Starbaby News: The Jagger Dynasty, gender-bending and more
By Abby Sandel, Appellation Mountain
Mick Jagger is a great-grandfather.
The frontman of the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band welcomed a new grandson and his first great-granddaughter a few months ago. Their names were just revealed last week. If you’re counting, that brings the Jagger progeny to seven children, five grandchildren, and a great-grandchild … all with rather interesting given names.
It wasn’t just the Jaggers sharing names at long last. Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson filed a birth certificate for baby #4, just before her first birthday. If you’re looking for vintage gems, the Rudolph-Andersons’ quartet is a great starting point. A few more thoughts from last week:
—Leo is mainstream, but Lion? The pure animal form of the name remains a bold and unexpected choice – and one that we’re hearing more often.–Nouns are the new go-to middles, and they’re far more exciting than Ann and Marie.–Names have gone casual – if someone introduces their kids as Jack, Sadie, and Molly, it is a safe bet that those are the names on their birth certificates. It would be a surprise to find out that they were actually John, Sarah, and Mary, wouldn’t it?–Spelling – a great way to link sibling names, or an invitation to a life of “would-you-repeat-that, please?” We’ll check back with Doutzen and Sunnery’s kids in a dozen years or so.
Now, on to the baby names:
Minnie Ida – Maya Rudolph and Paul Thomas Anderson named their fourth daughter after Maya’s mom, the late singer Minnie Riperton. Minnie joins Pearl, Lucille, and Jack – perfectly matched, and yet each name distinctive, too.
Josie James – Josie might be the next Sadie, a nickname-name that no longer requires a formal version. Josie James is the first daughter for Scott Caan, of Hawaii Five-O fame, and girlfriend Kacy Byxbee. That gender-bending middle name honors Scott’s dad, veteran actor James Caan.
Ezra – While we’re talking about boys’ names on girls, how about Mick’s great-granddaughter? Mick and first wife Bianca had daughter Jade back in 1971. Jade’s daughter Assisi was born in 1992. Now Assisi and her chef-boyfriend, Alex Key, are new parents. Daughter Ezra arrived in May. Just like Asa and a handful of Biblical boys’ names ending with a, Ezra has seen some use for girls – but remains well-established – and quite stylish – for a son.
Ray Emmanuel – Just weeks after Ezra arrived, Jade Jagger welcomed baby #3! Assisi has a little sister named Amba, also born in the 1990s. Now Jade and new husband Adrian Fillary have a son of their own, with the casual-cool name Ray combined with a Biblical middle.
Amoura Luna – Grammy-nominated R&B singer Eric Benet and wife Manuela Testolini welcomed Amoura Luna, a little sister for Lucia Bella, as well as Eric’s older daughter, India. All three are romantic, feminine names. Those noun middles – beautiful Bella, moonlit Luna – are subtly matched.
Jack Lion – One more birth announcement from the world of music! Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee and husband Josh Hertzler paired a casual classic with a bold middle for their firstborn. Jack Lion is bold but wearable – a rock’n’roll baby name that wouldn’t be out of place on an accountant.
Myllena Mae – Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes and her DJ husband Sunnery James surprised the world with their son’s name – Phyllon Joy. Myllena Mae feels more conventional, but Vernoeming points out that the new arrival is the first Myllena ever registered in the Netherlands. It seems like the famous parents have connected their children’s names with the shared double-L spelling. I can’t decide if that’s sweet, or unnecessarily complicated.
What do you think of the names in this week’s news? Are you wild about Josie? Would you use Leo or Lion? And are there any shared spellings on your family tree?