Name Guru to the Stars: Will Grimes Call Her Baby Tesla?

The singer Grimes announced her pregnancy (with entrepreneur Elon Musk) in January and ever since, the Internet has abounded with speculations and suggestions for their baby’s name. So let me just be the first to say:

No, they’re not going to name their baby
Tesla.

Even though
Tesla is indeed a baby name (102 baby girls were named Tesla last year, along with 7 boys!). I just don’t see it happening for them.

Nor do I think they will go with a basic, boring name for their child, as funny as that would be.

My choices for Grimes and Elon Musk’s child are in this month’s set of predictions, as well as so many other high-profile babies-to-be. It really was an all-star month for celebrity pregnancy announcements, with couples like Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, Chloë Sevigny and Siniša Mackovic, and Ciara and Russell Wilson all revealing their expecting babies later this year.

Here, my top picks for all of them and more:

Grimes and Elon Musk

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Nevada Alexander, Griffin, Xavier, Damian, Kai, Saxon (previous relationship)

I initially thought an astronomical baby name was too obvious for Grimes and Elon Musk—we are talking about the founder of SpaceX, after all. But in 2018 Grimes, whose birth name is
Claire, legally changed her name to _c—_lowercase and italicized—as a reference to the speed of light. If she’s choosing a science-y name for herself, might she do it for her baby? It was a lot of fun thinking of inventive options for them (probably too much fun—Grimes and Elon, please don’t name your baby Syzygy!)

Girl:
Alpha,
Celestial,
Infinity, Joules, Lumen,
Nyx, Supernova, Syzygy, Ultraviolet,
Vesper

Boy: Axis, Cosmic, Orbit, Parallax, Pi, Quasar,
Sirius,
Tycho, Volt, Zenith

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

Popstar Joe Jonas and actress Sophie Turner are expecting their first child and I’m expecting a great baby name out of the two of them. They’re a young and fashionable couple—literally, they’ve walked in fashion shows—so style is of the utmost importance. Add in a bit of Sophie’s British flair, and a high energy up-and-comer seems likely for this little babe. I’m pulling for
Astrid or
Ziggy, but any of the following would be suitable for Sophie and Joe’s son or daughter:

Girl:
Auden,
Astrid,
Coco,
Georgie,
Indie, 
Poppy,
Remi,
Sunday,
Syd,
Zella

Boy:
Fielder,
Flynn,
Jem,
Jett,
Oslo,
Remo,
Rory,
Sonny,
Ziggy,
Zephyr

Ciara and Russell Wilson

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Future Zahir (previous relationship), Sienna Princess

Back in 2016 I correctly predicted the name of Ciara and Russell Wilson’s daughter,
Sienna, so let’s see if I can go two for two. For a boy, if they don’t go with Russell (which seems likely), I’m banking on
Harris. Not only is it Ciara’s surname, it’s Russell’s father’s name.
Harrison is another likely possibility. I’m less certain for a girl, since Ciara already chose a name close to her own for
Sienna. I could see them going with
Georgia, to honor Ciara’s home state, or Carrington, which is Russell’s middle name.

Girl:
Arabella,
Camila, Carrington,
Georgia,
Jacqueline,
Jax,
Keira,
Rose,
Scarlett, Serena

Boy:
Austin,
Clay,
Cyrus,
Harris,
Harrison,
Jack,
Jaxon,
Rush,
Russell, Rusten

Chloë Sevigny and Siniša Mackovic

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

Chloë Sevigny is an eclectic style icon, so I know this baby is going to have an unexpected, totally charming name. Her boyfriend, gallerist Siniša Mackovic, is a trendsetter—or rather, trend-bucker—in his own right. Just take a look at this photo that confirmed the pregnancy! They’re clearly going to go against the grain with their son or daughter’s name, probably choosing something that will make us go “why didn’t I think of that before?” Myself included, but nevertheless, these are my best guesses:

Girl:
Anemone,
Cameo, Corisande,
Endellion,
Fleur,
Isabeau,
Leocadia,
Quay,
Romilly,
Tilda

Boy:
Anselm,
Barnaby,
Clement,
Harold,
Louden,
Rafferty,
Sacha,
Taliesin,
Witt,
Zebedee

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita are going to welcome their first child this July, and I’m sensing we’re going to see an upbeat, high-energy choice for this little girl or boy’s name. Jesse and Justin have a dog named
Leaf, which fits the bill and has an added botanical element. I love the idea of
Clementine for a girl, a nod to her potentially red hair (or
Flynn, which literally means “son of the red-haired one”). How cute would that be?

Girl:
Elsie,
Emmy,
Clementine,
Juniper,
Lulu,
Marigold,
Penelope,
Pippa,
Rosalie,
Sunny

Boy:
Arlo,
Declan,
Everett,
Flynn,
Hayes,
Milo,
Nico,
Owen,
Quincy, Remy

Domino Kirke and Penn Badgley

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Cassius Riley (previous relationship)

Cassius seems like an expected celebrity baby name nowadays, but back in 2009 when Domino Kirke gave birth to her son, it wasn’t on anyone’s radar. So what’s the 2020 equivalent? Domino and Penn need a name that is pre-trendy—one that could strike it big ten years from now—but that also sounds good with
Cassius. My favorites are
Jonquil (a swanky take on
Daffodil) or
Lysander, but any of the following names would be excellent choices:

Girl:
Amaryllis,
Araminta,
Apollonia,
Cosima,
Cyra,
Delphine, Isolde,
Jonquil,
Odessa,
Solana

Boy:
Ansel,
Boaz,
Emrys,
Evander,
Jethro,
Levon,
Lorcan,
Lysander,
Oberon,
Sulien

Jodie Turner–Smith and Joshua Jackson

Gender: girl

Siblings: none

With a surname as ubiquitous as Jackson, this baby girl is going to need a distinctive name. Distinctive, but not outlandish. I’m thinking a sweet-spot name for Jodie and Joshua’s daughter—a name that ranks between 300 and 1000 on the US popularity charts. To narrow it down, I limited my choices to names that were stable or rising in use (after all, this baby girl has such a chic mom, we know she won’t have a name that’s going out of fashion). I’m partial towards
Della, but could see Jodie and Joshua going with any of the following:

Girl:
Alma, Amora,
Della,
Felicity,
Hattie,
Liv,
Octavia,
Phoebe,
Simone,
Willa

Elle Evans and Matt Bellamy

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Bingham Hawn (previous relationship)

Model Elle Evans and Muse frontman Matt Bellamy are expecting their first child together, a sibling for Matt’s son
Bing.
Bing was born in 2011 to Matt and Kate Hudson, who has a penchant for unexpected names (her daughter is
Rani
Rose, and she named her oldest son
Ryder before it was cool). Knowing that, I could see Elle and Matt’s son or daughter having a more conventional name. Elle is very feminine, so a frilly or romantic choice seems apt for a girl. If it’s a boy, I could see them going with a handsome and commanding name (maybe
Remington?), although I’ve also included some options that I think pair well with
Bing.

Girl:
Anastasia,
Aurelia,
Aurora,
Charlotte,
Genevieve,
Juliette,
Lorelei,
Magnolia,
Vivienne,
Valentina

Boy:
Arlo,
August,
Bodhi,
Elliott,
Everett,
Grayson,
Holden,
Jameson,
Remington,
Rhett