Unique Celebrity Names

The boys' name Elon is best known today as the name of Elon Musk, eccentric billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX. With Canadian singer Grimes, Elon Musk has a son with an even more unusual name, X Æ A-12.

Mia, Gia, and now Sia!

Drew is an elegant formerly male-only alternative to Andy that joined the stylishly upscale Paige-Brooke-Blair sorority, thanks largely to Drew Barrymore. Barrymore comes by her first name legitimately: it was the maiden name of her paternal great-grandmother, Georgiana 'Georgie' Drew Barrymore, one of many esteemed actors in her family history.

This is a soft, soignée French girls' namethat has become familiar here via singer Solange Knowles, younger sister of Beyonce.

Once a cavalier Mississippi gambler type name, Chance has entered the mainstream since being endorsed by such celebrity dads as Larry King and Paul Hogan. Chance the Rapper has also boosted the name's popularity.

Iggy is the quintessential pop star name, though it's the nickname Cate Blanchett uses for son Ignatius. Iggy does bring any grander-sounding name down to earth.

Long an extremely popular name in Spain, Iker (usually pronounced EE-kuhr in the English speaking world) is the rare Basque name that's starting to make it big in the States also, thanks to soccer player Iker Casillas. Indeed, it's been one of the fastest growing boys' names of the decade.

A variation of Romy often seen in the Netherlands. Dutch model Romee Strijd is a notable bearer.

Talented actress Rooney Mara (originally born Patricia Rooney) has single-handedly transformed this Gaelic surname into a wearable and elegant girls' name. Often said to mean "red-haired", the original surname, rendered as O' Ruanaidh, actually means "descendent of the champion". Trivia note: the most famous Rooney, Mickey Rooney, was originally born Joseph Yule.

Actress Sigourney -- born Susan -- Weaver made this unusual name (which she found in The Great Gatsby) famous, if not popular.

Eugenie enjoyed a major dusting off when Fergie and Prince Andrew chose it for their daughter, restoring a patina of royal sheen it hadn't had since the time of Napoleon III's glamorous empress--who spent much of her life in England. It was also borne by Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, after whom Prince Andrew's younger daughter was named.

When the King was alive, and for years afterwards, few people (except Declan McManus who became Elvis Costello) dared use his singular name, but now it's very much up for grabs.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

In the contemporary US, Minka attracted notice via actress Minka Kelly, who played the gorgeous Lyla on Friday Night Lights.

Actress Tilda Swinton injected this dated nickname name with some modern charm.

Zendaya has propelled her unusual African name into the spotlight and up the popularity charts. Zendaya is one of the major baby name influencers of our era.

When actress Susan Ker Weld changed her name to Tuesday, she opened up a whole calendar of possibilities. This was decades before the arrival of Sunday Rose Urban.

In the Noongar language of Western Australia, Bindi means butterfly. Bindi is usually seen as a girls' name, as seen in Bindi Irwin, daughter of the late Steve Irwin.

Elton is an unassuming, lesser-used place name belonging to several towns in the British Isles, the US and Canada, and even a lake in Russia. The singer Elton John gives it a bit of extra pizzazz.

Made famous by former child star Macaulay Culkin, one of the more popular Mac names.