The Name Game: Back to Basics
Celebrities are known for pushing the envelope when it comes to naming their babies — to say the least! Nameberry.com co-founder Linda Rosenkrantz notes that recently some celebrities have been blazing a different trail, however. “One of the latest trends among celebrity parents is the trend away from trendiness,” she notes. “Even though we still see some extreme choices like Bandit and Bronx, more and more celebs seem to be opting for classic, traditional, ‘normal’ names.”
Although it’s possibly a backlash against all the negative publicity provoked by their “kooky” celebrity baby name counterparts, Linda suspects that “a bigger factor is the wish to give their children names with substance and, ideally, some connection to family history.”
 Ramey; Mike/Splash News Online; Pacific Coast News |
British royal names — Anglo-Saxon classics — have made a real comeback, and Henry leads the charge. The name of choice for celebrity parents like Julia Roberts, Minnie Driver, Heidi Klum and Rachel Weisz, Linda labels Henry “one of the hottest names in Hollywood.” Other star-baby boy names in this category include James, as chosen by Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Isaac Hanson, Tom Cavanagh and Colin Farrell; John, as chosen by Julie Bowen, Nancy Grace, Bridget Moynahan, Johnny Depp and Lauryn Hill; Edward, as chosen by Megyn Kelly; Charles, as chosen by Russell Crowe, Emily Robison, Cynthia Nixon and Chris O’Donnell; William, as chosen by Sarah Shahi, Mary Louise Parker and Billy Crudup and Clay Walker; and George, as chosen by Eva Herzigova and Kristin Scott Thomas.
There are other, non-regal traditional boys’ names that are making a comeback on celebrity birth certificates. Mayim Bialik named her son Frederick, Jack Black and Dennis Quaid each chose Thomas, Traci Lords has a Joseph (while Kate Winslet went straight to the nickname Joe), Bryce Dallas Howard is mom to Theodore, Jennifer Hudson opted for David Daniel, and one of Diana Krall and Elvis Costello’s twins is called Frank.
Click below to learn the biggest perk of picking a classic name.
Linda goes on to note that a big advantage to a classic name is the litany of nicknames they usually will offer.
“So although these children have conventional names in first position, ready to face the serious challenges of life, some of them are called by lighter nickname or middle names, such as the Schreiber boys, Alexander and Samuel, who go by Sasha and Kai, Amanda Peet’s Frances, who answers to ‘Frankie,’ and William Huckleberry Paisley, known to one and all as ‘Huck.’”
For girls, the anti-trendy trend hasn’t been as quick to catch on. There have been very few celebrity babies named Mary, Margaret, Katharine or even Elizabeth in recent years, though Linda says that some traditional favorites continue to thrive. Among them are Charlotte, as chosen by Sarah Michelle and Freddie Prinze and Dylan McDermott; Stella, as chosen by Tori Spelling, Gena Lee Nolin and Ellen Pompeo; Lily, as chosen by Fred Savage; and Grace, as chosen by Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra, Norah O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Linda adds,
“What we do see is an interesting revival of normal names that haven’t been popular for a while (and well may reflect family connections), such as Adele (Molly Ringwald), Marion (Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick), Beatrice (Heather Mills and Paul McCartney) and June (Balthazar Getty).”
In addition to her work with nameberry.com, Linda has co-authored ten baby-naming books with Pamela Redmond-Satran. Their newest title, Beyond Ava & Aiden, is available now.
Did you/would you use a traditional name? Which did you choose and why?
– Missy
- Posted on Oct 2, 09 at 2:00PM
- Permalink
- 36 Comments
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I LOVE traditional baby names! My obvious favorite for a girl is Lily (my daughter’s name), followed by Grace. For a boy I liked James, Edward, and Henry.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I’m not saying there aren’t more however I have only met one other child/person with my son’s name but it was spelled with a Z. I named my son Xayne pronounced Zane. I think its a strong name, unique, but not weird. I really like all the traditional names above too. Xayne’s middle name is Alexander.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
I love the name Colin and Alivia…because they are traditional and with these there is a minimal chance of having a nickname..the more traditional name the less likely there being a nickname
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I named my 4 year old son Henry. I don’t like nicknames either. One day someone asked me how Hank was doing. I had no idea Hank was a nickname for Henry.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
James is in honor of James Broderick, Matthew’s late father.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I can’t stand nicknames either.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I named my 4 year old daughter Susannah Grace and I get comments on it every day about how much people love it. My sister has a daughter named Anabelle and her sons name is Gideon. I just love old fashioned names!
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Frederick is a VERY regal name–there was a holy roman emperor named Frederick.
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I love traditional names, especially for boys. James is a personal favourite (although I’d use it as a middle name rather than a first). Same goes for Thomas, William, Henry and George.
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
I love traditional names. I think that in a way they are unique and timeless. the names that I love are…
boys: James, John, Charles, Frank, Henry, Fred, Howard, Lewis, Harvey, Dean, Hugh, Everette, Wesley, Gerard, Grady, Ross, Harlan, Harley, Woodrow, Grant, Harrison, Spencer, Elliot, Jackson, Noah, Vaughn, Emerson, Dexter, Granville, Farrell, Maxwell, Rupert, Garrett, Zane, Eldridge, Elwyn, Hardy, Brent, Brooks, Lucian, Rowland, Reid, Cliff, Oran, Randy, Thad, Evans, Emmit, Harrell, Crawfod, Quinton, Hal, Owen, Luca, Alastair, Cain, Harold.
girls: Betty, Helen, Carol, Ruth, Frances, Alice, Donna, Phyllis, Evelyn, Rose, Peggy, Louise, Ruby, Eleanor, Jane, Rita, Florence, Sarah, Patsy, Bonnie, Sally, Ethel, Edith, Emma, Marion, Esther, Elsie, Ella, Bobby, Vera, Mattie, Myrtle, Violet, Pearl, Joy, Mae, Faye, Pat, Rachel, Rosie, Emily, Stella, Lula, Hattie, Gwendolyn, Patty, Fannie, Daisy, Johnnie, Flora, Ada, Della, Blanche, Eloise, Katie, Estelle, Frankie, Nettie, Jimmie, Ollie, Lou, Etta, Fern, Mavis, Lee, Willa, Helene, Gracie, Lottie, Cleo, Addie, Lynn, Nell, Betsy, Estella, Polly, Ruthie, Lizzie, Goldie, Francis, Olive, Pearlie, Dolly, Sybil, Molly, James, Greta, Sophie, Gwen, Milly, Joe, Bobby, Aurora, Freddie, Elouise, Helena, Georgie, Terry, Lessie, Bertie, Maude, Charles, Roxie, Madge, Laurel, Hester, Toni, Charlie, Gerry, Phoebe, Zella, Birdie, Sammie, Elsa, Vada, Dottie, Kitty, Helen, Billie, Rhea, Hallie, Dovie, Penny, Kate, Floy, Linnie, Ginger, Penelope, Ivy, Dee, Lonnie, Daphne, Zoe, Ramona, Lulu, Ray, Franny.
haha, it’s alot but I just love looking up popular names from the 20’s-40’s. I plan on naming my first son Harlan, Harrison, Grant, Wesley or Lucian and my first daughter Dottie, Carol, Sybil or Blanche.. but I love Freddie for a girl too
traditional names are great<3
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:01 pm
My duaghter’s name is Katharine Hazel. Katharine is a name that both my husband and I liked. Hazel is a family name. We wanted a traditional name and something that could grow with her. We had the nickname of Kitt picked out but we mainly call her Katharine because it just seems to fit so well.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I love traditional names and bicause I’m from different country not from USA I would love to name my children (some day in the future) with names that are used in most countries and that are usual in most countries like
Alexander or Alex, Luca, Daniel and some other names for boys,
Maria, Izabela, Sarah, Emma, Katerina ( same spelling as Catharine), Anna, Maya …. for girls
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
#2 I love the name Zane/Zain/Xayne, strong but playfull, unique and kooky yet still normal and not to out of the box.
I like classic names athat are also quite unique and kirky.
Olivia, Zander, Juniper, Greta, Savannah, James, Eleanor.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Audrey and Nathaniel are both classic names that I love
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 pm
LOVELOVELOVE classic names! For girls, some of my faves are Audrey, Eloise, Georgia and Eleanor! For boys, Collin, Garrett, Wesley and Noah!
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
I love traditional names! I was the only Ruth in my graduating class and no one my age (24) has my name that I know of. When and if I have children I’ll give them traditional names;I love Max Daniel, Ian Michael after my grandfathers, Miriam Sarah and Lillian Helene after my aunts.
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I love classic names. They have a timeless feeling to them and often sound very elegant/strong. I really like: Lottie, Frances, Stella, Sadie, Clementine, Audrey, Hazel, Eleanor, Harriet, Millicent, Olive, Violet, Ruby, Imogen, Sophia, Matilda, Eve, Billie, Beatrice, Coco, Eugenie, Esme, Isabelle, June, Kit, Ava, Adelaide, Harlow, Henrietta, Scout, Pearl, Iris, Ivy and Felicity for girls and Joseph, Alexander, Henry, George, James, Alastair, Alfie, Edward, Eamonn, Beckett, Sebastian, William, Edwin and Johnny for boys.
October 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 pm
I love name posts. Especially the classics – I have an Oliver. Next children possibilitys include freddie, annabelle, Minnie and eloise. Love adelaide as well but daddy isn’t going for it. Zane (xan) very popular in my area right now. Cute
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I love traditional as well. My son is Ethan Alexander…Alex. My daughter is Amelia Claire. I LOVE both of their names
and it was important to me to give them the same letter. My sister and I had the same intials. I thought it was neat, so I wanted to have both kids to have “A” names.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:08 pm
I have four kids… Some traditional names, some not so much… I do have an “Elisabeth” and a “Samuel” in the mix.
October 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
I love old fashioned names.
Henry and Jack are my two favorite boy names.
Also Im almost positive that Johnny Depp’s sons name is Jack not John.
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:19 am
Micheley, Johnny Depp’s son’s name is John, but goes by Jack. Jack is a nickname for John
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:37 am
I love traditional names and always planned to give my children classic names,related to my family history.But sometimes, life forces you to reconsider.What I didn’t foresee is that I’d fell in love with an english man (I’m French), so my dreams for François, Guillaume,Jean or Côme were suddenly difficult.
We had to pick names easy to say and write for both parts of the family and I discovered that english speaking people were not comfortable with many vowels in a row(Guillaume),cedillas or accents (François, Aurélien,Côme)and that Jean was a girl name for them (French version of John for us).
We settled for Pierre,Marc and Thomas (not Tom, Tommy).
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:56 am
Amanda Peet’s child Frances is a girl, not a boy lol!
Micheley, Johnny Depp’s son’s name is John but they call him Jack, probably to avoid confusion.
October 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 am
No, Johnny Depp’s son’s name is John but he goes by Jack.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:53 am
i do like a lot of traditional names like james, henry, elisabeth and my son’s middle name michael.
however the one name that seems really really popular (as in, almost every second girl has this as her middle name) is grace. and that is one i just don’t get. i mean, to each his own but i have never understood why it was so popular. and especially nowadays it just seems to common.
October 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I named both my children traditional names (Christopher and Catherine). I figured if it sounded good 500 years ago, and sounded good today, it will still sound good as the child ages.
We do have nicknames for our children. I call my son “Chris” and my daughter “Katie.” I figured they could always go back to using their longer, more formal names when they become adults, if that’s what they want to do.
October 3rd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I love traditional names, too. I plan on – if I have two daughters – naming them Abigail and Eleanor. (And as for nicknames, Abbey and Ellie.)
October 3rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I love this “trend.” LOVE IT. So tired of the “unyque” spellings and made-up names. There are so many beautiful names in the world that have been around for centuries – so glad so many people are embracing them!
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I’ve always been a fan of the traditional names. They are usually strong, (if you have a girl) feminine and can usually be given a cute nick name should you chose to do that way.
We named our daughter Adeline Grace and have given her the nick name Addie. Her nick name is fairly popular at the moment (which I tried to avoid) with Addison being a trendy name, but I think having the option to go by her slightly less common full name is great.
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I like some traditional names and some that are newer, none that are too crazy. I do think, though, if you choose a traditional name it’s usually easier for the kid if you don’t mess with the spelling too much. I know 2 other Sarah’s. One spelled Sara and the other Saraha. I don’t mind the former, but the latter is too much, IMO.
October 4th, 2009 at 3:44 am
If it’s true that celebrities are leaning towards more traditional names (or at least more normal ones), then more power to them. For the sake of their children. I feel sorry for celebrity children named Bandit or Kal El or Story or Poet or Bluebell.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I’d like to bring back Geraldine, Teresa, and Maude.
October 5th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
John Thomas Glenn and James Michael Henry – my boys go by Tom & Hank.
October 7th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I named my son John Edward Jr. after my husband, this is the 4th generation of John’s on my husband’s side so it is a very sentimental name…
November 16th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I like Cedric, Edward and Jude for a boy and Adela, Emmeline, Izabella and Alizee for a girl.