The Real Meanings Behind Famous Celebrity Baby Names

Apple Martin

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin faced endless mockery for naming their daughter Apple. "It sounded so sweet and it conjures such a lovely picture for me," Paltrow told Oprah on The Oprah Winfrey Show after revealing Martin thought of the name."Apples are so sweet, and they're wholesome and it's biblical and I just thought it sounded so lovely."

Rumi and Sir Carter

Beyoncé's twins made a grand entrance into the world on their mother's Instagram, and their names grabbed people's attention, too. According to Nameberry, Rumi derives from Japan, meaning "beauty and flow." According to BAZAAR.com, Sir was popularized by the Norman rulers in the 11th or 12th century as a title handed down from the Queen.

Gene Attell Fischer

Amy Schumer and her husband Chris Fischer chose the name Gene Attell for their son. Gene has Hebrew roots, meaning "noble aristocrat or God is gracious," while Attell pays tribute to fellow comedian Dave Attell. The couple made headlines when they renamed their son Gene David Fischer after realizing his original named sounded like "genital."

Chicago West

After naming their first two children North and Saint, Kim Kardashian and Kayne West had everyone guessing what one-syllable moniker they'd go with for their third child. Instead, the couple settled on Chicago West, a.k.a. "Chi." The name is a nod to the city where Kanye grew up.

Psalm West

Kim Kardashian says that she and Kanye wanted a biblical name for their youngest child. They settled on Psalm (the "P" is silent), which translates to "song or sacred poem."

Isaac Menelik Giovanni Ervin

On her podcast, Pretty Big Deal, model Ashley Graham explained how she and her husband, Justin Ervin, came up with their son's name. Menelik was the son of the Ethiopian King Solomon, while Giovanni represents their Italian roots and is an ode to both of their grandfathers. Graham also noted how her husband always wanted to name his son Isaac. 

Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa

Kate Hudson welcomed a baby girl with her fiancé Danny Fujikawa in 2018. Rani Rose Hudson Fujikawa is named in honor of Danny's late father, Ron Fujikawa.

Pilot Inspektor Lee

The meaning behind Jason Lee's son's name is actually quite beautiful. After listening to the indie rock band Grandaddy, he and his wife felt inspired by the lyrics to name their child Pilot. Inspektor, on the other hand, has yet to be explained.

Stormi Webster

Kylie Jenner revealed to the Evening Standard how she and Travis Scott (Scott's real surname is Webster) came up with their daughter's name: "I really don't know how we thought of Storm," she said in the interview. "And then I didn't really like just Storm—I didn't feel like that was her name. So then it became Stormi. And it just stuck."

Callum Michael Rebel Kazee

Jenna Dewan welcomed her second child (her first with fiancé Steve Kazee!) on March 6, 2020. Callum is the Gaelic word for "dove." The newborn shares the name Michael with his father, and Rebel was chosen to honor Kazee's mother, Reba.

Everly Elizabeth Maiselle Tatum

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan chose the name Everly for their daughter, which is derived from old English. The couple decided on Elizabeth and Maiselle for middle names, which are the names of their grandmothers.

True Thompson

Khloé Kardashian knew she wanted her daughter's name to start with "T" (the same as her last name). She opted for True when her grandmother, MJ, told her it was her great-grandfather's first name and grandfather's middle name.

Bear Payne

Liam Payne opened about the meaning behind his and Cheryl Cole's son's name. "I wanted a more traditional name and she wanted a name that was more unusual," Payne told Total Access. "And the reason she chose Bear in the end was because Bear is a name that when you leave a room, you won't forget. And I like that."

Cricket Pearl and Birdie Leigh Silverstein

Busy Philipps may not have chosen the most conventional names for her daughters, but the star has a good reason. "Since I grew up with a nickname—Busy being short for Elizabeth—when my husband and I started to have our babies, we decided that if wanted to call our kids something, we would just name them that thing that we wanted to call them," the actress told Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb on Today in 2014.

Mason Dash Disick

Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick drew on her family's Armenian heritage for the name of their eldest child. The reality TV star already favored the name, but her choice was cemented when she found out that Mason in English and Kardashian in Armenian both mean "stoneworker." Mason's middle name was Kourtney's father's nickname.

Penelope Scotland Disick

The name of Kourtney Kardashian's daughter has risen in popularity in recent years. Penelope is a Greek name that means "weaver." The reality star paid tribute to her daughter's father, Scott, with the middle name Scotland.

Luna Simone Stephens

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend chose the name Luna—a.k.a.
"goddess of the Moon"—for their daughter in 2016. Legend has alluded to their daughter's middle name, Simone, as a tribute to singer/songwriter, Nina Simone.

Miles Theodore Stephens

For their second child, Teigen and Legend returned to the same kind of symbolism that they used for their daughter. "We named our first daughter Luna Simone Stephens and every name we give to our kids I think will have a little bit of musical history to it," Legend told E!. "Miles, of course, is the same name as the great Miles Davis and Chrissy really liked the name Theodore, so we put it all together and had Miles Theodore Stephens."

James Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds shared the sweet sentiment behind his daughter's name in an interview with Mr. Porter in 2018. The gender neutral name was chosen in honor of his late father, James, who got to meet his grandchild just before he passed away. Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively, have chosen to keep the meaning behind the name of their second daughter, Ines, private, as well as the gender and name of their baby born in 2018.

Charlie Wolf Tell

Lauren Conrad and William Tell welcomed a second son in 2019. His unique name, which comes from family names on both sides, is oddly enough the exact same name New Girl actress Zooey Deschanel gave her son. But Conrad says it was simply a coincidence.

Elsie Otter Pechenik

Zooey Deschanel shared the meaning behind her and her ex-husband, Jacob Pechenik's, choice for their daughter's name on The Ellen Degeneres Show: "I love animals so much, as you know, and we love otters because they're so cute and playful and fun."

Dusty Rose Levine

Behati Prinsloo and Adam Levine can thank Ellen Degeneres for their first daughter's name. "[Ellen Degeneres] gave me like five names to think about: This, this, this, this, Dusty. So, you basically named my kid," Adam Levine said on The Ellen Degeneres Show. The name, combined with Rose, is a color defined as pale gold with patches of dusty pink.

Geo Grace Levine

Levine and Prinsloo settled on another double name for their second daughter: Geo Grace. The name relates to nature, with Geo meaning "relative to the earth." Grace was popularized by the Puritans in the 16th century as a virtue name meaning the "love and kindness of God."

Bodhi Soleil Reed Somerhalder

Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder opted for two meaningful names for their daughter. The roots of the name Bodhi trace back to Buddhism, as it's the tree where the founder of the religion found enlightenment. The second name, Soleil, reverts to nature, as it's the French word for "sun."

Harper Seven Beckham

David Beckham revealed the meaning behind his and Victoria's daughter's name on Facebook. Harper is the name of the author of Victoria's favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Seven, a lucky number, symbolizes spiritual perfection. 

Banks Violet Bair

Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma welcomed their daughter in 2018. The name Banks, which is usually a last name, has English origins and means "the one who lives on the banks or hillside." "We've known her name for a really long time. Her name starts with a B, and I keep calling her baby B, which is awesome because people are like, 'Oh, no, it's just because of his last name,'" Duff told People.

Rocket Ayer Williams

"We named him after a man made machine that was meant to go up—to ascend," Pharrell Williams told Oprah Winfrey about his son, Rocket Ayer Williams. The name also holds artistic symbolism for the musician, who was inspired by songs like Stevie Wonder's "Rocket Love," Elton John's "Rocket Man," and Herbie Hancock's "Rocket."

Atlas Noa

Actress Shay Mitchell and her husband landed on the name Atlas Noa for their newborn daughter. The name Atlas, traditionally for a boy, is a symbol of strength as the Greek god had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Birdie Mae Johnson

Jessica Simpson chose a family name for her third child with NFL star, Eric Johnson, when they welcomed Birdie Mae Johnson in 2019. The name, although previously popular in the 1880s, is of English and Swedish origins and means "bird."

Aleph Portman Millepied

Natalie Portman has not revealed why she and husband Benjamin Millepied chose the name Aleph for their son, but the name is very significant in Hebrew, as it is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter is also known to represent the oneness of god.

Moxie Crimefighter Jillette

Penn Jillette feels strongly that unique names are positive, which is why he opted for Moxie Crimefighter for his son. "Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it, he wrote by email to the New York Times. "It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They're named Dave."

Sienna Princess Wilson

Make no mistake, Russell Wilson and Ciara's first child together is positively regal. And in case you forget, it's right there in her name. Sienna has Italian roots and is a nod to the name of the Tuscan town, while Princess means royal daughter.

Navy Rome Williams

Country singer Jason Aldean gravitates toward unique baby names (his son is named Memphis). Navy Rome derives from the dark blue color and represents bravery, strength, reliability, stability, honor, and power, as well as facing the unknown. Aldean and his wife tacked Rome along as the middle name because she originally wanted to name their son Roman.

Briar Rose Christensen

Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen's daughter's name has strong ties to the magical fairytales of Disney. The actress drew from Sleeping Beauty for her first name, as the original novel was called Briar Rose. "We both love all things Disney, but Rachel especially was very keen on the name," Christensen said on Hallmark's Home and Family. 

Moroccan and Monroe Cannon

Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey drew on some of their favorite inspirations for the names of their twins. Carey revealed that Moroccan derived from her Manhattan apartment's decor, where Cannon proposed, while Monroe is a tribute to Marilyn Monroe.

Tennessee James Toth

Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth haven't discussed the couple's connection to the name they gave their son, but it could be a shoutout to Witherspoon's home state (she grew up in Nashville, Tennessee). Although uncommon, the name Tennessee is not unheard of, as famous playwright Tennessee Williams touted the moniker. His middle name, James, is the last name of Witherspoon's grandparents.

Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Busson

Uma Thurman admitted that she went a little overboard with the five names she gave her third child because she knew it would probably be her last kid. In everyday life, the actress calls her Luna, which comes from her fourth name, Altalune.

Archie Harrison MountbattenWindsor

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose not to have their son receive a royal title, so he took the names of both Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth for his surname. Archie, a shortened version of Archibald, means "true and bold," while Harrison is a nod to his father, Prince Harry.

Lea de Seine Shayk Cooper

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Irina Shayk revealed that her daughter's name offers a touching tribute to her late grandmother. She and ex-partner Bradley Cooper drew from her grandmother's name, Galina, for the first name, while the second part is inspired by the River Seine in Paris, France.

Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck

While Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's children have mostly tradition names (Violet and Samuel are their two other children), their second child's moniker, Seraphina, stands out. The name is derived from the Latin word, seraphim, meaning "the highest-ranking angels."

•••

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

subscribe here