlee do this to her poor children?
19 Good: Birdie + Cricket
Birdie and Cricket may seem like odd choices for baby names at first but they're actually not as wacky as some of the others on this list. Since Busy Philips goes by Busy but her given name is Elizabeth, she wanted to give her kids the names that she actually wanted to call them and not call them by a nickname. Philips also said that when she was growing up, she always had to tell people that she went by Busy even though her name was Elizabeth and she said it was "the bane of my existence growing up" and she didn't want that for her kids. It was actually Philips' husband Mark Silverstein who came up with the name Cricket Pearl and Philips knew right away that it was the perfect name for her second daughter. Birdie and Cricket are the perfect names for the daughters of the delightfully bubbly and bright Busy Philips.
18 Bad: Elsie Otter
Zooey Deschanel is known for being quirky but this baby name is a little too quirky. Elsie in and of itself is not a particularly strange name (though it is old-fashioned) but the middle name is what really makes it stand out. Deschanel says that she chose the name Elsie Otter because she loved otters. In an interview on Ellen, the New Girl actress said, "I love animals so much and we love otters because they're so cute, and playful and fun. And they’re really smart." Sure, we may all love otters but not enough to name a child after them. Deschanel and her husband Jacob Pechenik welcomed their second child Charlie in 2017 and, again, Charlie isn't a strange name but his full name Charlie Wolf definitely is. It's fair to say that she and her husband are going for an animal theme when it comes to their kids.
17 Bad: Dusty Rose
Dusty rose is a beautiful shade of pink but it is not a good name for a baby. Behati Prinsloo and Adam Levine welcomed their daughter in 2016 and, for some reason, named their beautiful baby girl Dusty. Dusty peaked as a girls name back in the 70s due to the popularity of Dusty Springfield but it fell into obscurity in the past few decades and rightly so. According to the Maroon 5 frontman, the name actually came from Ellen DeGeneres who actually texted him a few names that she liked and Dusty was one of them. Who knew?! Levin and Prinsloo went ack and forth on the name but finally decided that they would, in fact, give their child a name that is also an adjective for "dirty." Prinsloo is currently pregnant with the couple's second daughter and we just hope that they choose a better name than Dusty.
16 Good: Blue Ivy, Rumi, Sir
First of all, Beyonce can name her children whatever she wants because it's Beyonce's world and we're all just living in it. Of course, Beyonce would pick the most flawless names for her kids because she's flawless in every way. Blue Ivy is a lovely name because it's just quirky enough to be unique without being too weird and it was inspired by a passage from Rebecca Solnit's 2005 novel, A Field Guide to Getting Lost. Rumi was named after the 13th-century Persian poet, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi but Sir was the only one who did not get his name from literature. Jay Z described this way: "Sir was like, man, come out the gate. He carries himself like that. He just came out, like, Sir." We're not sure how a baby can actually "carry himself" but if any baby can, it's Beyonce's baby.
15 Bad: King Cairo and Dream
Long before Tyga met Kylie Jenner and Blac Chyna met Rob Kardashian, Tyga and Blac Chyna were engaged and had a son named King Cairo in 2012. No one knows why they chose the name King but it is a little weird that Tyga's famous ex-girlfriend Kylie often uses the moniker for herself. When Chyna and Rob Kardashian hooked up and had a baby of their own, they chose the name Dream which is one of the worst names on the Kardashian family tree--and that's saying something. According to People magazine, Rob and Chyna liked the name Dream for "a long time" and "they always said she was a dream come true." Considering that Rob and Chyna had only been together for a few months before she got pregnant, it's hard to believe that they had the name in mind for a long time.
14 Good: Everly Elizabeth Maiselle
Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan-Tatum are one of Hollywood's most adorable couples and of course they have an adorable baby girl to match. Everly Elizabeth Maiselle Tatum was born in 2013 and the name is perfect because it's the perfect blend of unique and adorable. Just because a name is unique doesn't mean that it has to be bad! It may seem a little weird that Everly has two middle names but, according to the Magic Mike star, she has two middle names for a very special reason--those are the names of his wife's grandmothers. How sweet! Some celebs choose to give their child two middle names but at least in this case, there's a reason for it. The name Everly means "from the boar meadow, or grazing meadow" and it is the perfect blend of femininity and individuality. Of course this perfect couple came up with the most perfect baby name for their perfect baby girl.
13 Bad: Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear Maurice and River Rocket.
Jamie Oliver is a famous celebrity chef but he's also famous for giving his children some truly bizarre names. There are five kids in all and their names are Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear Maurice and River Rocket. It's fair to say that Oliver and his wife Jools Oliver like unconventional names. Without their middle names, they're just called Poppy, Daisy, Petal, Buddy, and River which aren't too weird but it's the middle names that make their names truly bizarre. According to Jamie, his wife is the one who is "in charge" of the baby names and she said in an interview that her husband told her to "calm down" when it came to picking names...then she came up with River Rocket. They may have a beautiful family but these names are just a little too weird.
12 Good: Ines and James
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have two beautiful daughters with two beautiful names: James and Ines. James is typically a boy's name which is why it's such a unique name for a girl. It's becoming more and more trendy for celebrities to name their girls names that are typically masculine and it'll probably catch on even more since Reynolds and Lively made it popular. The name is actually a nod to Reynold's father, James C. Reynolds, who died just before she was born. Ines (pronounced ee-nezh or ih-ness) is the Spanish form of Agnes and it means "pure" and "virginal" or "sacred" and "chaste". Reynolds joked that they had chosen the name "Excalibur Anaconda Reynolds" which actually isn't that weird compared to other celebrity baby names like Moon Unit and Moxie Crimefighter. It's probably for the best that they stuck with relatively normal names.
11 Bad: Zuma Nesta Rock, Kingston James McGregor, and Apollo Bowie Flynn
Before Gwen Stefani had hooked up with Blake Shelton, she had three sons with Gavin Rossdale and they gave them some really bizarre names: Zuma Nesta Rock, Kingston James McGregor, and Apollo Bowie Flynn. According to Stefani, the name Zuma came from Zuma Beach, California which was close to where she lived when he was born. Just because you live near a place doesn't mean you have to name your kid after it. Kingston was named after a place in Jamaica that was very influential in Stefani's life and music. And finally, Apollo Bowie Flynn was born in 2014. We don't know why he was given the name Apollo but his middle names came from Stefani's and Rossdale's mothers' maiden names: Bowie and Flynn. Gwen Stefani is known for her eccentric and quirky style so it's appropriate that her sons all have quirky names to match.
10 Good: Olive and Frankie
Drew Barrymore loves the names of her children so much that she actually got them tattooed on her wrist! According to Barrymore, she originally wanted to name her second daughter Pepper but said that they chose not to go with the name because Olive and Pepper are "two things you find in a pantry." It's a good thing that they went with Frankie because it's a much better name than Pepper. Barrymore said she and her ex-husband, Will Kopelman, got the name for Olive when she was reading a book on pregnancy: "I was three months pregnant and they said your baby is the size of an olive, and that was it. We never looked back." Though the naming process was a bit bizarre for the two girls, the names Olive and Frankie are both adorable and unique and totally perfect for the uniquely talented Drew Barrymore.
9 Bad: Rainbow Aurora
Rainbow Aurora is definitely a unique name but that doesn't mean it's a good one. When Holly Madison announced the name of her daughter, she was immediately hit with criticism and, sure, it's not a great name but some people on the internet were downright cruel. Madison defended her baby's name by writing on her blog: “I have always loved the name Rainbow. There was a girl in my school a few years younger than me named Rainbow and I was so envious of her name because it was so pretty and unusual." Madison also went on to say that she wasn't worried about her daughter being "traumatized" by having the unusual name. It's good that Madison chose a name that she liked and was brave enough to tell the haters that she didn't care what they think...but it's still a pretty terrible name. Sorry, Holly.
8 Good: Milo, Sailor, Lula
Liv Tyler has three beautiful children and they each have unique names. Milo William, Sailor Gene, Lula Rose. Sailor and Lula are the names of the two characters from the movie Wild at Heart but we don't know for sure if that's where the Lord of the Rings actress got the names--though the names are so unique that one would assume that they came from the Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern movie. The nautical name, Sailor, may seem a little strange but it's definitely not as strange as some other celebrity baby names--and it's kind of adorable. Lula is a diminutive of Louise and it means “renowned warrior” and, of course, a rose is a delicate flower which makes Lula Rose the perfect combination of ferocity and femininity for the baby girl. These three names are unique and adorable and definitely not as weird as other celebrity baby names.
7 Bad: Apple and Moses
Gwyneth Paltrow shocked everyone when she announced that she was naming her daughter Apple and she has forever solidified herself on the list of wackiest celebrity baby names. Paltrow didn't do herself any favors when she tried to explain her strange choice to Oprah, saying, "you know apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's Biblical and it's just, they're so, and I just thought it sounded so lovely..." Technically, apples are Biblical but only because Adam and Eve ate one that was forbidden and got themselves cast out of the Garden of Eden. Not a great origin story. In 2006, Paltrow gave birth to her second child with Chris Martin and they named him Moses. The name comes from a Coldplay song which Martin wrote for Paltrow. Paltrow is known for her eccentric antics so it's no surprise that she chose such eccentric names for her kids.
6 Good: Violet and Hazel
Emily Blunt and John Krasinski are an adorable couple with two adorable baby girls. Hazel Grace Krasinski was born in 2014 and while Hazel hasn't been a popular name for a few decades, it has suddenly risen in popularity since the famous couple gave the name to their first daughter--it also owes its new found popularity to the main character of The Fault in Our Stars, also named Hazel Grace. In 2016, the couple welcomed their second daughter into the world and named her Violet. The two seem to be going with a color and nature theme for their baby names and while sometimes themes can be obnoxious (like the Kardashians), this theme just works. In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Blunt said, "I find it really stressful naming a human being. We went through a few different ones and then John found it, and we both really like old lady names." Violet and Hazel may be "old lady" names but they're so cute!
5 Bad: Lincoln and Delta
Kristen Bell and Dax Shephard tried to follow the same trend as Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively by giving their first daughter a masculine name but Lincoln just isn't as cute as James. Apparently, Shephard loved the name Lincoln and the couple decided to give it to their daughter instead of saving it for a boy. After giving their daughter such an usual name, Shephard said in an interview that he got a text from his friend jokingly asking them if they were going to name their second daughter "Navy Seal", "Delta Force" or "Green Beret" and, for some reason, the name Delta stuck with Kristen and they actually named their daughter after a major American airline. The two are an adorable couple but they aren't without their idiosyncrasies so giving their daughters two unusual names is actually kind of on-brand for them.
4 Good: Esmerelda and Amada
Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes liked the name Amada so much that they actually gave it to both of their daughters, a middle name for one and a first name for the other. Esmerelda Amada was born in 2014 and Mendes said that she and Gosling loved the character of Esmerelda from the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame so they named their daughter after her. Amada was Mendes' grandmother's name which means "beloved" in Spanish. Amada Lee was born in 2016 and she was also given the name of Mendes' grandmother. Mendes has expressed her desire to give her daughters names which represented her Hispanic heritage since they share their father's surname and she picked two beautiful names for her kids. Mendes and Gosling are such a beautiful couple and they have a beautiful family to match.
3 Bad: Silas Randall
Silas and Randall are two names that could belong to an old man, not to a child but that didn't stop Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel to give the name to their son. Sure Silas Randall isn't a totally bizarre name but it's not the name you would expect. Silas is a name of Latin origin which means "man of the forest" which is fitting considering that Timberlake's new album is going to be called Man of the Woods. Timberlake's middle name is Randall and it was also his father's middle name so it makes sense that baby Silas would have the same middle name. According to Timberlake, his son was named after his great-grandfather and his grandfather who served as a father figure to him after his parents were divorced. It's a sweet story but the name Silas is just too old-fashioned to be cute.
2 Good: Alice and Penelope
Tina Fey's daughters' names may seem normal at first but their middle names are where it really gets weird. Alice and Penelope are two totally adorable names but with Zenobia and Athena as middle names, the names are definitely much more unique. Considering that Fey's middle name is actually Stamatina (that's where she gets her nickname Tina from), it makes sense that she would also give her daughter's unique middle names that stem from her Greek heritage. Zenobia was actually Fey's mother's name and it's a good thing that it's just Alice's middle name and not her first because it's just a little too unique. The names Athena and Penelope also come from Fey's Greek heritage. For celebrity baby names, Alice and Penelope are surprisingly normal but they have some pretty unique middle names that reflect their heritage which makes them pretty special.
1 Good: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper
David and Victoria Beckham are one of the coolest and most stylish couples in Hollywood so of course, they gave their kids some unique and stylish names. Their eldest, Brooklyn was given the name after Victoria first found out that she was pregnant with him while she was in Brooklyn. Romeo and Cruz are both unique names but the couple has never said where the names actually came from. Their daughter was named Harper after Victoria's favorite author, Harper Lee. When Harper Beckham's name was revealed along with the meaning behind it, sales of Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird soared. The famous couple also trademarked their children's' unique names so that they can each develop their personal brands. The four Beckham kids are already branching off to make careers for themselves and considering the oldest is 18 and the youngest is 6, that's pretty impressive.
