Few celebrity baby names have generated as much commentary in recent years as that of Bono’s first son, Elijah Patricius Bob Guggi Q.

EPBGQ, as I like to call him, was born August 18, 1999, to Bono, and his wife Alison Stewart. Many people have commented on the name, usually with disbelief and derision, but really, it’s very easy to decode if you take a few moments.

The first three names, Elijah, Patricius (Latin for Patrick) and Bob, are hardly earthshaking. Elijah is simply Elijah, a very popular boy’s name these days. Patricius — well, it doesn’t get more Irish than Patrick. The fact that it is Latinized should not be surprising — the name “Bono” itself has Latin connections, in that Bono’s originial nickname was Bono Vox, which is both a brand of hearing aid, and Latin for “good voice.” And Bob, presumably, is in honor of Bono’s father, Brendan “Bob” Hewson.

Guggi is no mystery either. This U2 FAQ site answers the question “who is Guggi”? He is a friend from Bono’s early days in Dublin, who used to rehearse with U2 on occasion. Today, Guggi is a well-known painter.

So that leaves us with Q. Who is Q? I don’t actually know. I’m hoping Bono reads this blog and will leave a comment. My guess is that EPBGQ gets his Q from James Bond novels and films, where Q is the long-suffering head of research and development who comes up with all of Bond’s cool gadgets, which Bond always manages to destroy in using them.

Or not.

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photo by Photorazzi

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