Celebrity-Inspired Baby Names

Anderson shot up quite a bit on the popular names list in the 2000's, no doubt in large part due to the prominence of white-haired cable newsman Anderson Cooper. Perhaps surprisingly though, Anderson was even higher on the list in 1880. Actress Edie Falco named her son Anderson in 2005. Though there haven't been many first-named Anderson namesakes, there have been countless notables bearing the surname, including Hans Christian, Marian, Maxwell, Sherwood, Gillian, Laurie, and Pamela.

Popular in its native Italy, Giada has been quietly and stylishly used in English-speaking countries for several years now. Television cook Giada De Laurentiis made this a possibility — then semi-subtly self-referenced when she named her daughter Jade.

Camerson was once a rising star for boys only, but Cameron Diaz almost single-handedly transported it into the unisex camp, though there are still ten times as many boy babies named Cameron as girls.

One-time overnight success name, thanks to Hannah Montana actress and singer Miley Cyrus, Miley fell just as quickly from her peak of Number 127 in 2008 as the star entered her rebellious era.

Winslet is one of a legion of surnames newly considered fair game as first names. The inspiration may be British star Kate, but she's not the only reason parents are attracted to Winslet, one of those British girl names that sounds at once classy and winning. Yet be warned that if you choose this, people will forever assume you are major fans of the actress. Other Win- beginning names up for new consideration: Winslow, Winston, Wynton, Winifred and Winnie, along with just plain Win or Wyn or Wynn.

The surname name Jenson is in the British Top 100 thanks to champion race car driver Jenson Button. Jenson might be an honorific for an ancestral John, the English form of Jens or Johannes, or even Jen.

Charlize is a name that owes its very life to a star: elegant blond South African actress Charlize Theron. She was named after her father, whose name was Charles. Charlize jumped onto the popularity lists in 2004, the year the actress won the Oscar for lead actress in Monster.

Long an extremely popular name in Spain, Iker (usually pronounced EE-kuhr in the English speaking world) is the rare Basque name that's starting to make it big in the States also, thanks to soccer player Iker Casillas. Indeed, it's been one of the fastest growing boys' names of the decade.

Long used in Spanish-speaking countries, this strong but feminine name was jump-started here by the rise of actress Jada Pinkett Smith. The Italian Giada is a popular variation. In the Bible, the name Jada was borne by a man and has a different root and meaning: It's Hebrew and means "he knows".

Bristol Palin, the daughter of former Alaska governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, grabbed her own share of headlines by having a baby out of wedlock and then appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She single-handedly propelled her distinctive name, inspired by a city in England, into the Top 1000 and up the charts. Bristol's ascent ended a few years back.

A name with plenty of celebrity glamor and contemporary flair, Anniston has a variety of origins. On one hand, it's a place name, deriving from a city in Alabama of the same name. Founded in the late 19th century by Samuel Noble and Daniel Tyler, it was named in honor of the latter's daughter-in-law, Annie Tyler.

Given to children of both sexes as far back as colonial times, this carries a lot of baggage. However, parents continue to take the risk. Actress America Ferrera may be have inspired some families to choose the name. Ferrera's Honduras-born mother shares her unusual name.

This lively pet name has recently been associated with Mexican-born Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, acclaimed for her role in the 2013 film Twelve Years a Slave.

The mother name Guadalupe, literally "valley of the wolves," relates to Our Lady of Guadalupe, revered in Latino culture as a protector of the Mexican people.

Khloe's a variation of the popular Chloe, thanks to reality star Karshadian of the K-named family. Khloe jumped a whopping 101 places into 2009's Top 100 and peaked at 42 in 2010 but has declined in popularity in recent years.

Audrina is a name that owes its fame to overnight reality TV sensation Audrina Partridge, one of the original cast of the MTV reality series The Hills.

The French variation of Giselle was made famous by the spectacular Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

The iconic Gone With the Wind star Clark's surname was brought into the first-name mix when Weeds' Kevin Nealon picked it for his son. Gable makes a strong and unusual possibility, a rhyming cousin to Abel and Mabel.

Many will associate Rihanna with the Barbados-born singer, known mononymously by her middle name. During her early years of fame, when "Umbrella" was on the radio and "Take a Bow" was playing through the iPod Shuffle, the name shot up the charts in the US, UK, France, and Puerto Rico. Though the name did fall out of the charts as rapidly as it entered and while some parents might feel it is way too tied to the mid-2000s, Rihanna was given to 165 babies in 2023.

Afro-Asian model, designer, and entrepreneur Kimora Lee Simmons brought this name into the public eye and it enjoyed more than a decade in the Top 1000 during the 2000s and early 2010s. It peaked in 2008 when it reached the Top 300, but it has since been in decline, becoming an on-off visitor to the US charts.

The exact meaning of Kimora is unknown, though one possibility is that it's a nod the Japanese surname, Kimura, meaning "woods + village". Back in the US Top 1000 for 2023, Kimora could also feel like an updated form of Kim or Maura, and a spin on more popular Kora.

This spelling of Frida or Frieda ranked as high as #141 back in the late 19th century. Its most famous bearers, with different spellings, are Indian actress Frieda Pinto, who starred in Slumdog Millionnaire, and Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.