Badass Baby Names

Cool and bluesy southern city name chosen by musician-activist Bono for his daughter.

Tornado first meant thunderstorm and only later came to mean whirlwind, the common modern meaning. More recently, Tornado is the first name of a tennis-playing teen whose sister is called the equally attention-getting Hurricane. Both names work for either gender, if you think you can withstand the storm jokes.

Brings to mind the qualities of the fabric: hardworking, cool and versatile. Singer Toni Braxton chose this name for her son in 2001, and parents have been using it for boys and girls ever since.

Diablo Cody, self-named (she's really Brook Busey) screenwriter of Juno, singlehandedly helped popularize not just her heroine's name and her own but all o-ending names for girls. You don't need us to tell you that it takes a brave parent, in every way, to name a baby Diablo. Diablo is one of the Spanish baby names that diverges furthest from the well-paved camino.

One celebrity baby Pilot put this occupational choice into the pool -- together with the middle name Inspektor, something we wouldn't advise following.

New, fast, cool, and chosen by director Robert Rodriguez, whose other sons are Rebel, Rocket, and Rogue, all somewhat risky options.

One of the few military ranks used as a name, as in Kennedy in-law and Peace Corps creator Sargent (born Robert Sargent) Shriver. There's also a more creative, artistic association with painter John Singer Sargent.

Lithe and leonine name chosen for her daughter by singer Erykah Badu -- whose other child has the number name Seven.

Talk about pressure! Too much name for any little girl to bear.

While patriot Thomas Paine is a worthy honoree, the mere association with the word 'pain' knocks this name out of bounds.