Celebrity Baby Names: Normal Names Rule

Great topic! Where did you get the stats? I just looked at babynamefacts.com which is where I usually find this sort of info but the stats on some of these names did not match up with your list. Example is that for Sienna I only found 3 celebs, Olivia had 15 celebs, Scarlet/tt had 2, etc.

I’m still not seeing the appeal of the name Cash.

Very cool. I do think part of it may be that once a celeb uses a very unique name, its automatically linked to them. We aren’t likely to see another Zuma or Bronx used by a celebrity, whereas something like Stella is much more universal and open for use. But, ultimately I think you’re right – that still, most people, celebrity or not, are drawn towards the trends. Popular names are popular for a reason!

Crazy to see how often Cash has been used!

The Hollywood types seem to choose certain “mainstream” names more often than people in Peoria, though. I haven’t heard either Stella or Lola or Henry or Beckett used to any great extent. If you live in Los Angeles or New York City or Cambridge, they’re names you probably do hear pretty regularly. Not in North Dakota or some of the other places I’m aware. Maybe some of these will take off in the same way Isabella and Ava and Jack did a few years ago. Olivia, Grace, Ella, etc. ARE popular with everyone.

I wonder which came first, though, the celebrity kid’s name or the general popularity of the name. For example, was there a celebrity Stella born before anyone else was using the name, who helped the name seem more acceptable to the general public, thus leading to a rise in its popularity all around? Or are all the celebrity parents who chose Stella just following the same trends that all the non-celebrity parents are? It seems like a lot of celebrities were choosing the name Ava, for example, long before it was even in the Top 100 for the country in general.

Ava’s popularity is directly related to its use by Heather Locklear and Reese Witherspoon and to Hollywood parents’ liking for Ava Gardener. It took off because it got so much exposure in the media. Stella seems to be another name that is used more by Hollywood parents and for a fairly long time, probably because they like A Streetcar Named Desire. I don’t know that it appeals as much to the general population. John Ritter’s daughter was named Stella and she’d be into her teens now, so that name has been in style in Hollywood far longer than it has been elsewhere.

@ SJ, Paul McCartney’s daughter is called Stella, she’s in her late-30s by now. And a famous fashion designer.

To Fan: The stats came from my own 40+-page list which I’ve been keeping since Pam and I started writing our books; the differences between it and babynamefacts.com is that for this blog I was only looking at babies born after 2000, and their list includes kids of all ages.

Wow, so many Johns! My favorite boy’s name. I never thought of it as “stylish” per se, like Henry and Charles/Charlie seems to be for the Hollywood crown.

How is Violet not on this list? There are like 10 celebrities using this name and it seems pretty normal to me.