8 of the Most Outrageous Celebrity Baby Names

Celebrities have always had a flair for baby names that make you stop scrolling. Is it a desire to stand out, a nod to family history, or just having the money and confidence to ignore the class list at school? Probably a bit of all three. Whatever the reason, these picks range from sweet and thoughtful to genuinely head-scratching, and there’s a lot parents can learn from them, even if you have zero plans to name your child after an animal or a weather event.

SPURGEON ELLIOT

Jessa Duggar and her husband Ben Seewald named their son after Charles Spurgeon, the 19th century British preacher, but skipped straight to the surname rather than using Charles. The twist is that Spurgeon Elliot’s family nickname is Quincy, which has nothing to do with either of his actual names.

“When we first found out that we were expecting a baby, Ben and I were talking about a letter theme for our kids and Ben suggested, ‘Why don’t we go with the letter Q?'” Jessa wrote on a family friend’s blog. “Of course that was a joke, but from that point, Ben started calling our little one ‘Quincy,’ and the nickname just sorta stuck.”

It’s a good example of how a nickname can end up doing more work than the name on the birth certificate. Worth remembering if you pick something formal for the paperwork but suspect everyone will call your baby something else within a week.

ELSIE OTTER

Zooey Deschanel and her husband Jacob Pechenik named their daughter Elsie Otter simply because they love the animal. Deschanel explained it to the Today Show without any deeper mythology attached to it.

“We just really liked the name Elsie, and then we both love otters because they’re so sweet and also smart,” she said. “They use tools, they keep their favorite tools, they hold hands while they sleep, there are so many amazing things about otters. They’re wonderful animals.”

Elsie is a classic, gentle first name, so pairing it with Otter as a middle name softens the whole thing considerably. This is a handy trick if you want one unusual element without going all in on two.

ARLO DAY

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody named their daughter Arlo Day. Arlo is traditionally a boy’s name meaning something close to “army hill” or “fortified hill,” though it has become increasingly popular for girls over the past decade. The couple has never explained the reasoning publicly, which is fair enough, not every name needs a backstory.

JAGGER SNOW

Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross named their daughter Jagger Snow. Soleil Moon Frye also has a daughter called Jagger, and Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix has a son with the name, so it’s clearly had a moment among musicians. Jagger began life as an English occupational surname, linked to someone who carted or peddled goods for a living, which is a fittingly hardworking origin for a name that now sounds so glamorous.

SILAS RANDALL

Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake’s son Silas Randall might sound like an unusual pick, but Silas has quietly been climbing the popularity charts in the US since the early 2010s and has been sitting comfortably in the top 150 boys’ names for years now. It’s proof that some “unusual” celebrity choices are actually a few years ahead of a wider trend rather than genuinely one of a kind.

WOLFE LEE

Kimora Lee Simmons and her husband Tim Leissner named their son Wolfe. According to babynamespedia.com, it’s a German-rooted name meaning “wolf” or “brave,” pronounced “wahlf.” Strong, short and easy to spell for a name that sounds this bold, which is more than you can say for some entries on this list.

LACHLYN

Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar (best known for Saved by the Bell) and his wife Catriona named their fourth child, and second daughter, Lachlyn. It doesn’t appear in US Social Security naming data, but babynamespedia.com lists it as a variant of the Scottish name Lachlan, with Scots Gaelic roots that some sources tie to “land of lakes.” Worth noting that spelling variants like this one won’t show up in official baby name statistics, so if you’re chasing uniqueness, an unusual spelling of a familiar name is often the easiest way to get there.

REIGN ASTON

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick named their third child Reign Aston, riding the wave of royal-inspired baby names that also gave us a surge in Royalty, Royal, Prince and Regina around the same period, according to BabyCenter’s naming data. Whether you love or hate the “grand title as a first name” trend, it hasn’t slowed down much since.

More Unique Celebrity Baby Names Worth Knowing

• Titan Jewell – Kelly Rowland and husband Tim Weatherspoon
• Wyatt Isabelle – Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis
• Saint Lazslo – Pete Wentz and Meagan Camper
• Summer Rain – Christina Aguilera
• Royal Reign – Lil’ Kim
• North West – Kim Kardashian and Kanye West
• Cricket Pearl – Busy Philipps and husband Marc Silverstein

Thinking About Going Unusual With Your Own Baby’s Name?

You don’t have to be famous to love a distinctive name, and there’s nothing wrong with choosing one. A few practical things are worth thinking through before you commit it to a birth certificate, though:

• Say it out loud, a lot. Try it with your surname, shouted across a park, and said by a tired teacher doing the register. If it trips you up, it will trip other people up too.
• Think about spelling. A creative spelling of a familiar name can look lovely on a nursery wall but might mean your child spends their whole life correcting people. That’s not a dealbreaker, just something to expect.
• Consider the nickname it’ll attract. Kids often end up with a shortened version whether you choose one or not, as Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald found out with Spurgeon-turned-Quincy. It can help to pick a name you’d be happy with in any form.
• Check the initials. A quick glance at the first letters of the full name avoids any accidental awkward acronyms.
• Ask how it’ll read in twenty years. A name that feels fresh and fun on a newborn should also work for a job application, a passport, or a work email address further down the line.
• Talk it through with your partner and, if you want a second opinion, a few trusted family members. You don’t need everyone’s approval, but hearing a name said back to you by someone else can be useful before it’s official.

Whatever you decide, remember there’s no legal or medical reason to avoid an unusual name. It’s entirely a personal choice, and one you and your child will live with together. If you’re torn between something bold and something more traditional, it’s fine to sit with the shortlist for a while before you register the birth. There’s rarely any need to rush that final decision.