Names

Sam Sharma/Pacific Coast News

The decision by Rebecca Romijn to name daughter Dolly Rebecca Rose, 9 months, after Dolly Parton may have taken some by surprise, but by Rebecca’s account the country legend wouldn’t have had it any other way.

During a Monday visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she revealed although she has enjoyed a lifelong “incredible, emotional” love affair with Dolly’s music, it was a backstage visit at Dollywood that sealed the deal.

“When I was six months pregnant, I saw her perform. Right before her show I sat with her and she asked me what I was thinking of naming my daughters,” the 36-year-old Eastwick star reveals. “I said, ‘I’m thinking about Dolly for one of them’…I was a little bit embarrassed to say it.” What happened next, however, removed any and all doubt.

“Dolly said, ‘Oh, I would be so honored. Dolly was the name I was given, it’s not short for anything, and I don’t have any children of my own. I would be so honored. Please do it! Please do it!’ Then at the show, she dedicated [the song] “Little Sparrow” to ‘her new friend Rebecca and her little girls.’ And I was like a puddle. A puddle!”

On the way back to the airport, Rebecca says she called husband Jerry O’Connell to tell him about her experience but she found herself struggling with the words. “I was gasping for air,” she explains. “He could tell I was incredibly emotionally verklempt, and at the end he goes, ‘You wanna name one of our girls Dolly, right?’ Done. Fine. We can do it!”

Click below to read about the twins’ latest milestones.

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Baxter/ABACA

As suspected, Bardot Vita — 4-week-old daughter of actor David Boreanaz and wife Jaime Bergman — was, indeed, inspired by Brigitte Bardot.

During a recent appearance on Live with Regis and Kelly, the 40-year-old Bones star said that it was actually a Douglas Kirkland photograph of the famed actress that reeled him in, a mere two weeks prior to Bardot’s August 31st birth. “It was the energy,” David revealed. “The essence of that photograph kind of got me moved. It hit me hard.”

Life with baby girl continues to go smoothly for the newfound dad-of-two, who said that he is in charge of the night feedings. “I just go to the refrigerator and eat,” he jokes. “Usually, it’s the ice cream that I finish off.” Of Bardot, he adds,

“She doesn’t do much but sleep, eat, poop. Not always in that order. Sometimes poop, eat, sleep. It all depends.”

Also earning high marks is David and Jaime’s firstborn, 7-year-old Jaden Rayne. “He was the big hero,” the proud papa reports. “He was the kid that kind of took on the [attitude of], ‘Hey, I’m here, I wanna help out.’”

“He’s fantastic. Talk about someone who is excited and nervous about someone else coming into the fold, and he really took the whole experience on, and said, you know what? I’m tackling it. I want to help out. He’s great.”

Source: Live with Regis and Kelly

– Missy

RIV/Fame

With many readers expressing their opinions on Joel Madden and Nicole Richie’s choice of Sparrow James Midnight for their newborn son, we spoke to Linda Rosenkrantz, co-owner of NameBerry, as well as co-author of Beyond Ava & Aiden, to get her professional take on the moniker. She tells us,

“After Nicole and Joel gave their daughter the inventive name Harlow Winter Kate, there was much anticipation about what they would come up with for their second child — and they didn’t disappoint with their new son’s name, the equally unusual Sparrow James Midnight.

The two names have a perfect almost twin-like symmetry, one being ultra-feminine and the other very masculine. Sparrow has in the past been used for girls, but since the dynamically male appearance of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, it’s taken on a swashbuckling pirate persona — while Harlow projects Old Hollywood feminissima glamour.

Both have traditional middle names — James and Kate — as well as a second dramatic, time-related name, with the darkness of Midnight contrasting with the whiteness of Winter. (They also reflect the growing trend for double middle names.)

But symmetry can go too far, and if there’s one problem it’s that Harlow and Sparrow might be overly similar in sound and spelling, making it seem a bit like an outdated twin pairing.

Sparrow also reflects the growing popularity of bird names — along with other nature names — both with celebrities and others. Past favorites like Robin and Raven have been supplanted by fresher choices such as the soft, feminine, free-flying Lark, Wren, Teal, Dove and Starling.

Some celebrities have gone generic with Birdie (used by Busy Philipps and Maura West), Avis (Daniel Baldwin) and countless Avas, as well as the Spanish-for-dove Paloma (Ana Ortiz, David Caruso, and middle name of Salma Hayek’s Valentina), and the mythical Phoenix, used by Melanie Brown.”

What do you think of nature names? Would/did you use one for your child?

Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage

It’s a girl for All My Children star Aiden Turner and wife Megan! TV Guide reports that the couple — married since 2006 — welcomed daughter Ciella Larryn Turner at 12:20 a.m. on Friday, August 21st. Weighing in at 9 lbs., 13 oz., she is the first child for both.

Her name has special significance for the proud new mom, Aiden reveals.

“Her middle name comes from Megan’s father, Larry Marshall, who died just two weeks ago after a year fighting cancer. We are very happy she arrived so healthy and so beautiful. We wish her Grandpa Larry was here to hold her.”

The pregnancy was announced in March.

Source: Soap Opera Digest

Sam Sharma/Pacific Coast News

Reality star Kendra Wilkinson wasted no time in revealing that the baby she expects this Christmas with husband Hank Baskett will be a boy, and just two days later she revealed his name! Taking to her blog on Friday, she writes,

“Hank and I have soooo much to do to prepare for our baby’s arrival, but one thing we can already cross off our list is coming up with a name.  We’ve already decided to name our son Hank Baskett IV!!!”

Adding that “it was very important to us to carry on the family tradition,” Kendra signs off,

“I can’t wait to meet my little Hank.”

Kendra airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on E!

Source: Kendra Wilkinson

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Brad Paisley has made no secret of just how much sons William ‘Huck’ Huckleberry, 2, and Jasper Warren, 3 months, have inspired his music and when it comes to what will someday inspire the boys, Brad says he hopes they will dream big. “Visualize what you want out of life with all your might,” he tells Readers Digest when asked what advice he plans to give Huck and Jasper. “Close your eyes and build it in your mind.”

“If you want to be an architect, visualize the things you want to build. If you want to be a songwriter, visualize the effect your music will have on the audience. That’s what I do. If you don’t dream about what you want, it will never come true.”

Watching Huck turn “into a little man” is cited by the 36-year-old country crooner as the best part of fatherhood thus far. “He’s obsessed with the heavy equipment we have on the farm,” Brad notes. “I’ve got a mini-bulldozer, and he’s been riding with me since he was three months old.” All the experience has paid off! “Now he can run it because it’s all hand controls, kind of like an Atari game,” Brad proudly reports. And while Huck is hands-on around the barn, dad enjoys being hands-on in the nursery!

“I think the days of men saying they don’t [change diapers] are over. I’d like to see the guy who pulls that off now. No, I’d actually like to beat up the guy who says he pulls that off.”

Brad’s marriage to actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley works because he says the 37-year-old actress is “a real person.” It also helps, he says, that both are byproducts of marriages that have stood the test of time. “When you come from two families in which your parents have strong relationships, it’s less of an option for you to be the first in your bloodline to break up,” he says.

Reiterating earlier statements, Brad goes on to give Kimberly full credit for naming their latest creation.

“Before Kim was pregnant, she came to me and said, ‘I dreamed that we had a little boy and named him Jasper.’ I said, “That’s cool! I don’t know anybody named Jasper.” It works both for a guy 90 years old and a little baby.”

Source: Readers Digest

– Missy

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Long before they discovered they were expecting their second child, Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly could not ignore a vivid dream she had depicting a family complete with a son named Jasper. When the couple later confirmed baby-on-the-way was indeed another boy, the name choice was quite obvious. “We kept thinking about that…we toyed with that idea all the way until we were in the hospital,” the country singer tells The Boot.

Once baby boy made his debut, the proud parents began testing the waters with their family, searching for a general consensus on their name choice. “We started running it up the flagpole, and in spite of what the flagpole thought, we did it!” he says of choosing the name Jasper Warren for their 3-month-old. Fortunately, the couple expected the criticism of their unconventional name choice; They were met with a similar opposition when they announced the name of their first born William Huckleberry, now 2.

“This time…it was like, ‘Oh, Jasper? Okay, let me think about that.’ Each set of parents had the same kind of reaction: We said it and they said, ‘Well, what about…? Have you thought about the name…?’ And they [suggested] another name, like it was up for discussion!”

Happily raising their two sons, both Brad and Kimberly intend to do just that: bring up the boys on their own with little to no outside help. Instead, the couple — who clarify they “don’t have anyone on payroll” when it comes to sitter services — rely on the continued support from their close family and friends. “I’m lucky that my parents are in such good shape and they are only 60,” Brad notes.

When the two recently needed a break, and decided a trip to see Up would do the trick, the country singer made one quick phone call and hours later Brad and Kimberly found themselves enjoying the film. “It’s nice to do that and then come home and know that they are with their grandparents and they are having a better time than when we’re here…and learning more probably!” he laughs.

Click below to read about Huck’s developing verbal skills!
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Mike Disciullo/Bauer Griffin

What’s in a name? For the youngest Beckham boy, his answer can be found amongst the stars — literally! In an excerpt from The Beckham Experiment, soccer star and dad-of-three David Beckham opens up about his famous relationship with Tom Cruise. While there is no denying the two families share a close bond — the Cruises hosted a party for the Beckhams when they relocated to Los Angeles and they are often spotted out together — David reveals just how deep their friendship runs.

According to the 34-year-old, when it came to naming his third son with wife Victoria, the couple looked no further than the actor himself.

“I must admit, when [Victoria and I] met Tom, I remember turning around to Victoria and saying, ‘Cruise is a great name, but we could spell it different.”

When they welcomed their baby boy in 2005, they did just that! Altering the spelling to reflect their time spent in the Spain, David and Victoria settled on Cruz David for their now 4-year-old son.

The couple are also parents to Brooklyn Joseph, 10 ½, and Romeo James, 6 ½.

Source: NY Daily News

– Anya

Jemal Countess/WireImage

On the eve of the big reveal of this year’s cast for Big Brother, show host Julie Chen did a little revealing of her own. The 39-year-old television personality shared during a Wednesday visit to The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson that she and husband Leslie Moonves are indeed joining the blue team. “It’s a boy,” she proclaimed. “We decided that after the 4th of July, we would release [the news].”

Fresh off a “babymoon,” Julie said that a fellow vacationer pointed out that being pregnant is “the best way to travel with your baby” because “the baby has food all the time… he’s always with you…you don’t have to carry anything.” Host Craig Ferguson suggested that she should forgo the babymoon and instead familiarize herself with Goodnight Moon, which she’ll be reading for years to come. “And then suddenly, you’re a jerk,” he joked, prompting Julie to chime in, ”I’ve heard about the teenage years.”

For now, Julie and Les have more pressing concerns — like coming up with a name for their baby-on-the-way, due October 4th. “We’ve talked about names and it’s funny because I always thought I would never be one of those people that wanted an original name,” she explains. “Like, sometimes [names] are made-up words that aren’t really even words.”

“I have a friend whose name is Ronal. It’s actually spelled Ron and Al, because her dad is Ron and her mom is Allison…And then when I found out I was pregnant, I was thinking my husband’s name is Leslie…So we’ll probably stick to a traditional boy name. Maybe Craig! That is a nice name. It’s a studly name.”

Baby boy will be the first for the couple, who married in 2004. He will join Les’ three children from a previous marriage. The 11th season of Big Brother premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Source: The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

– Missy

Michael Loccisano/Getty

After eight weeks of waiting, Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer Maguire have revealed their son’s name! The family’s latest addition is called Otis Tobias Maguire, the actor’s rep confirms to CBB.

Baby Otis arrived on Friday, May 8th in California. He was spotted out and about last month, but mom Jennifer kept him under wraps in a pouch! Lucky for us, x17 Online snapped some photos of the little cutie.

Otis joins big sister Ruby Sweetheart, 2 ½.