Author: Alanna Fichtel

 

The trend of celebrities giving their children bizarre names began years ago and is still around today – but it still doesn’t make any sense. The names even seem to be getting more ridiculous, and so do the explanations celebrity parents give for them.

 

Many recent names make it seem like the stars tried too hard to be ~artsy~ and creative. Take, for example, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who named their daughter Wyatt Isabelle. The masculine name might make you wonder what the significance behind it is, but in most cases there isn’t any. Unisex names have just become a current trend. But that’s not even the worst of them. Most people will remember one of the original weird celebrity baby names, Apple Paltrow (daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin), that left us questioning celebrity’s sanity.

 

 

The trend of naming babies as things has recently returned. In 2014, Mike Meyers and his wife named their daughter Sunday Molly, because they hated Sundays and wanted to change that. If I were her, I’m not sure I would buy that explanation. Or Kelly Clarkson’s daughter, River Rose. If you grew up to be successful with a normal name, why don’t you think your daughter could too?

 

It seems like celebrities are in a competition of who can come up with the trendiest name. But what I don’t understand is why they feel they need a unique name to make their child stand out. As high-profile parents, they will probably end up in some scandal or divorce, bringing tons of attention to their family and issues for their child.

 

Some names are just so bizarre they actually sound like they were meant to be funny. Kim and Kanye reportedly claim the significance behind North West’s name is inspirational because nothing is north of north, meaning nothing is better than their daughter. Call me crazy, but there might have been other ways to express those feelings. She already looks miserable most of time, so I can’t imagine she’ll be appreciative of her name when she gets older.

 

 

The newest example is Zooey Deschanel’s daughter, Elsie Otter. With such a ridiculous name, a good explanation for it would make it slightly better. But not surprisingly, this wasn’t the case. The couple said that they just really love otters and that they’re “wonderful animals.” That’s nice, but why name your child after an animal you love rather than a cherished grandparent or friend? Because that would be too mainstream. Even naming your child after the name of a pet you had would be better than the actual category of the animal.

 

 

At this point, it would be trendy and cool for celebrities to give their kids traditional names. So much effort is really unnecessary — celebrity parents just need to do less.