With thousands of baby names to choose from, how do you pick the right one? We reveal the inspiration behind some of the most memorable celebrity baby names.
Cate Blanchett, actress
Son Ignatius Martin Upton
Already mum to two sons with the original names, Dashiell, 6, and Roman, 4, Indiana Jones star Cate Blanchett was unlikely to call her third baby boy something simple like John. The grand-sounding Ignatius actually means ardent or burning, although we’re not sure quite how that will help him out when the school register is being called.
Chris Noth, aka Sex And The City’s Mr Big
Son Orion
New York’s most famous fictional lothario who made Ms Carrie Bradshaw’s knees go weak, gave his firstborn baby the name Orion after the mythical Greek archer who had a constellation named after him.
Geri Halliwell, Ex-Spice Girl
Daughter Bluebell Madonna
No one was surprised when outlandish Ginger gave her daughter these unusual names. The Bluebell part comes from Granny Halliwell, who was a member of the risqué Parisian dance troupe the Bluebell Girls. And Madonna (which means ‘my lady’ in Italian) came from baby Bluebell herself, now 5, who screamed so much when she was born that Geri thought that she was yelling, “Hello Wembley!”
Ben Stiller, big-screen comedian
Son Quinlin Dempsey
Maybe playing Gaylord Focker in Meet The Fockers affected Ben more than we realised. When it came to christening his baby son he went for appropriately macho baby names, the first means fit and strong, and the second comes from the Gaelic for proud.
Jason Lee, star of My Name is Earl
Son Pilot Inspektor
This one gets 10/10 for baby names wackiness. It’s rumoured daddy was inspired by a song by the American rock group Grandaddy.
Katie Price and Peter Andre
Daughter Princess Tiaamii
While Princess means ‘royal daughter’, the Tiaamii (tee-ah-me) part comes from squashing together Nanny Andre and Granny Price’s names, Thea and Amy. Good thing they weren’t named Diana and Rhea!
David and Victoria Beckham
Son Cruz
The Beckhams apparently wanted a holy name for their youngest son, now 6, and Cruz means cross in Spanish. It’s also daddy David’s footballing speciality.
Nicole Richie, socialite
Daughter Harlow Winter Kate
It’s unlikely that the Essex town was the inspiration for Ms Richie’s baby girl, now 3, more likely it was inspired by 1930s actress Jean Harlow. The name is of English origin and means ‘troops on the hill’. We imagine mum chose Winter just to be different – cos LA’s always sunny – and Kate means blessed.
Mum's story
“I knew I would win in the end!”
“When I was pregnant with my first child, my husband and I could not agree on girl’s names. I had always loved the name Scarlett, and could not consider another name for my first daughter. My husband had a friend at work who would complain about her friend’s daughter called Scarlett.
“He could not come round to us using the name and when I went into labour, we still had not decided. When our daughter was born, I think he was so overwhelmed with the whole experience that he was happy to give in to the name. Now he associates the name with his Scarlett, and loves it!”
Denise, 36, mum to Scarlett, 4, and Tom, 6 months
