Unique Celebrity Baby Names

On trend for boys but with plenty of unisex appeal too, the place name Cairo was put on the map for girls when model Beverly Peele chose it for her daughter. Given to around 50 girls each year, it hasn't caught on just yet but with its similar sounds to Kaia and Skyler, it might do in the future. 
 
The name of the ancient city was derived from the Arabic term al-Kahira, meaning "the strong" or "the conqueror", and the name puts in mind a bustling city, museums, and ancient history.

Cairo

A quietly though not insubstantially used option for boys, Shine ticks a number of boxes. It's an unexpected word name with the familiar sounds of Shiloh or Shane; it fits in among ambitious virtue names like Sincere and Valor; it connects to the stars, the sun, and light in general (much like the popular Orion or Elio); and it has the unisex feel of Sutton and Sage.
 
In the US, around 35 boys were given the name Shine in a recent year, while in England and Wales, it was chosen for eight boys. Small numbers but still worth mentioning, as Shine has only appeared in the UK stats since 2022, and while it's been popping up in the US since the late 90s, it was rarely given to more than 10 babies until the 2020s. 
 
Influencers Rissa and Quan chose Shine for their son back in 2021, which does coincide with increased usage of the name.

Shine

With related choices such as Lark and Phoenix gaining popularity, why not Sparrow? Though it's usually thought of as a female name, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden chose it for their son.

Sparrow

A joyous (if a little rowdy) word name that's still relatively undiscovered by parents, being given to about 10 babies of each sex per year. Glee actor Matthew Morrison named his son Revel in 2017.

Revel

Unspecific place name with a wonderfully wide-open, spacious, western feel; used for a character in Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland.
 
Prairie is derived from the Old French word praierie, which ultimately came from the Latin pratum, meaning "meadow".

Prairie

Until recently it was rarely used as a proper name; Buddy Holly, for example, was christened Charles, and Salinger's Buddy Glass was born Webb. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver did name his fourth child Buddy Bear Maurice--a fittingly named brother to Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela and Petal Blossom Rainbow, and singer Tom Fletcher has a double-nicknamed Buddy Bob.

Buddy

Lovella is most likely a feminine variation on Lovell, a surname. While it feels one of the invented-yet-antiquated <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' names</a>, has the obvious attraction of containing the word "love" within it, as well as the opportunity to use "Ella" as nickname.

Lovella

Starbaby name that might prove too supercharged for real life, but if like director Robert Rodriguez you're interested only in <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/r">boys' names starting with R</a>, you may need to add Rocket (and Rebel and Racer) to your list. 
Musician and fashion director Pharrell Williams named his son Rocket, telling Oprah, "In the same way the Indians named their children after a force or animal or element, we named him after a man-made machine that was meant to go up, meant to ascend."

Rocket

Few people would have considered the surname of this famous Victorian poet as a first name until Russell Crowe chose it for his son in 2006. But, as a rhythmic three-syllable patronymic, Tennyson has a lot going for it, not least of all the appealing nickname Tenny.
 
Derived from a medieval diminutive of Dennis, ultimately tying it to the Greek god of wine and revelry, Tennyson could equally make a novel choice for anyone trying to honor a Denise or Dennis. First appearing in the US stats back in thr 1910s, a recent year saw it chosen for more than 20 boys (and 8 girls), though its peak was back in 2014, when 48 boys were called Tennsyon.
 
Other options if you want a literary choice: the poet's first name, Alfred, or the name of another esteemed bard, such as Eliot, Poe, Byron, Lowell or Lorca. Alternatives if you're looking to honor a Dennis: Tenny, Dion, Donovan,

Tennyson

Rani, alternatively spelled Ranee, is the female equivalent of Raja in Hindi. In many Indo-Aryan languages it can mean "queen" or "lady". The Hebrew version is used for both genders in modern Israel. Actress Kate Hudson and director Danny Fujikawa named their daughter Rani after Fujikawa's late father, whose name was Ron.


Rani

Future

Arguably, an even more Anglicized spelling of László than Laszlo, this stripped back form of the Hungarian name has begun to see occasional use in the US, though the longer spelling is still twice as popular. Given to 13 boys in a recent count, the name ultimately comes from the Slavic Vladislav. 
 
The name is associated with an 11th century saint and king, celebrated for his bravery and Christian virtue, and in its traditional form, is a top ranking choice in Hungary.

Lazlo

Blue suddenly came into the spotlight, as the unusual color name chosen by Beyonce and Jay-Z for their baby girl Blue Ivy. Blue is also a starbaby middle name du jour, used for both sexes in different spellings and forms, from John Travolta and Kelly Preston's Ella Bleu to Alicia Silverstone's Bear Blu. Dave 'The Edge' Evans named his daughter Blue Angel back in 1989.
 Despite all these high profile female references, less than 40 percent of the babies name Blue today are girls. Blue is the heroine of the Marisha Pessl novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics.

Blue

A saint's name with a noteworthy literary background, including uses by Shakespeare in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Much Ado About Nothing, by Ben Johnson, Walter Scott, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence and Neil Gaiman. In real life, her two most well known representatives are writer Ursula Le Guin and actress Ursula Andress. In literature, there is also Ursula Iguaran, a key, long-lived character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's major work, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
 Caveat: Today's kids might associate this name with the campy, corpulent octopus in Disney's The Little Mermaid.
 Ursula ranked in the Top 1000 through 1983. Time for a comeback?

Ursula

A rarely-used place name (probably because of the last three letters), Essex was the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons and is now a county in England. The singer David Essex used it as his stage surname, and reality TV couple JP and Ashley Rosenbaum used it for their daughter's name, though few have followed suit.

Essex

Aire is a bygone spelling of "air", now reserved for poetic uses and in Kylie Jenner's case, baby names. Jenner originally announced her son's name to be Wolf, but quickly changed her mind and left the public in the dark. Weeks before his first birthday, she revealed her son's new name to be Aire.
 
Given that he is an air sign, Aquarius, born on 2.2.2022 — considered angel numbers — this skyward, heavenly name is a perfect fit. It also has a meteorological connection to his big sister's name, Stormi.
 
Aire was given to fewer than five babies of either sex the last year counted, although we expect it to make a giant leap a la Stormi's name following her birth. Another factor in its favor: the resonance with the word name Heir, itself a rising choice (and celebrity favorite).

Aire

Though Embry became famous as the name of a boy werewolf in Twilight, we think its Em- beginning and -y ending make it perfectly appropriate for a girl. You might consider it as an alternative to Emma, Emily, or Aubrey. Embry or Embury is an established English surname.

Embry

Most will see this as a refreshing middle name possibility, but Bristol Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston used it as a first name for his new daughter, Breeze Beretta. 

Breeze

Not too long ago, Ernie may have felt totally out of style: a clunky old man nickname, best reserved for grandpa alongside Merle, Errol, and Barney. Now however, it's a rising star, a vintage revival in the England and Wales Top 350 where it features alongside Percy and Teddie.
 
Traditionally used as a nickname for virtue name Ernest (or Earnest, if you prefer), celebrity chef Stephanie Izard made a strong case for Ernie when she gave the name to her son in 2016 while Princess Eugenie also uses Ernie as a nickname for son Ernest, giving it a royal connection.
 
Notably appearing in Sesame Street, a fun bit of trivia about Ernie is that it is an anagram of Irene.
 
A recent year saw it given to just 18 boys in the US, making it one of those "exclusively UK" favorites for now. Long form Ernest has, however, been quietly on the rise, given to more than 200 boys which could mean more little Ernies.

Ernie

This booming word name has been used every year since 1988, yet at most was given to 30 baby boys in a single year. But with names like Thunder, all it takes is one celebrity to bring it to the mainstream, and Usain Bolt could be the guy. He welcomed a son named Thunder (yes, Thunder Bolt) in 2021, twin to Saint Leo and brother to Olympia Lightning.
 
Thunder may seem like an odd choice for popularization, but related celebrity baby names such as Stormi, Zephyr, and Sunny are on the rise, so Thunder isn't that far of a stretch.

Thunder

Unique celebrity baby names might seem like a redundancy: Aren't most celebrity baby names unique?

Not really, but we may most attention to the rare, uncommon, unusual, and unique celebrity baby names, forgetting all the celebrities who named their babies Adelaide or Luna or Alexander -- just like us!

, when they do exist, often get REALLY unique, as in names no one has ever heard before. The most outrageous celebrity baby name in recent years is still Elon Musk and Grimes' not only unique but unpronounceable X Æ A-Xii.

Other uncommon names chose by celebrities recently include Christina Ricci's Cleopatra, Cardi B. and Offset's Kulture, and of course Usain Bolt's twin sons Saint and Thunder. That's right, Thunder Bolt.

There's also a girl named George and a boy named Laurie. Several celebrity babies were given nonbinary names such as Bowie, River, and Phoenix. And 

 are in some cases even more outrageous than their first names: Muse, Warrior, and of course Mixolydian.

rare, unusual, and uncommon celebrity baby names

, trying to stay on the near side of crazy but the far side of popular. Unique names given to celebrity babies over the past few years include the following notable choices.

Unique Celebrity Baby Names with rare, uncommon, and unusual names of celebrities' children, including origins, meanings, and popularity. (Page 10)