Why Do Celebrities Name Their Children Weird Names?

Olivia Vinson, Reporter

A little baby girl entered the world, January 7, 2012, into an extremely popular family. Her father is a rapper, entrepreneur, and music producer named Jay-Z and her mother is a powerful woman in pop culture and an established singer, named Beyonce. The infant was set for a splashy life, which kicked off when her mother announced her expectancy at the VMAs in 2011. Members of the Beyhive heavily anticipated the child’s arrival and America watched as the due-date approached. Nobody was prepared for such a name such a magnitude. This child was named Blue Ivy Carter. Why do celebrities name their children with unique names?

The children of the rich and famous are known not only for their parents, but also for their extraordinary names. To many, the reasoning behind these names seems almost mysterious. You definitely don’t hear Pilot or Kyd in school as often as you do Peter or Katie. There must be a story behind these unique appellations. Do celebrities have a new system to naming their offspring or do they follow the same routine as the average family?

For example, Gwyenth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their child Apple. Yes Apple, as in the fruit, as in the company, as in… a child’s name? Paltrow talked of the origin of this funky name when she appeared on Oprah in 2004. She said, “…it sounded so sweet, and it conjures such a lovely picture for me, you know apples are so sweet and they’re wholesome, and it’s biblical and it’s just, they’re so, and I just thought it sounded so lovely and…”

It does seem that she doesn’t have much of a clue either. As for Blue Ivy, it’s speculated that each word in her name holds some significance to her parents. The word blue is thought to be a nod to Jay-Z’s albums (Blueprint) and to “My favorite hue is Jay-Z blue,” which is included in his song “Go Crazy”. As for ivy, the name is supposedly referencing to the Roman numeral IV. Four is a significant date for both stars. Both Jay-Z and Beyonce’s birthdays are on the 4th. In addition, the two tied the knot on the 4th. The musicians share “IV” tattoos on their fingers and Beyonce has an album named Four. So, do these crazy names have a hidden intention for publicity or amusement? The world may never know.