Celebrity baby names are often unusual and unexpected but a lot of the time, they do have a special meaning. Quite a few celebs have revealed that the name they chose for their children was actually inspired by someone else famous. Whether it was a celebrity friend or an icon they admired, these stars chose to pay tribute with their baby’s names — and ended up with some really cool monikers for their kids.
Find out where these celebrity kids got their names…
1. John Legend & Chrissy Teigen
John Legend and his wife Chrissy Teigen have chosen musically-inspired names for both of their children. They selected the name Luna Simone for their daughter, with her middle name being a tribute to singer and activist Nina Simone. For their son, they chose Miles Theodore after musician Miles Davis.
“We named our first daughter Luna Simone Stephens, and every name we give to our kids will have a little bit of musical history to it,” John said during an interview with E! “Miles is, of course, the same name as the great Miles Davis.”
2. Joel Madden & Nicole Richie
When Joel Madden and Nicole Richie welcomed their first daughter Harlow Winter, they chose a name that took inspiration from two famous faces. Joel says the little girl’s first name came from actress Jean Harlow and model Shalom Harlow.
“I really like Jean Harlow the actress, and [Nicole] likes Shalom Harlow the model. Harlow’s cool because it feels like a classic name. Winter [is] so serene and quiet and that’s how [our daughter] is,” Joel told People.
3. David & Victoria Beckham
David and Victoria Beckham chose the name Harper Seven for their youngest daughter, which David says was inspired by the author of Victoria’s favorite book, “To Kill A Mockingbird.” He added that they also appreciated that it was an old English name.
“Victoria’s favorite book is ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and it’s a very strong, passionate book and the author was Harper Lee, and that is where Harper came from,” he explained in a Facebook video.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z were inspired by their favorite poet when they welcomed their daughter Rumi, choosing to name the little girl after the famed 13th-century Persian poet of the same name.
“Rumi is our favorite poet, so it was for our daughter,” Jay-Z said in an interview with “Rap Radar.”
5. Fergie & Josh Duhamel
Before their split, Fergie and Josh Duhamel welcomed a son named Axl. While the former couple has never confirmed it, sources close to Fergie say that it was definitely a nod to one of her favorite bands, Guns ‘N Roses.
“Fergie is a huge Guns ‘N Roses fan — one of her career highlights has been performing and recording with Slash — so Axl makes perfect sense,” a source told Us Weekly.
6. Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban paid tribute to Australian patron of the arts Sunday Reed when they named their little girl Sunday Rose. Nicole says the name was first suggested by her father and she fell in love with it because it was also her favorite day of the week.
“We went, ‘Oh, we love that day’ — that’s our favorite day because I think there’s something to do with Sundays where if you’re lonely, Sundays are a very lonely day. And if you’re happy and you’ve got your family and the things around you, then Sunday’s a beautiful day. So our baby’s called Sunday,” Nicole explained.
7. Norman Reedus & Helena Christensen
Norman Reedus and Helena Christensen named their son Mingus after jazz bassist Charles Mingus. Helena says they considered other famous musicians but thought Mingus was the best fit.
“His father especially is into Charlie Mingus. I was more into Thelonious Monk, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday — but we thought ‘Mingus’ sounded cooler than ‘Monk’ for a first name,” she told The Independent.
8. Amy Schumer
When Amy Schumer named her son, she originally intended to pay tribute to her friend, comedian Dave Attell. She gave the little boy the name Gene Attell but her mom quickly pointed out that the names combined sounded like something inappropriate. In the end, Amy chose to change Gene’s middle name to David, keeping the nod to her friend.
“So do you guys know that Gene, our baby’s name, is officially changed? It’s now Gene David Fischer. It was Gene Attell Fischer, but we realized that we, by accident, named our son ‘genital.’ Gene Attell sounds like genital,” Amy said on her podcast “Amy Schumer Presents 3 Girls, 1 Keith.”
Cate Blanchett admits she has had some unusual inspiration for her children’s names but when it came to her son Dashiell, she had literature in mind. The actress says she named her son after author Dashiell Hammett. Her son Ignatius also has a literary-inspired name, although his moniker comes from a name in the “Captain Underpants” book series.
10. Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling had old Hollywood in mind when she was naming her children. For her daughter Katherine, she paid tribute to the “incredible” Katharine Hepburn and for her son Spencer, she says she was inspired by Spencer Tracy.
“I don’t trust my own judgment with those kinds of names. If I name my son River, that connotes a certain kind of person who is very go with the flow, artsy. But what if he’s not like that at all? Will he be furious with me? I just tried to pick classic names that felt like they would have to work really hard to get mad at me about later,” Mindy told People.
11. Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano paid tribute to her friend Milo Ventimiglia when she was naming her son Milo. She says that on top of liking the name, the actor was partially responsible for matching her up with her husband David Bugliari. Alyssa explained that when she was unsure about dating David because he worked at her agency, Milo encouraged her to do it.
“I loved that name, but when Milo was born, he just looked like a Milo to me and I thought it would be a lovely homage to Milo Ventimiglia for encouraging me to find my love,” Alyssa shared with People.
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