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12 Celebrities Explain Their Children’s Unique Names

Telisa Carter

June 28, 2018

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When it comes to Hollywood and celebrities, fans often can’t get over the names that stars choose for their children. While many people strive for unique monikers for their kids, it seems celebrities are often very good at it and everyone is left wondering where the name came from. Although some stars have decided to keep quiet on their child’s unique name, others had no problem explaining where a name came from or why they chose it — and they really don’t care if people agree with it or not. Here are 12 celebrity parents who explained the unique name they picked for their child:

12. Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky

Two years after Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky were married, they welcomed their first child, daughter India Rose. Many people questioned why they chose a location for their daughter’s name. Hemsworth had a very easy explanation. “It was just something we both loved – there was no great sort of thought behind it,” Hemsworth said before adding, “I wanted to call her Indiana Jones, but it didn’t work out too well for a female, so India was the version.” The pair are also parents to twin sons Tristan and Sasha.

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11. Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson

Khloe Kardashian dreamed of motherhood for a long time, and on Thursday, April 12 she welcomed her first child, a baby girl. With all the drama surrounding Khloe’s boyfriend Tristan Thompson and his infidelity, many wanted to know the name not only because the Kardashian and Jenner women are known for their unique baby names, but whether or not Khloe would give her baby girl Thompson’s last name. A few days after the birth, Khloe announced her daughter’s name was True Thompson, and while some loved it and others didn’t, it turns out it has a special family meaning. While Khloe didn’t explain her daughter’s name, grandma Kris Jenner took to Twitter to share, “I’m so excited to welcome my precious little granddaughter True!!! FUN FACT… my Grandfather’s name on my Dad’s side was True Otis Houghton….my real Dad’s name was Robert True Houghton…so i am so excited Khloe named her daughter True!!!”

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10. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

Over her years in the spotlight, Gwyneth Paltrow has raised some eyebrows from her lifestyle website GOOP to her “conscious uncoupling” from husband Chris Martin, and yes also when it came to the names of their children. In 2004, the pair welcomed daughter Apple Blythe Alison Martin and in 2006 welcomed son Moses Bruce Anthony Martin. Paltrow explained to Oprah that they named their daughter Apple after Martin suggested it because, “It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they’re wholesome and it’s biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, ‘Perfect!'” When it came to naming their son Moses, the couple explained that it was after a song that Martin had written for Paltrow back in 2003.

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9. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

From the beginning of their relationship in 2012, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have welcomed three children, all with unique names: daughter North West, son Saint West, and daughter Chicago West. When it came to naming their first daughter, North, Kim’s mother Kris explained, “The way she explained it to me was that North means highest power and she says that North is their highest point together. I thought that was very sweet.” A friend explained that when it came to naming Saint, Kanye took the lead. “It needed to mean something and he agonized over it, probably even more than Kim. Kanye believes that a name is extremely important and that it’s the first sense of identity that we have. He believes that people live up to their names, which is why he wanted a name with spiritual significance.”

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8. Courteney Cox and David Arquette

Back in 2004, Friends alum Courteney Cox welcomed her only child with then-husband David Arquette, naming her Coco Riley Arquette. Many found the name strange and assumed it was inspired by fashion icon Coco Chanel, but the reason behind the name ended up being a lot more simple than that. During an interview on Lopez Tonight, David Arquette spelled it out for everyone, saying, “It’s sort of an abbreviation of ‘COurtney COx’ . . . ‘CoCo’.”

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7. Josh Duhamel and Fergie

While Josh Duhamel and Fergie are no longer together, they are still committed to being the best parents possible to their son Axl Jack Duhamel, and the story behind his name is quite interesting, and yes it does have something to do with Guns n’ Roses frontman Axl Rose. “I had this dream, and I was in the audience at this festival,” Fergie explained to Ellen DeGeneres. “It was outdoors and it was all grimy and nobody knew who I was. I was just one of the fans. It was like the old days. It was so cool. And onstage singing was Jim Morrison. And then came Bob Marley, and then Axl Rose.” She added, “I mean, I was in heaven in this dream. And I’m dancing and just getting into the music, and then all of a sudden, boom boom! And I wake up, and it was the first time my son kicked me in the stomach.” “It was like he was feeling the music with me. It was amazing,” she said. “I’m gonna start to cry. It was really beautiful, and I woke Josh up and I said, ‘Honey, honey, honey — he kicked me. He finally kicked me.’ And I told him my dream, and he was like, ‘Wow.'” She then explained, “We had already picked the middle name because my uncle — who is a very special guy — he passed away last year. Jack, Uncle Jack. So we already had the middle name,” Fergie said during the 2013 interview. “I told the story, and [Josh] was like Morrison, Marley… No, Axl Jack. That’s it. And it just had this ring to it. It was very strong.”

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6. Nicole Richie and Joel Madden

Socialite and former reality star Nicole Richie and Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden haven’t pushed their kids into the spotlight, but after welcoming daughter Harlow Winter Kate Richie-Madden in 2008 and son Sparrow James Midnight Madden in 2009, Richie did open up about the unique monikers they gave their children. “Joel and I have very different tastes in names,” she explained on Live with Regis and Kelly in 2010. “We really just have to work with whatever it is we both agree on, so I really liked Sparrow from Captain Jack Sparrow, and he liked it for different reasons,” she added. Richie also revealed that she didn’t notice at first that both of her kids’ names end in “ow.” “I didn’t even realize that [both of their names] ended with ‘ow.'” She joked. “I love the name Willow, and now that’s out because I’m not gonna have all kids with ‘ows!'”

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5. Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy

After welcoming son Ryder Russell Robinson in 2004, Kate Hudson and her first husband Chris Robinson split in 2006. Then, in 2010 she began dating Muse frontman Matt Bellamy and together they welcomed son Bingham Hawn Bellamy, and the name really stood out. After announcing the birth of his son, Bellamy wrote that they intended to nickname him “Bing” and as buzz around the name continued, he explained, “For those wondering, Bingham is my mum’s maiden name and Bing Russell was Kurt’s dad. Family connections all round!” Following her split from Bellamy, Hudson is now expecting her third child, but her first daughter and first child with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa.

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4. Jamie Oliver and Juliette Newton

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and wife Juliette “Jools” Newton share five children, all of which have very unusual names and have more than one name! Together the pair share Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear Maurice, and River Rocket Blue Dallas. Jools opened up about her children’s names admitting she “hates” when others give their opinions about her babies’ names. “They all have more than one name because I couldn’t decide. I’m not sure where Petal Rainbow came from – apparently it’s a My Little Pony! I wanted to call her Rainbow but Jamie told me to calm down,” she explained. She added, “With Buddy it was quite fun choosing a boy’s name, as I hadn’t done it before. And I hate people’s opinions on names. Whatever you call your baby is your decision.”

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3. Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo

Adam Levine and supermodel Behati Prinsloo were married on July 14, 2014 and have since welcomed two daughters with unique names: Dusty Rose, born in September 2016, and Geo Grace, born in February 2018. As it turns out, Levine and Prinsloo were having trouble with naming their first, and he reached out to friend Ellen DeGeneres for help! “She gave me like five names to think about: This, this, this, this, Dusty. So, you basically named my kid,” he recalled during a visit on her show, but at first, Prinsloo wasn’t a fan. “I ran it by my wife and she’s like, ‘Mmm, I don’t like it,'” Adam said. He continued, “I brought it back to her in the eleventh hour. I’m like ‘Dusty’s pretty cool!’ She’s like, ‘I love it!'” DeGeneres further explained, “It’s a beautiful color as well. I’d already thought of Dusty, and then somebody said, ‘Dusty Rose,’ and I said, ‘Oh, that’s her name.’ And so I texted you, ‘Dusty Rose.'” The pair have not been as open about the inspiration behind the name for their daughter Geo Grace.

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2. Busy Philipps and Marc Silverstein

Given that Busy (short for Elizabeth) it isn’t a particularly common name, it isn’t surprising that the actress and her husband Marc Silverstein opted to continue the trend of unconventional names, and their daughter’s names are definitely different! Together the two are parents to Birdie Leigh and Cricket Pearl, and Philipps explained, “Since I grew up with a nickname — Busy being short for Elizabeth — when my husband and I started to have our babies, we decided that if wanted to call our kids something, we would just name them that thing that we wanted to call them.” She added when they welcomed Cricket, it was all her husband who as a screenwriter is always coming up with names and backstories for characters. “A lot of times your name dictates the kind of personality you have and [Marc’s] like, ‘Everyone likes Cricket, Cricket is just the greatest, happiest kid on the block, the coolest camp counselor, she’s hot in college,'” Philipps explained. “He just had this whole narrative for what that name was.”

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1. Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton are a very low-key celebrity couple, but when it came to the birth of their second child, daughter George, they were more open than ever. The pair welcomed son Augustus “Gus” Morgan back in 2010 which is a unique name for sure, but it was their decision to name their daughter George that had many scratching their heads. As it turns out, both unique names come from the couple’s love of old Western shows as Morgan explained in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel. The pair watched the episode of Bonanza called, “A Girl Named George,” and both loved it. “I loved the name and Hilarie loved the name. Gus is named after Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove. We got a weird western theme going on,” the actor joked, admitting the couple watches “a lot of old television.” He added about their daughter’s name, “It hadn’t been that long ago [when we watched the episode]. We had gone through every book and baby-name idea and nothing seemed to really click,” he explained. “I remember, it was summertime. We were just kind of dinking around. I don’t know who said it — her or I — and we both looked at each other and were like, ‘That’s it.’” He did admit that while almost everyone has come around to the name for their daughter, his mother isn’t as on board. “She’s never, ever said the baby’s name,” Morgan said of his mom still warming up to a girl named George.

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Telisa Carter

Telisa enjoys learning and writing about all things entertainment in the world of Hollywood. When she isn't catching up on her favorite TV shows, she likes to read, and obsess over all things football.