Since 2006, we have ended each year with our list of the Ten Most Notable Celebrity Baby Names of the year. For 2008, as in previous years, the task was not an easy one. Celebrities have a way of coming up with the most unusual, creative, and thought-provoking names. (Did someone say Bronx Mowgli?). So each year, we have to winnow down a large list into ten celebrity baby names that we think show the most creativity, or spark the most controversy, or, in some enduring way, can be termed ‘notable’.
2008 saw a whole crop of unusual celebrity baby names — more so than in 2007, when traditional names seemed to be a little more fashionable. By 2008, celebrities were choosing very personal, creative names for their offspring, often with an interesting back story. The year also seemed to include more foreign-sounding names, perhaps a testament to the growing diversity of this country.
Whatever the cause, 2008 was a fun year for celebrity baby names. It had a bumper crop of mega-celebrity births, with Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Ashlee Simpson, and other big names leading the way. Yet, with the exception of Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz naming their son Bronx Mowgli, there was perhaps a little less media hysteria in 2008 over celebrity baby names, compared to the watershed year of 2006, the year of Jayden James, Suri, and Shiloh-Nouvel.
If I had to come up with a single adjective to describe celebrity baby names in 2008, I would have to say it was the year of ‘cool’ celebrity baby names.
# 1. Bronx Mowgli.
How could it not be? Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz ‘bonded’ over the book and movie The Jungle Book, and called their son ‘Mowgli’ because, as Pete Wentz said, they thought it was a ‘cool’ name. Wentz refused to divulge the origin of the name Bronx. For some reason, this name set off a firestorm of attention, much of it negative. But in the end, the public seemed to warm up to it. Either way, Bronx Mowgli is here to stay, and earns our # 1 spot as the most notable celebrity baby name of 2008.
# 2. Zuma Nesta Rock.
Another cool celebrity baby name from Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, who named their first son Kingston James. For their second son, the couple continued to honor important places in their lives — Zuma is from Zuma Beach, California, which is a special place to Rossdale. Nesta was Bob Marley’s first name. And Rock, of course, is for ‘rock and roll’.
# 3. Harlow Winter Kate.
If there is one name in this year’s list that seems to have won praise from almost everyone, Harlow Winter is it. The name was chosen by Nicole Richie and Joel Madden for their first child. It was voted the top celebrity baby name by readers of BabyNames.com, and sources have indicated that Madden and Richie chose Harlow because both of them liked different Harlows — the actress Jean Harlow and the model Shalom Harlow. And both parents liked Winter because it is calm and serene. The soft, harmonious name was a huge hit among fans.
# 4. Jagger Joseph Blue.
Despite the name Joseph, this celebrity baby name went to a girl — the daughter of former Punky Brewster star Soleil Moon Frye. It’s a second generation celebrity baby name, since Soleil Moon herself is on a lot of older celebrity baby name lists! Jagger was a hot name in 2008 — presumably in honor of Sir Mick. And giving boys’ names to girls was also fashionable.
# 5. Peanut Kai.
How could I not put a name like Peanut on the most notable list? Soap star Ingo Rademacher (General Hospital) and his fiancee, Ehiku, named their son Peanut Kai. Just because they liked the name Peanut.
# 6. Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.
The names Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline would probably not make anyone’s notable list save for one thing — the twins’ parents are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Both names are rooted in family history. When your first baby photos sell for around $14 million, your names have to be on every list under the sun.
# 7. Sunday Rose.
Sunday Rose was another 2008 celebrity baby name to garner rave reviews. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban chose it for their first child together — a daughter born in July. But did they choose it? It turned out that the name Sunday was first proposed by Kidman’s father, Antony. Whatever the origin, this soft, sweet name was a big hit.
# 8. Nahla Ariela.
Yet another in a long line of mega-celebrity births in 2008, this time for Halle Berry. She and boyfriend Gabriel Aubry chose the name after their daughter was born, telling People that it was hard to choose a name until they met the recipient! Nahla means ‘honeybee’ in Arabic.
# 9. Rain India.
Actress Marisol Nichols (24) and husband Taron Lexton combined two trends in one for their daughter Rain India, born in September. Natural names, such as Rain, and placenames, such as India, are perennial favorites among celebrities. Combining the two trends is quite unusual.
# 10. Charlie Tamara Tulip.
Ugly Betty star Rebecca Romijn and husband Jerry O’Connell slipped in under the wire with this striking celebrity baby name, given to their daughter, born on December 28 along with twin sister Dolly Rebecca Rose. It’s not just that Charlie is a girl — it’s the combining it with Tulip that is risk-taking and notable. A girl named Charlie Tulip is bound to go far.
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