Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen, daughter of Frank Zappa and Adelaide Gail Sloatman

Legendary musician Frank Zappa in many ways started the craze for wacky baby names after blasting onto the parenting scene with daughter Moon Unit in 1969. Referred to as ‘Zappagens’ on his website, Frank and Adelaide also have Dweezil and Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, before a final creative flourish with daughter Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen, born July 30, 1979.

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Pilot Inspektor, son of Jason Lee and Beth Riesgraf

The title character from hit US show My Name Is Earl, Jason clearly wanted a more exciting end to that sentence for his son. Jason reportedly landed on Pilot after hearing the Grandaddy song lyrics, “He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot”. The inspiration for Inspektor is unknown.

Kal-El Coppola Cage, son of Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim

Growing up wanting to be Superman is one thing, but naming your child Superman’s Kryptonian name? Well, Nicolas himself changed his name from Coppola to Cage due to his love of Marvel comics and Power-Man Luke Cage. Why he didn't just go the whole hog and call his son Luke is a mystery.

Memphis Eve, daughter of Bono and Alison Hewson

Born Paul David Hewson, U2 front man Bono seems to have wanted to give his daughter a head start in the name game. While the couple’s first daughter was given the somewhat more common name of Jordan, their second daughter, Memphis Eve (born July 1991), has probably spent most of her life followed by the sound of the Marc Cohn (ok, Cher) hit.

Tu Morrow, daughter of Rob Morrow and Debbon Ayer

Ah, long live parental wit. Rob Morrow, known for his part in US TV show Numb3rs did what every child dreads and made a pun out of his daughter’s name. While Tu’s full name is Tu Simone Ayer Morrow, there’s no getting away from the fact that her name, Tu Morrow, will oft be followed by a sarcastic chuckle if she tries to book a table in a restaurant for tomorrow, for Tu Morrow.

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Prince Michael II/Blanket, son of Michael Jackson and Deborah Jeanne Rowe

As the King of Pop, it makes relative sense that Michael chose to call his son Prince Michael – drop the Prince and it’s playground-ready. But, unfortunately for his third child Michael, born February 13 1997, his famous father had already named his eldest son Prince too, so Michael II became known as Blanket. Not to be outdone, Michael’s brother Jermaine Jackson called the youngest of his nine children Jermajesty…

Blue Ivy, daughter of Beyonce and Jay-Z

From album names, to memorable dates, to Beyonce’s Roman numeral IV tattoo, there’s been much speculation as to the meaning behind Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter Blue’s name. Blue, who turns 1 in January, has even been given honorary citizenship for a small town in Croatia after a video seems to suggest Beyonce revealed the name during a visit.

Knox Leon, son of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

The Brangelina brood has a growing collection of wacky baby names. Zahara, 7, Shiloh, 6, twins Vivienne and Knox, 4, Maddox, 11 and Pax, 8, all make up their family of adopted and biological children. It’s believed Knox is a reference to Brad’s grandfather, Hal Knox Hillhouse, while Leon is Angelina’s great-great grandfather’s name.

Egypt Daoud Dean, son of Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz

Celebrities turning to countries for baby name inspiration is proving ever more popular. Kourtney Kardashian named her daughter Penelope Scotland earlier this year, while Chris Hemsworth’s daughter is called India. Egypt is generally more popular for girls, but Alicia seems to have tapped into an emerging trend. Perhaps a celebrity tot named Vegas or Ibiza will crop up soon.

Astala Dylan Willow Cohen-Geldof, son of Peaches Geldof and Thomas Cohen

Peaches quite calmly explained that her and Thomas’ baby name choice came from a baby book, an obscure one she admits, but a baby name book all the same. Her dad, Sir Bob Geldof, however, had a little more to say on his grandson’s name, “Yuck! What’s he going to be called in school? Ass?” This from the man who named his daughters Peaches Honeyblossom, Little Trixie and Fifi Trixibelle. People in glass houses and all that.

Apple, daughter of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

If you thought there was a cosmic reason behind the meaning of Gwyn and Chris’ baby name choice, you’ll be disappointed. Gwyneth herself doesn’t even seem to quite know where it came from telling Oprah, “Right, well, um, basically it was because when we were first pregnant, her daddy said, if it’s, basically one day he just said if it’s a girl I think her name should be Apple.” They also have a son called Moses.

Princess Tiaamii, daughter of Peter Andre and Katie Price

Peter and Katie’s name choice for their youngest, daughter Princess Tiaamii, 5, is a lesson to us all in thinking about the future. While Princess is an apparent nod to Katie’s love for all things princess related (you saw the wedding, right?), Tiaamii is the collaboration of both their mothers’ names. Peter’s mum Thea and Katie’s mum Amy, all rolled into one to make Tiaamii. Not so great now they’re divorced.

Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver, son of Jamie and Jools Oliver

In the interest of looking on the bright side, Jamie’s youngest son, born 15 September 2010, is probably lucky he wasn’t called Pukka. Buddy isn’t the only one to come a cropper either, joining a line up of alternative names among the Oliver brood – Poppy Honey, 10, Daisy Boo Pamela, 9, and Petal Blossom Rainbow, 3. We’re almost relieved Jamie’s put a stop to Jools’ desire for more children.

Sparrow James Midnight, son of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden

Nicole and Joel said they felt 3-year-old son Sparrow’s name sounded nice and matched well with their first child, 4-year-old daughter Harlow. Not to come across as too boring, Nicole apparently said that of course it was also a nod to Captain Jack Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Bingham, son of Kate Hudson and Matt Bellamy

Like a bad joke, it’s a worry when you have to explain your child’s name. After Bingham was born, Kate’s second child and first with Matt, Matt tweeted, “For those wondering, Bingham is my mum’s maiden name and Bing Russell was Kurt’s dad. Family connections all round!”

Moroccan and Monroe, son and daughters of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

In fairness, given that twins’ Moroccan and Monroe are Mariah Carey’s children, their relatively tame names mean they were almost left off the list. That was until it was revealed Mariah settled on the name Moroccan because it’s Nick’s favourite room in their LA mansion.

Aleph, Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied

After keeping quiet for weeks, the hype around Natalie and Benjamin’s name choice reached fever pitch. Their choice, Aleph, was met with some pained faces. However, it’s said to be a personal choice for the pair with religious meaning, being the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

Harper Seven, daughter of David and Victoria Beckham

David and Victoria have a penchant for different names. Their sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz all paved the way for little sister Harper Seven, whose name was as highly anticipated as Becks in his boxers. While Harper has since become the name of one of Victoria’s handbag lines, David said they chose it as a nod to VB’s favourite book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Collins (sales of which subsequently went through the roof). Seven is believed to be a lucky number, with Becks explaining it symbolises spiritual perfection, the seven wonders of the world and the seven colours of the rainbow.

Kai, son of Coleen and Wayne Rooney

Coleen and Rooney’s son Kai, who’s about to turn 3, was given the name Kai without much fuss about what it means. Wayne’s grandma Pat said it was all down to Coleen, but little else has been said. Now expecting their second child, we wonder if Wayne will get to take the reins and choose the next one?

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Zuma, son of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale

Gwen and Gavin have two children, Kingston, 6, and Zuma, 4, often spotted looking just as trendy as their singer-come-fashion-designer mum. Rather unfortunately though, since Zuma’s birth, exercise craze Zumba has really kicked off. We bet Gwen didn’t see that trend coming.

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