Naming your baby

Newsday ^ | 6/26/06 | Pat Burson

[qam1]

Many parents, especially celebrities, are choosing distinctive names or spellings to make their children stand out

Choosing a name for your newborn requires a certain level of sober reflection, contemplation and introspection.

Expectant parents consult relatives and friends, leaf through scores of books and scour the Internet for just the right handle to reflect their little cherub's shining personality, obvious brilliance and unquestionable character.

So it makes you wonder what the recent spate of Hollywood celebrity parents were thinking - or drinking - when they chose such distinctive names, to put it kindly, for their high-profile offspring. That goes for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who named their daughter Shiloh, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, who named their girl Suri.

Sure, we've had a chuckle at some and scratched our heads over others, but before you go calling your sons Dilbert after your favorite cartoon character or christening your daughters Brangelina because you adore Couple-of-the-Moment Pitt and Jolie, give it some thought, baby and parenting experts say.

Like all parents, celebrities see their children as extensions of themselves and choose names that reflect their tastes and values, says Babytalk magazine senior editor Christina Vercelletto.

"What's driving this is this whole sort of Gen-X competitive parenting trend," Vercelletto says. "Parents who are now in their 30s, they have their children, and they feel that from birth it's practically a competition. You want your child to stand out. We live in a competitive society, and you don't want your child to blend into the woodwork."

"Names are really brands," says Rachel Weingarten, a branding and trends expert and the president of GTK Marketing Group in Brooklyn.

Take Brangelina's baby, Shiloh. "You're saying we have turned this into a money-maker from birth,"

"It's this whole, 'Look at me' kind of thing."

[BelegStrongbow]

Most Tolkienites will immediately think: "Fool of a Took!"

[Hammerhead]

yeh, my mom said "GOO-Nar" was German or something...

I wanted it Americanized to 'Gunner'

I think Boomer Esiasan (sp) named his son 'Gunner' or something close.

Couse it would be even cooler if I could delete our last name from his birth certificate and it simply read;

First Name: 'Gunner'
Last Name: 'none'

; )

[samanella]

Carolina is surely a better name than Tennessee! Sheesh!

I once saw a birth announcement in the Athens (GA) Banner Herald: Tonto Kemosabe Brown. I'll never forget it.

[leda]

your name suits you too!
...just as it did your grandfather :)

[RepoGirl]

We went uber traditional with our little one: Beatrice Pauline. Most people we meet approve of it, although a few think its too stodgy. She's not a Bea, either, but a Bebe or Beezus (from the Ramona books.)

If we have a boy next, he'll be Joshua Michael or James Michael.

[Maumee]

Had a whole gaggle of youngun's named um sensible like, Leon,Vickery,Harmdon Becca,Goldy,Blossom and the twins Pete and Repete.

[steve8714]

Hi, I'm TODD..this is my friend TUCKER..and my other friend KYLE
from George Carlin

[Betty Jane]

We had a family at our school with three daughters. The youngest was Tabitha, which is a cute name until you find out the older 2 were Samantha and Sabrina. All are very nice girls, but why the witch names?

[rwrcpa1]

My daughter's name. No "H".

"Princess"

[rwrcpa1]

I know one, too. A girl. All the kids in that family have weird names.

[Coldwater Creek]

It is a biblical name. Our next door neighbors named their new baby Tabitha.

[steve8714]

All Hall-of Famer Red Schoendienst's kids have Irish first names, but not unusual ones like Connaught or that.

[Constitution Day]

I like the name Chloe.

[steve8714]

I wanted to name my boy Guido.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

Wait until they realize that Shiloh is a popular dog movie, and obviously if you have children you've seen it and that is the first thing one thinks of when you hear Shiloh.

[Coldwater Creek]

Just like the C;intons.

[napscoordinator]

What's driving this is this whole sort of Gen-X competitive parenting trend,"


I am a gen x'er and I never even realized this was going on. My kids are Ryan, Jeremy, and Adam. I guess I am behind the times.

[marmar]

Either way, I like it and I don't have any curtain climbers, the little blessing that they are.........

[VegasCowboy]

I know a kid named "Talon."

Wow. I know a Talon as well. I can't believe two sets of parents thought that was a good name.

Believe it or not, I know another couple who named their son "Blade." If that's not just asking for your child to be a convict, I don't know what is.