December 7, 2006
Celebrity Baby Name of the Day — “Gemma Rose”
“Gemma Rose”ÂÂ
Quite by chance, I picked out soccer star Michael Owen’s daughter, Gemma Rose, to serve as celebrity baby name of the day. It was then I noticed that yesterday’s choice also featured the middle name Rose.
A quick check of my database shows no less than five celebrity babies in 2006 alone with the name Rose as a middle name: actress Anna Gunn’s Eila Rose; soccer star John Terry’s Summer Rose; actor John Favreau’s Brighton Rose; comedian John Stewart’s Maggie Rose, and Melissa Etheridge’s Johnnie Rose.
The Social Security baby names stats show that the name Rose has been steadily declining in popularity for the past 90 years, slipping to # 333 in 2005, from # 15 in 1916. So what’s with all the roses among the celebs?
Maybe the name Rose is more popular as a middle name, which is also how English footballer Michael Owen and his wife Louise Bonsall chose to use it, when they named their daughter Gemma Rose in 2003. “Gemma” means “bud, or precious stone,” according to Alfred J. Kolatch’s Dictionary of First Names. That makes it a really nice combination with Rose, especially if you favor the “bud” meaning.
And you thought Michael Owen was only good for scoring goals.
Photo Credit: Creative Commons License, AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE
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