There’s no doubt that middle names have been taking on increasing  importance in the hearts and minds of  baby namers.  They’ve stepped up from the inconsequential connectives –especially for girls–of a generation or two ago to full co-starring roles on the birth certificate.  For many, it’s a welcome opportunity to honor a family member, preserve a maiden name, or use as a solid alternative for their child to possibly choose to use later on.

But for others, it’s place to be whimsical, to salute a creative hero, to use a favorite word or nature name they wouldn’t dare to put in first place.  For examples of how this works, we need only to look to the stars, those beacons of extreme–if not bizarre– baby naming.  So here are some nature, namesake, word and lovey-dovey endearment middle names they have used, followed by the name of the celebrity parent who chose it and their child’s first name:

NATURE NAMES

BEAR  (Anthony Kiedis’s Everly)

CRICKET  (Amy Locane’s Paige)

HUCKLEBERRY  (Kimberly Williams & Brad Paisley’s William)

PINE  (Simon Le Bon’s Tallulah)

PLUM  (Moon Unit Zappa’s Matilda)

RAIN  (Brooke Burke & David Charvet’s Heaven)

RAINBOW  (Jamie Oliver’s Petal Blossom)

TULIP  (Rebecca Romijn & Jerry O’Connell’s Charlie Tamara)

NAMESAKES–real and fictional

COLTRANE  (Natascha McElhone’s Rex)

HENDRIX  (Donnie Wahlberg’s Elijah)

ICARUS  (Lucy Sykes’ Titus Jasper)

KAFKA  (Tommy Lee Jones‘ Victoria)

KIPLING  (Kim Raver’s Leo)

MADONNA  (Geri Halliwell’s Bluebell)

MARS  (Sofia Coppola’s Romy)

MOWGLI  (Ashlee Simpson & Pete Wentz’s Bronx)

ZHIVAGO  (Nia Long’s Massai) (more…)

Two of the biggest success stories in boys’ names in recent years have been Peyton and Eli, which are of course the names of the football-playing Manning brothers.  Names of sports stars often prove inspirational, and in this Super Bowl weekend it makes sense to look at football names.

As with other celebrities, being attached to a fantastic player with personal appeal is not enough to catapult a name to stardom.  The name itself has to have something going for it too.

LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers is one of the best players today, for instance, but parents are hardly rushing out to honor him by using his less-than-easy name for their sons.  Plus, many football greats just have regular guy names, like Larry Fitzgerald and Ben Roethlisburger, two of the stars of this weekend’s contest.

Still, football abounds with creative names you might find inspiring for your own little athlete-to-be.  Here, some fascinating choices from the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the teams playing this weekend.

ANQUAN Boldin

BYRON Leftwich

CALAIS Campbell

CHIKE Okeafor

DESHEA Townsend

DEUCE Lutui

DONOVAN Woods  (McNabb made this appealing name famous)

EARLY Doucet

EDGERRIN James

ENOKA Lucas

FERNANDO Bryant

HEATH Miller

HINES Ward

IKE Taylor

KARLOS Dansby

KEYARON Fox

LEVI Brown

MEWEDDE Moore

ORPHEUS Roye

SANTONIO Holmes

TRAI Essex

TROY Polanalu

And in case you’re wondering, the football above is a real birth announcement.  Football fan expectant parents can order it at Lullabye Baby.