Sandra Bullock wins the Oscar for Best Celebrity Baby Name of 2010, for choosing Louis Bardo for her newly adopted son. Louis is a classic royal name that’s stylish throughout Europe—the Lewis spelling is No. 1 in Scotland—but relatively ignored in the U.S. Bardo is an obscure name borne by a German saint (Bullock’s mother was German) and also the Buddhist concept of an intermediate state, perhaps symbolic of Bullock’s own transformation from B-movie queen to Academy Award-winning actress, from scorned wife to single mom. Louis is also a nod to Louis Armstrong and the baby’s birthplace.
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This Greek name meaning “universe” was chosen in the same month by both supermodel Claudia Schiffer and hipster power couple Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars, elevating it from obscurity (fewer than five baby girls received the name in the U.S. last year) to stardom. It’s the perfect mix of exotic, accessible, and cool.
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The whole Cain thing has mitigated against the ascendance of Abel as a baby name, which is a shame given its simplicity, its history, and its ready and willing connotation. Its choice by Amy Poehler and Will Arnett may help elevate it to the position alongside groovy Old Testament brethren like Abraham and Moses that it deserves.
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Musicians don’t usually have a taste for gentle vintage baby names, but Norman “Fatboy Slim” Cook and Zoe Ball chose this granny-style name for their newborn daughter. Even the spelling of Nelly is unflashy, and while May is back in a style as a middle name, Lois is still rarely heard outside the bingo parlor.
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American parents have been moving toward the British tradition of using two middle names, but why stop there? Boris Becker chose this 11-syllable moniker for his fourth child, but we love the surprising mix of styles, ethnicities, and eras. Mozart’s real middle name was Theophilus, but he preferred this Latin version which means lover of God.
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Carrying on her family’s heritage of distinctive names, the actress Ever Carradine chose the great silent clown as a namesake for her daughter.
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British prime minister David Cameron and wife Samantha chose this classic name for their newborn daughter. New standard middle name Rose almost knocks it out of “best” contention, but Cornish saint’s name Endellion elevates the gently old-fashioned Florence. The legendary Endellion was the goddaughter of King Arthur.
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Self-named screenwriter Diablo Cody knows you can’t go wrong with an o-ending name, so along with naming her movie heroine Juno, she chose this Latin lover name, which derives from the mythical Mars, for her newborn son.
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Rebecca Gayheart and Eric Dane’s bouncy alliterative choice balances a sassy nickname with a cool classic in the middle.
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We love genuine surnames used as first names, and applaud this unique choice of One Life to Live star Bree Williamson. The takeaway, you can move beyond such Waspy choices as Carter and Porter to using ethnic family names from O’Brien to Chan as first names.
The pair of names Céline Dion chose for her twin boys may not ring any bells for this generation, but grandparents will surely shake their heads at the memory of Nelson Eddy, the notoriously stiff baritone who partnered with Jeanette MacDonald in a series of now-campy movie operettas of the 1930s and ‘40s. Even aside from that unfortunate association, the uptight Nelson and the toothpick-chewing Eddy don’t make a compatible pair.
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Though these are legitimate names from Vera Famiga’s Lithuanian heritage, Gytta’s literal meaning is “from the decay of peat,” and its guttural sound is far from attractive to the American ear.
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Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools are notoriously whimsical baby namers. After daughters Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo and Petal Blossom Rainbow, they went wild and woolly—a bit too woolly—for their first son’s name.
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Danica McKellar, aka little Winnie Cooper of The Wonder Years, grew up, became a mathematician and children’s book author, and named her firstborn after a dragon, a dragon-shaped constellation, and a Harry Potter rival.
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Olympic volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh referenced a scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for her second son’s name, but it could sound like someone trying too hard to get into the Film Festival.
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Thanks to the media omnipresence of the Kardashians, their Khloe spelling of the classic Chloe has been zooming up the popularity charts. But apparently that spelling wasn’t kreeatif enough for ‘N Sync’s Joe Fatone, who took it one step further in the pursuit of yooneekness.
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