Illustration to open for teaching on the Name of Jesus
Remember the uproar over Gwyneth Paltrow naming her daughter Apple? That seems downright quaint in 2008. Check out the new additions in the category of quirkiest baby names:
BRONX MOWGLI: This year’s most unusual moniker, courtesy of Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz. He grew up near Chicago and she hails from Texas — yet, inexplicably, the rock-star couple named their son after one of the toughest boroughs in New York City. Giving some insight, Wentz revealed the middle name Mowgli was inspired by the scrappy boy hero of Disney’s “The Jungle Book.”
SUNDAY ROSE: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban welcomed their baby girl on a Monday, then named her for the day before. Kidman has said Sunday is the couple’s favorite day of the week because it can be both lonely and happy depending on whether “you’ve got your family” around. They also found inspiration in Aussie art collector Sunday Reed, whose first name Kidman’s father suggested as a possibility. The baby’s second name is a tribute to Urban’s grandmother, Rose.
ZUMA NESTA ROCK: When he’s old enough, Gwen Stefani’s baby boy might want to change his first name to something that sounds less like a certain clear malt beverage and lose the other two names altogether. Then again, a child raised by music royalty — Stefani and hubby Gavin Rossdale — might fully embrace a moniker that spells nothing but embarrassment for regular kids. Stefani grew up in Southern California and loves Jamaican culture, which might explain her choice of Zuma (a beach in Malibu) and Nesta (the middle name of reggae legend Bob Marley).
HONOR MARIE: An honorable mention — sorry, we couldn’t resist — goes to the daughter of Jessica Alba and her husband, Cash Warren. Honor should get a lifetime of instant respect, based on her first name alone. Latin in origin, Honor means “woman of honor” and denotes glory, dignity and high rank.
BUSTER TIMOTHY: The name Buster has been around a long time — all the way back to the silent film era when comic actor Buster Keaton used sight gags to get laughs. The moniker struck a chord with married actors Jonny Lee Miller and Michele Hicks, who chose to name their son Buster Timothy. The couple balanced the quirkiness with a way more traditional second name.