Beyoncé

When superstar Beyoncé was born, her name was truly unique; it was a spin on her mom's maiden name, Biyence, with an accent over the final E.

Though we traditionally think of beloved celebrities boosting the popularity of their names, formerly-unfamiliar mononyms like Oprah, Sigourney, and Fantasia often do the exact opposite, because they become so closely associated with their bearer that they sound strange on anyone else.

Yet in this category, as in so many others, Beyonce is an unusual case. When she first rose to fame in Destiny's Child, she inspired many imitators — 353 baby girls born in the U.S. in 2001 were named Beyonce, enough to make it the 700th most popular name that year. But as Beyonce's star rose (and once she started dropping her last name, Knowles), her name started to lose favor with parents. Last year, her name was absent from the popularity charts, meaning it was given to fewer than five children. There's only room for one.

Pronounced bee-ON-say.