There was a bit of an uproar when people heard that Gwyneth Paltrow named her new baby Apple, but people really should not have been surprised. Many celebrities have been giving their children unusual names for years. People thought it was odd when Sonny and Cher named their baby girl Chastity and that happened over 35 years ago.
You may not hear about it every time a celebrity names their child something out of the norm, but Gwyneth is not the only guilty party. One can only assume that John Travolta, being a fan of flying, loved it so that he named his baby boy Jett. Julie Roberts caused a bit of an uproar when she named her twins. Many people though Hazel was too frumpy, while Phinnaeus was too odd. Actor Casey Affleck and his fiance Summer Phoenix named their new addition Indiana August, which leaves no doubt in some people’s mind as to when and where the baby was conceived. I think Rob Marrow played a particularly bad joke on his baby girl. He named her Tu. So, yes, her legal name is Tu Marrow. You think she isn’t going to be harassed at school, even if her dad is famous? I love My Name is Earl, but actor Jason Lee named his son Pilot Inspektor. That would have been way down my list of potential baby names. But, Penn Jillette of the famed Penn and Teller act may have topped them all, naming his babygirl Moxie Crimefighter. He said if she was ever pulled over for speeding, she could tell the officer they were on the same side because of her name. Okay.
Then you have the families famous for choosing different names for their children. You are probably aware of the Phoenix family – Summer, Rain, Liberty, River, and Joaquin. At one point, Joaquin felt his name was so different; he changed it to Leaf for a while to fit in with the family name theme. Then there is the Zappa family – Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmed Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Muffin. You may not know this, but Dweezil’s birth name was Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa. His parents wanted to name his Dweezil, but the hospital refused to put that name on the birth certificate, so dad Frank named him after his band mates. Because he always went by Dweezil, he eventually had it legally changed. Then there is the late Paula Yates, ex-wife of Sir Bob Geldof and girlfriend of late INXS lead singer, Michael Hutchence. Her children are Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, and Little Pixie.
It seems that the trend of celebrities giving their children odd names isn’t going to end anytime soon. Some of the children eventually change their names (like Dandelion Richards, Keith’s daughter, has since started referring to herself as Angela) and some seem to thrive no matter what their names are. Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband, lead singer for Coldplay, seems to be taking the ridicule in stride. He stated that regardless of their new baby’s sex, they were going to name it Banana. At least he has a sense of humor about it.