Unique Celebrity Baby Names

Tove is a modern variation of an Old Norse name for which there are no letters on the twenty-first century keyboard (Þórfríðr, for those interested.) Surviving and thriving in modern Scandinavia in the form of Tove, Tuva, and Tova, it is originally related to the name Thor and means "beautiful, beloved."
 
Internationally, its best-known wearers include Moomins creator Tove Jansson, and Swedish singer Tove, and in 2025, actress Lily Collins named her daughter Tove Jane after Jansson which may bring the name more widespread attention.
 
Beyond Tove, other popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/173/scandinavian-names">Scandinavian names</a> include Toril, Maja, Tyra, and Ebba.

Tove

An old-fashioned nickname in the Bud/Buzz/Biff mold; this one's kind of belligerent. Michelle Hicks and Jonny Lee Miller moved outside the box when they used it for their son--given the safer middle name of Timothy.

Buster

Krishna, in Hindu tradition, was the human incarnation of the god Vishnu, a heroic figure representing love, protection, tenderness and joy. Meaning "dark, black, dark blue" in from Sanskrit, Krishna is a major Hindu deity whose birthday is celebrated every year. 
 Although Krishna is associated with a male deity, it is not unusual for it to be used as a girl's name, as Top Chef star Padma Lakshmi did for her daughter, Krishna Thea. . In fact, a survey back in 2014 revealed that while it does lean masculine, the split is around 60:40.
 
In the past decade, Krishna has been extremely popular as a girls' name in Chile, where it reached Number 12 on the female popularity list in 2002

Krishna

Morocco is an attractive and rhythmic name, evocative of such fabled cities as Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakesh, in a country whose unique landscape and rich culture attracted such twentieth century writers as Tennessee Williams, Paul Bowles and William Burroughs.
 Mike Tyson named his baby boy Morocco Elijah. Mariah Carey's son is Moroccan. From all African place names, this is one of the most appealing.

Morocco

Bianka is a feminine name representing an Eastern European spelling variation of Bianca. The name ultimately derives from the Italian word 'bianca' meaning 'white' or 'pure.' This spelling with 'k' instead of 'c' is particularly common in Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, and some other Slavic languages. Bianka carries the same associations of purity, innocence, and brightness as Bianca while offering a distinctive spelling that reflects Eastern European naming traditions. The name has moderate popularity in countries like Hungary and Poland but remains less common in Western countries. Bianka offers a slightly exotic alternative to the more familiar Bianca while maintaining the same elegant, feminine quality. Notable bearers include Hungarian handball player Bianka Pap and Polish actress Bianka Cwiklinska.

Bianka

When playwright Thomas Lanier Williams adopted the pen name of Tennessee, he created a new possibility among American place-names, although it's admittedly a bit bulky in size. 

Reese Witherspoon brought it back into the spotlight when she chose it for her son. While Tennessee's two most famous bearers are male, the name can work equally well for a child of any gender.

Tennessee

Keeva, the name chosen by "How I Met Your Mother" star Alyson Hannigan for her daughter, has recently been a Top 20 name in Ireland, using the authentic spelling Caoimhe. The male version is Caomhin--anglicized as Kevin.

Keeva

Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie put this name of a geographical feature on the baby name map when she chose it for her newborn daughter, Vale Guthrie Feldman.  Vale might be considered part nature name, part place name: A vale is a kind of valley, often used in poetry.

This truly unique choice doesn't even register on the US extended list of names given to five babies or more, but we expect Vale to register as parents are inspired by Guthrie and husband Mike Feldman's creative choice.

More prosaicly, Vale might be a short form of Valerie or Valentina.

Vale

A unique alternative to Ezra, with which Ezer shares a root. Only five baby boys were named Ezer in 2021, and though the name is technically unisex, no baby girls.

Ezer

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have done it again for their third child: Chosen a name that feels iconic yet strangely inevitable. They named North and Saint's younger sister Chicago, after Kanye's hometown. The name Chicago derives from a Native American word for "wild garlic," which once grew plentifully in the Illinois city, the third most populous in the US.
 
Though one of the distinctly <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/519/american-baby-names">American names</a>, Chicago has almost never been used as a first name before. The Social Security Administration reported six baby girls and five baby boys named Chicago in 2018, following the starbaby birth. In the years that have followed, Chicago has always been given to more boys than girls.

Chicago

Max names were one of the hottest trends for boys in the mid-2010s, and are still very popular. The girl versions haven't seen so much love, unfortunately. (Or fortunately, if you love them and want them to stay rare!) Maxima got some attention in 2015 when Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan used it for their daughter, but few parents have copied them.
The Nissan Maxima is a car model.

Maxima

Osian is the easier-to-comprehend version of the ancient Irish Oisin, an important name in mythology. Osian or Oisin was a warrior poet. Osian is popular in modern Wales and England. While Oisin is pronounce oh-SHEEN, Osian is pronounced O-shan -- though we bet most Americans would just say ocean, which you may consider a good thing.

Osian

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky named their baby boy RZA, inspired by the frontman of the Wu-Tang Clan. RZA is the stage name of Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, who has produced the most records for the hip hop group.
 
Diggs chose the stage name RZA in 1992, when the Wu-Tang Clan formed. It was based off one of his nicknames, Rza Rza Rakeem, as well as his graffiti tag, Razor. According to Diggs, RZA stands for "Ruler, Zig-Zag-Zig, Allah", which means "Ruler, Knowledge-Wisdom-Understanding, Allah" when translated into the Supreme Alphabet of the Five-Percent Nation Black nationalist movement.

Nickname name from the era of Father Knows Best, though we can see it making something of a comeback, a la Clover and Pippa. Cricket has new potential especially since it has recently been chosen by Busy Philipps. Still, it's one of the quirkier <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/c">girl names starting with C</a>.

Cricket

A fun and confident choice, Holiday is a celebratory name, particularly associated with Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year, and with rest, leisure, and vacations more generally. Fitting for a winter baby, but totally sunny too, it comes from the Old English hāligdæg meaning "holy day" as it was originally used to mark religious festivals and celebrations.
 
A quietly used option since the 50s, jazz singer Billie Holiday lends the name an element of glamor too, while familiar nickname Holly keeps it grounded. In a recent count, just 21 girls were called Holiday in the US, making this a rare choice that doesn't sound too out there.

Holiday

An appealing Irish placename with a unisex feel, Ennis would be a fresh alternative to Dennis and Ellis. It's little-used for boys and even rarer for girls, but since Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons used it for their son, it could be one to watch.

Ennis

The sources that do list this name give it as a boys' name, but Woody Harrelson chose it for his daughter, and it does have a feminine lilt.

Makani

When people talk about unique baby names, Apple is often one of the first examples they mention. Apple made international headlines when Gwyneth Paltrow chose this wholesome fruit name for her daughter. Many have called it ridiculous, but we have to admit, we find it appealing enough to list as one of our top <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/508/cute-baby-names-for-girls">cute baby names</a>. Rocker Bob Geldof named one of his daughters Peaches; Banana Yoshimoto is a hipster writer. Another choice in this genre is the luscious Plum, though for different reasons, neither Prune nor Cherry will fly.

Apple

Bunny may be adorable, but is it really enough of a name for your daughter? Plus if Buffy is fluffy, what would that make Bunny? 

Still, Bunny as a baby name is in the spotlight since Bryan Adams named his little girl Mirabella Bunny. It makes an old school Waspy nickname for any name that starts with B.

Bunny

Brother for Biff and Bud.   McFly rocker Tom Fletcher transformed this from midcentury short form to modern cool name when he used it for his newborn son.

Buzz

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 12)