Huge congrats to the ever-grinning Ms Klass for the safe arrival of her second daughter, Hero. Not only on a healthy baby, but on an excellent choice of name inspired by a character in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
I expect people will queue up to have a go at a starry name, shoving her in the same bracket as Honey Kinney Ross, Fifi Trixibelle Geldof, Buddy Bear Oliver and the, apocryphal, Pocahontas McKenzie. But I think it’s fantastic.
Let’s face it, little Hero isn’t going to have a normal life with a mother hell-bent on media world domination. There isn’t any chance of her being picked on in a faceless comprehensive by a pack of Amys, Chantelles, Hannahs and Emilys. No, however much ordinariness Mama Klass is striving for, her girls will find themselves in an expensive classroom swapping head lice with Penelope, Arabella, Araminata and Cordelia.
Surely if we all believe ourselves and, therefore, our offspring to be special and unique then why would we want a dull name? There’s nothing interesting in having a name so common it needs qualified by an initial to avoid cloakroom confusion – Sophie T, Katie J and Chloe McD.
When Charles and Margaret decided I should be Ellen back in 1967 no one had heard of the Internet. I imagine they just managed to find a name that was both interesting, slightly unusual and, yet, easy to spell. I’m very glad they did.
But is that all we need to consider now? Should we think about Google when we’re considering baby names? You see, I’ve never found anyone else with my name and it’s saved me a fortune in business cards. In order to find me, all anyone needs to do is type my name in and press search. And if they weren’t already discussed at length in the media, Hero Quinn, Brooklyn Beckham and Apple Martin would be easily found by their LinkedIn profiles or Bebo pages.
So, for now, Myleene is a hero for Hero, and we should take a leaf out of the celebs’ book, but I reserve the right to change my mind when we find out what the Beckhams are calling number four.
Pic: Bob and Mary or Brando and Macbeth?
My 3 year old son has a little girl who goes by the name Sparkle in his class. I'm full of admiration for people who choose unusual names because they have meaning. Unusual for the sake of unusual is what I have a problem with. Sparkle is beautiful, her mum brims with confidence, so the name is carried off well. The shortening to 'Sparky' isn't so great,it conjures up images of scruffy electricians.
What annoys me the most is when a name is described as 'old fashioned'. Erm, Lily, Daisy, Megan and so on were old fashioned names once, as was Alfie, Harry etc.
Originality in baby naming shouldn't be so hard to come by. I often groan when I hear of yet another top 10 name, so well done you non-famous parents of unusually named kids!
Luce, Sparkle is a fabulous name. Although she might not be so chuffed if she's trying to be prime minister or a top lawyer.
I must admit I have strived for slightly unusaul names for all 3 of mine. My eldest is Alexis and is known to the world and his wife as Lexie, middle one is Quinn fell in love with the name as I was in labour and the littlest is Cody which I was never that sure of but it was the only one we could vaguely agree on and he was already 2 weeks old at this point.
Trulyuglyfeet, Your kids have beautiful names. Not too fancy yet unusual enough. I love Cody.
I absolutely prefer unusual names for children. As long as there aren't random Y's and such stuck in anywhere, the kookier the better in my mind.
Each year in the US, a massive baby names list is compiled by the government.
http://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/
When I was pregnant, I poured over the list and agonized that the name we had chosen for our son, Milo, was moving up the list and becoming more popular year on year. It was the 447th most popular name the year he was born and even that very nearly put us off it!
But, having said that, I really, really dislike the name Hero. I just think it sounds ridiculous. Sorry Myleene!
I agree that it is nicer for a child to have a more unusual name, I grew up with lots of other 'Katie's and Kate's' so wanted a name that would be diffent but not strange. We have Anya, Flynn and Talia. All of which I am sure will become popular to a degree, but not like the chloe and lukes of the world.
ohabbyreally,
I love Milo, I think it's a fantastic name.
MrsShortie,
Your names are fantastic too. I especially like Talia.
I don't think you could get away with most of those names if your kids are going to the local comprehensive.
I can't say that Hero does much for me. Sparkle is great but I don't think it'll do her any favours!
When I had my daughter I wanted to call her Skye but as her dad's surname started with 'sk' it was just too much. We called her Chloe instead – none around at the time but now they're ten a penny!
For the boys I wanted old family names. I managed this with Samuel as his dad liked it. The latest baby would have been Levi if I'd had my way (my great-great-great grandfather) but hubby wasn't having any of it. We settled on Matthew but when he arrived it didn't suit him. We both liked Max but my brother had a dog called that. We thought of Maximillian but that's a big name for a wee boy so we settled on Maxwell. Not sure I really like it now, and everyone mentions Maxwell House coffee!