Suri
You can't do a celebrity baby-name gallery without starting it with one of the most elusive and fascinating of celebrity baby names — Suri!
It's said to have its origins in the Hebrew meaning, "princess," or the Persian meaning, "red rose." But "Suri" has been quite the subject of contention among Hebrew experts. Some have even called it a mistake. According to them, "Suri" has no connection to "princess," but rather, it's a nickname for the biblical name "Sarah," may refer to a "person from Syria," or it simply means "go away."
Since I personally think the name is beautiful and love it for Ms. Suri Cruise, I'm going to ignore the fact that, in some Indian dialects, "Suri" means "pointy nose," or that, in Japanese, it means "pickpocket."
Tennessee James
Since Reese Witherspoon, 36, had her baby just a little over a month ago, we don't really know much about the reason behind the name "Tennessee."
But some have speculated that Reese and her husband, Jim Toth, chose the name because Reese is a Nashville girl at heart; she spent her childhood there. Or, it's in praise of the famous playwright Tennessee Williams.
Willow Sage
Singer Pink, 33, rarely does anything less than poetic.
Her choice of "Willow Sage" for her now-17-month-old daughter with Carey Hart, 37, was inspired by nature. "The willow is my favorite tree. I grew up near one," she told People Magazine. "It's the most flexible tree in nature and nothing can break it — no wind, no elements."
As for the middle name "Sage," Pink took it from the healing herb of that name. "Sage is cleansing and sacred," she tells the mag. "And it sounded great together. It doesn't hurt that her last name is Hart — flexible cleansed heart."
Harper Seven
Ahh, Harper Seven Beckham. The name definitely surprised us. But if you look at its meaning and origins, it's not so surprising.
As People Magazine learned, "Harper" is simply an old English name that mom, Victoria Beckham, 38, has "always loved." Because Victoria is such a fashion lover, I'm guessing it's also a nod to one of the most respected fashion mags out there, Harper's Bazaar. ("Vogue" would have been odd — but maybe "Elle"?)
The name "Seven" has nothing to do with Seinfeld.... It's a "lucky spiritual number" for the Beckhams — plus, as People puts it, Harper was born "in the seventh hour in the seventh month, on the seventh day of the week," weighing in at seven pounds (10 ounces). Also dad David Beckham, 37, has been lucky number seven on two soccer teams.
Olive
Drew Barrymore, 37, is a relatively private celebrity, and she just gave birth a month ago. So it doesn't look like we'll find out the origins of her new baby's name, "Olive," anytime soon.
Not the most uncommon name these days (Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher also have a daughter named Olive), the name "Olive" might have special meaning for Drew because she played the voice of the main character, Olive, in the animated flick Olive, The Other Reindeer. Did you see that adorable movie?
Camden
"It's kind of a funny story," Nick, 38, tells People Magazine regarding the name of his new baby boy with wife Vanessa. "I've always liked the name Colin. We thought that Colin would be the name." But, as it turns out, Vanessa wasn't enamoured by it. So, one day, when they went to Vanessa's obstetrician's office, Nick pointed out the name of the street it was on: Camden Drive. And the rest was history.
"We didn't really know anyone else named Camden," he insists. "It was such a neat name. We fell in love with it and decided on it five or six months ago" — which is to say, they did not steal the name from Kristin Cavallari (who named her son Camden just weeks earlier!).
Edward Duke
"Edward is Bill's late dad's name and my dad's name," Giuliana Rancic told Life & Style Magazine of her new baby boy, Edward Duke. "It was a way to honour them. And Duke means leader."
Did you happen to catch my interview with Giuliana a couple weeks ago? It's a fun one — checkit!
Maxwell Drew
Before her baby Maxwell Drew, now six months old, was born, Jessica Simpson, 32, hinted that the name would be "nontraditional"? And it turned out to be really nontraditional — especially for Jessica, who prides herself on being a genuine Southern belle — in the sense that it's traditionally very much a boy's name.
Why the name? "Maxwell" is Jessica's husband Eric Johnson's middle name and his grandmother's last name. "Drew" is Jessica's mother's maiden name.
Alef
Alef, Bet, Gimel, Daled, Hei, Vuv...: I can totally recite the entire Hebrew alphabet. And did you notice the first letter? ALEF.
As you know, that's the name of Natalie Portman's 16-month-old son — Alef (sometimes spelled "Aleph"). She hasn't publicly explained why she chose the name Alef. But it seems to be a nod to her native country, Israel.
Egypt
Such a cutie. There's Alicia Keys, 31, and her son Egypt, 2. Alicia says she chose the name "Egypt" for her little guy because of a life-changing trip she took alone to Egypt many years ago.
"We were talking about baby names, and we were like, 'It would be cool if it could be something for a boy or a girl,'" she tells iVillage (in a sweet video). "And my husband was really like, 'But your trip to Egypt. . . . You talk about it all the time, it was really empowering to you, it really changed your life, [and] so will this. What do you think about Egypt?' And I was like, 'Oh my gosh!' . . . It was it. . . . We knew it was Egypt from very early on."
Bear
Alicia Silverstone, 36, opened up a bit about the origins of her 18-month-old son Bear's unusual name in an issue of Us Weekly Magazine. Apparently, the name "Bear" was her mother-in-law's idea — likely inspired by the "crazy amounts of hair [the baby had] when he came out."
Bingham
Kate Hudson, 33, and her fiancé, Matt Bellamy, named their now-16-month-old baby "Bingham" (Bing!) in honour of their families.
"For those wondering, Bingham is my mum's maiden name," Matt revealed on Twitter, shortly after Bingham's birth. "Bing Russell was also Kurt [Russell's] dad. Family connections all around!"
As you may know, Kurt Russell (Kate's mom Goldie Hawn's partner of 28 years) isn't Kate's biological father, but she's always said she considers him her father. They also put "Hawn" in the name in honour of Goldie: Bingham Hawn Bellamy.
Blue Ivy
According to Good Morning America, Beyonce and Jay-Z Carter chose the name "Ivy" for their little girl (now almost 10 months old) because they love the number "4." Get it?: "IV." Both singers were born on the fourth day of the month — Beyonce on September 4, Jay-Z on December 4. They were also married on April 4 (2008), and the title of Beyonce's latest album is, of course, 4.
As for the name "Blue," Beyonce, 31, recently posted an excerpt from Rebecca Solnit‘s novel, A Field Guide to Getting Lost, on her Tumblr — which is basically an ode to the colour blue: "The world is blue at its edges and in its depths. This blue is the light that got lost...." And the world is taking that as a major clue to the name's very poetic origin.
Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence
Aka "Luna"!
We don't know the exact origins of Uma Thurman's baby's 90 million names. The couple's rep said Uma and her hubby, Arpad Busson, are keeping that info to themselves. But she did stress that each name "has a special reason and meaning to [the baby's] mother and father."
Moroccan and Monroe
Mariah Carey, 42, and Nick Cannon, 32, had very precise reasons for naming their 1.5-year-old twins "Moroccan" and "Monroe."
The name "Monroe" is, of course, an homage to Mariah's idol, Marilyn Monroe.
The name "Moroccan" is an homage to the Moroccan-themed décor in the top level of the family's NYC apartment, where Nick proposed to Mariah....
Shiloh
Love the name Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie chose for their daughter Shiloh, 6.
"Shiloh" is said to be a Hebrew name meaning "Messiah" or "Peaceful one."
The name also has some family roots. As Angelina's brother, James Voight, told Grazia Magazine, their parents, Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, were originally going to give him the middle name "Shiloh," but they switched it last minute to "Haven."
"It was very cool when Brad and Angie came to me and said, 'We're thinking of names and our favourite is Shiloh. We know that was your original name, so would that be OK?'" James was so honoured by their gesture, he says, "I was almost in tears."
Harlow Winter
4-year-old Harlow's beautiful name was inspired by mom Nicole Richie's love of fashion and dad Joel Madden's love of movies. Here's what the couple said in an interview with People Magazine shortly after Harlow was born:
Nicole: I wanted a hippie name and he wanted a more biblical name.
Joel: I really like Jean Harlow the actress, and she likes Shalom Harlow the model. Harlow's cool because it feels like a classic name.
Nicole: And no one has it.
Joel: Winter [is] so serene and quiet and that's how she is.
Sunday
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's 4-year-old daughter, Sunday, was named after the Australian patron of the arts, Sunday Reed. It was Nicole's father's idea, and Nicole and Keith loved it.
They also love the day Sunday. "That's our favourite day," Nicole said on the Opera Winfrey Show shortly after Sunday was born. "If you're lonely Sunday is a very lonely day, and if you're happy and you've got your family around you, then Sunday is a beautiful day. So our baby's called Sunday."
Bronx Mowgli
Singers Pete Wentz, 33, and Ashlee Simpson, 28, chose "Bronx Mowgli" for their four-year-old for reasons they won't totally divulge.
On On air with Ryan Seacrest, Pete confirmed the literary origin of "Mowgli": "Rudyard Kipling is really cool and The Jungle Book is something me and Ashlee bonded over." No surprise there!
As for the NYC borough "Bronx," Pete was more elusive: "We came up with the idea Bronx. We've been throwing [ideas] back and forth a while. It's kind of cool to just leave the narrative what it is. People are stoked or pissed or whatever. And you're like, you know what: I don't think anyone really has the real story."
Apple
"I know," Gwyneth Paltrow, 39, told Hello! Canada Magazine when asked about her daughter Apple's unique name. "People did talk about Apple a lot! My husband named her." (Of course, Apple's father is Coldplay's Chris Martin, 35.)
"I loved it straightway," she added. "I thought it was so unique and sounded cool. . . . And it fits her so perfectly. I can't imagine her being called anything else."
When Apple, now 8, asked her mom how she got her name, Gwyneth said, "Ask your father!"
Zuma
ZUMA! In an old interview with Detroit's Mojo in the Morning, Gwen Stefani shed some light on her (now-four-year-old) son Zuma's adorably quirky name (love it!).
She said she was inspired by Zuma Beach, California, which is "really close to where we live."
More precisely, though, Gwen says she got the name from her No Doubt bandmate Tom Dumont, who's wife was also expecting a baby at the time. Gwen jokes that they were talking baby names instead of working on their album. When Tom brought up "Zuma," Gwen says, "I kind of stole it from him . . . I didn't steal it, I mean his wife didn't want it. It was just one of those things that just happened. I just wanted [Zuma] to have a little bit of a quirky name."
Love!
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