Name Guru to the Stars: Baby Names for Nicki Minaj and more!

Name Guru to the Stars: Baby Names for Nicki Minaj and more!

The most notable celebrity to announce a pregnancy this month was Nicki Minaj. But what style is a Nicki Minaj baby name? It may not be as crazy as everyone is expecting.

Many of the rest of this month’s celebrities are naming younger siblings to their daughters, including David Henrie’s Pia, Teyana Taylor’s Junie, and Christina Perri’s Carmella. It was easy for me to pick out a shortlist for everyone, but the stars have the hard part — choosing just one.

But before we get to that, I want to tell you about a brand-new contest over on our Instagram! Pit your celebrity baby name prediction skills against mine for the chance to win big. Each week I’ll pick one celebrity couple from the column and you get to tell me your top choice for a girl and a boy (just make sure they’re different than mine!). If I don’t win, the first person who guessed the correct name gets $100. If no one made the right prediction, the pot gets bigger! Head on over to Instagram to play.

But first, here’s a sneak peek at the stars we’ll cover in upcoming weeks, along with my predictions for Nicki Minaj’s baby name and more:

Nicki Minaj and Kenneth “Zoo” Petty

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj, is famous for her alter egos, most notably Roman Zolanski. Some have wondered if she will use Roman as a name for a son, but I am not convinced — that name has already been claimed.

Nicki Minaj is her rapper personality, but not necessarily her mom personality. My guess is it will be Onika Maraj-Petty — the same identity she embodies as a wife. Would Nicki Minaj’s baby name be different from Onika Maraj-Petty’s baby name? Probably. Nicki may choose a wild-style, rapper-ish name like Diablo or Valor, but Onika could choose a warmer, more mainstream name — maybe Remi or Cassius. I’ve included options for both of them.

Girl: Diablo, Noelia, Izora, Karma, Monroe, Remi, Savvy, Trinidad, Ximenia, Zoya

Boy: Carlyle, Cassius, Epic, Kenneth, Kenai, Legacy, Solo, Valor, Wolf, Zephyr

Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

I’m bracing myself for a delayed name announcement — Emma Roberts hasn’t even publicly addressed her pregnancy yet. She and her partner Garrett Hedlund are allegedly expecting their first child together, and even if we don’t hear their baby name right away, I know it’s going to be worth the wait. Emma’s cousins have the ahead-of-their-time names Henry, Hazel, and Phinnaeus (Finn), and like her aunt Julia Roberts, I think Emma will choose very fashionable but uncommon names for her children. I picked names of various styles that I think might appeal to Emma and Garrett:

Girl: Arden, Hattie, Helena, Lorelei, Louisa, Margot, Simone, Sutton, Sylvia, Thea

Boy: Adler, Ash, Bastian, Dashiell, Everett, Jones, Reid, Rhodes, Royce, Wells

Kathryn and Josh Brolin

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Trevor, Eden (previous relationship), Westlyn Reign

Kathryn and Josh Brolin chose the uber-trendy Baby-Names”>invented name Westlyn — a combination of the hot “west” syllable and the feminizing suffix -lyn — for their almost-two-year-old daughter. It’s not the type of name typically chosen by movie stars, so I had a lot of fun stretching my prediction muscles and thinking of creative syllable combinations. My top choices, below:

Girl: Berkley, Blakely, Brynlee, Ember, Haisley, Loxley, Novalee, Sierra, Skylie, Wrenley

Boy: Brentley, Colson, Gatlin, Hayes, Hendrix, Jaxton, Knox, Maverick, Ryder, Wilder

Maria Cahill and David Henrie

Gender: boy

Siblings: Pia Philomena Francesca

Maria Cahill and David Henrie have a daughter named Pia Philomena Francesca, and now are expecting a baby boy. I love their pairing of a mini first name with two long middles — I’m hoping they’ll do it again for their son. Something like Nico Valentine Matthias or Luca Augustine Sebastian. But I’m not in the business of predicting middle names — for their son’s first name, my guess is a masculine Latinate name with two syllables or fewer.

Boy: Bruno, Cyrus, Enzo, Jasper, Leo, Luca, Magnus, Milo, Nico, Van

Jinger Duggar and Jeremy Vuolo

Gender: girl

Siblings: Felicity

The Duggars have broken away from biblical names, but they still like their children to have names imbued with positive meaning. Jinger and Jeremy Vuolo named their oldest daughter Felicity, meaning “happy,” and are now expecting baby girl number two. I’d be thrilled if they used another modern virtue name like Reverie, although that might be a bit too out-there for them. My top picks are Clara (meaning “light”) and Evangeline (“bearer of good news”).

Girl: Audrey, Blythe, Celeste, Clara, Clementine, Esme, Evangeline, Isabelle, Reverie, Vera

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert

Gender: girl

Siblings: Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr., “Junie

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert’s daughter is called Junie, but her full name isn’t June or Juniper or anything else you might expect. Junie comes from Junior, as in Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. Junie is named after her father, although her middle name honors her mother. I’m wondering if Teyana and Iman will use another honor name for this daughter. I’d love for them to name her after Teyana and call her something like Minnie (mini — get it?) or Yana. Or maybe modernize the names of grandmas Nikki and L’Tanya as Nico and Tatiana.

Girl: Arya, Ashanti, Cali, Demi, Josie, Maya, Minnie, Nico, Tatiana, Yana

Christina Perri and Paul Costabile

Gender: unknown

Siblings: Carmella Stanley

Singer Christina Perri and her husband Paul Costabile both have Italian heritage, so it’s no surprise they gave their daughter an Italian name. However, I was delighted when it turned out to be Carmella — a rare and lovely Italian choice. Chances are Carmella’s brother or sister will also have an Italian name. I’m hoping it’s something similarly elaborate and charming — maybe Cosima or Giulietta for a girl, and Leandro or Santino for a boy.

Girl: Allegra, Aurelia, Cosima, Delfina, Domenica, Ginevra, Giulietta, Giovanna, Paloma, Ramona

Boy: Alessandro, Alessio, Eliseo, Francesco, Leandro, Luciano, Marco, Matteo, Nicolo, Santino

Sasha Pieterse and Hudson Sheaffer

Gender: unknown

Siblings: none

Actress and country singer Sasha Pieterse is expecting her first child this October — she and husband Hudson Sheaffer have not shared the baby’s gender. They’re already dog-parents to Great Danes Levi and Lady, which gives a clue that Sasha and Hudson may have some country-western style when it comes to baby names. Wyatt or Brooks seem like easy answers for a boy, while Savannah or Hadley could be right for a girl.

Girl: Callie, Hadley, Josie, Paisley, Pearl, Ruby, Sadie, Savannah, Sierra, Willa

Boy: August, Beau, Brooks, Calvin, Jude, Owen, Rhett, Sawyer, Silas, Wyatt

Think you’ve got better guesses for these celebrity baby names? Head over to our Instagram to pit your celebrity baby name prediction skills against the Celebrity Baby Name Guru’s for a chance to win $100 or much much more. See individual posts for rules and details.

About the Author

Sophie Kihm

Sophie Kihm

Sophie Kihm has been writing for Nameberry since 2015. She has contributed stories on the top 2020s names, Gen Z names, and cottagecore baby names. Sophie is Nameberry’s resident Name Guru to the Stars, where she suggests names for celebrity babies. She also manages the Nameberry Instagram and Pinterest.

Sophie Kihm's articles on names have run on People, Today, The Huffington Post, and more. She has been quoted as a name expert by The Washington Post, People, The Huffington Post, and more. You can follow her personally on Instagram or Pinterest, or contact her at sophie@nameberry.com. Sophie lives in Chicago.