We nominate actor Kevin Durand and wife Sandra Cho’s choice for the “Sheer Beauty” award, for this luminous, moonstruck combo. Amélie, the French version of the popular Amelia(number 15 here, number one in England), came to the U.S. on the wings of the charming 2001 French film. Moon has become a bright new middle-name option, quirkily adorable.
Apollo Bowie Flynn
The whole No Doubt band has been dubbed (by us) as “Best Musical Group Baby Namers”, led by vocalist Gwen Stefani. After sons Kingston James McGregor and Zuma Nesta Rock came Apollo, classical god of music, truth, the sun, poetry and more. Can’t get much cooler than that.
Art
Irishman Chris (“Bridesmaids”) O’Dowd chose this vintage nickname for Arthur. But wait — if you don’t know your Irish history — Art is the noble name borne by a number of legendary kings. And there’s also the connection to art, with a lowercase ‘a.’
Delta Bell
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard get the “Most Surprising Siblings” prize for their diametrically different names for their daughters. First came a girl given the presidential surname Lincoln in 2013, followed by the languid and lush, ultra-femme, southern Delta, less than two years later.
Edith Vivian Patricia
On a recent talk show, Cate Blanchett revealed the inspiration behind the names of her first three children — Roman, after director Polanski and the French word for novel, Dashiell from Dashiell Hammett, and Ignatius from a children’s Doctor Underpants book (“I must have been hallucinating.”). But for her first daughter, adopted last winter, she went in an entirely different direction, combining three lovely, traditional appellations.
Elsie Marigold
Ioan Gruffudd and Alice Evans get the Cutest Combo Award for this double vintage choice. Elsie, until recently a dusty old Elizabeth nickname, is in the process of being polished up — it’s reached number 32 in England and Wales — and Marigold is a fresh new flower in the name garden. This latest little Gruffudd shared the El-beginning of her name with sister Ella Betsi.
Ophelia
Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, who was ahead of the starbaby pack with older daughters Violet Maye and Harper Willow, now gets the “Best Shakespearean Choice” prize for using the lovely name of Hamlet’s tragic heroine.
Poppy Louise
We wouldn’t expect you to name your kid Gramps or Pop-Pop, but Jenna Bush Hager was fortunate (and clever) enough to use the childhood nickname of her grandfather, George H. W. Bush, as the trendy name of her second daughter. Middle name Louise, another family honor name, makes a nice, gentle counterpoint to the peppy Poppy, making this the “Most Perfect Tribute Name.”
Valor
There are any number of virtue names for girls, but very few for boys. Actor Emile Hirsch made this bold choice for his son, a name that had previously been seen only in comic books. Valor is hereby declared “Most Creative Word Name” in recent times.
Silas Randall
Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake looked back into their family history and chose the middle name of Justin’s maternal grandfather as the baby’s first, while Randall is the middle name of both Timberlake and his dad — another solid choice with real meaning.
Winnie Rose
There is just something so winning about Winnie, the name of Jimmy Fallon’s older daughter (the second is Frances/Franny) that the old-timey, endearing nickname for Winifred wins the “Neatest Vintage Nickname” award. Runners-up are Drew Barrymore’s girl Frankie (sister of Olive) and Max Greenfield’s Ozzie James.
Zephyr Emerson
This light and breezy name of the Greek god of the west wind was the interesting choice of tech entrepreneur and Facebook founding president Sean Parker, who also named his first daughter Winter Victoria, as well as several notably branded companies.
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