Celebrity Baby Names: The wonderful oddballs of Oz
**by Anna Otto of Waltzing More Than Matilda**
Wacky celebrity baby names are popular gossip-mag fare all over the world, and we love hearing about Audio Science, Moxie Crimefighter, Princess Tiaamii and Phaedra Bloom Forever. But we’ve got some intriguing home-grown celebrity baby names of our own right here in Australia.
twins
NRL footballer Joel Reddy has twin girls named Skeeter Jo and Maple Gray. Skeeter reminds me of the character from The Help, and the twins’ big brother is Rock, making a hip nature-themed sibset.
Retired AFL footballer Brodie Holland has twin boys named Kip and Bowie. I’ve been told Kip‘s name is inspired by actor Kip Pardue, while Bowie is presumably after singer David Bowie. Kip and Bowie‘s older sister is Stevie – another pop reference.
girls
The eldest daughter of TV chef Pete Evans has an appropriately culinary name – Chilli. She was born the year after Gwenyth Paltrow’s daughter Apple, which inspired Pete to also use a type of food as a name. Chilli‘s younger sister is Indii.
It’s possible that the name of the daughter of software multi-millionaire Zhenya Tsvetnenko was also inspired by a Hollywood celebrity baby. Her name is Max Alice, and she was born earlier this year, less than 12 months after Jessica Simpson welcomed her daughter Maxwell.
Soccer player Heather Garriock gave her daughter an intriguing name – Kaizen Rose. In Japanese, Kaizen means “change for the better”, and it’s used in English to describe the Japanese method of making continuous small improvements in business. Sounding like Kai + Zen, this is an interesting modern virtue name.
Country singer-songwriter Kasey Chamber has sons named Talon and Arlo, named with two songwriters in mind – Fred Eaglesmith and Arlo Guthrie. Her daughter is named Poet Poppin. Poet is apt for a lyricist’s daughter, and the middle name was chosen by her big brothers, because before she was born, Poet was very active in the womb, and always “poppin'” around.
Another country singer-songwriter is Brooke McClymont, who chose the name Tiggy Heart for her daughter. She was considering the name Tiger, and went with Tiggy as a bit of a spin on this idea.
boys
Actor Alex O’Loughlin, who stars in TV series Hawaii Five-0, has a son named Lion with his partner, surfer Malia Jones. Both Alex and Malia already have sons from previous relationships named Saxon and Spike.
NRL footballer Alan Tongue took one look at his new son ((shown) and knew what to call him. He was a little gem, so of course, he was named Gem. Gem Tongue’s big sisters’ names are less flashy – Becky and Heidi.
Another celebrity whose son has a gemstone name is news presenter Ebbeny Faranda. She called her little boy Onyx, because his father’s name is Omar, and now father and son share an initial. Like his mother’s, Onyx‘s name carries connotations of being dark and precious.
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe has a son named Tennyson, in honour of the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Russell‘s other son is named Charles; the poet Tennyson also had a brother named Charles.
Comedian Tim Ross‘ son is named Bugsy – perhaps after the movie Bugsy Malone. Tim‘s former comedy partner is Merrick Watts, and he also has a penchant for bestowing unusual names on his children. Merrick‘s son is named Wolfe, and his daughter is Kinga.
Anna blogs about a wide variety of Australian names, and Aussie name trends, at Waltzing More Than Matilda.