The Meaning Behind Unique Celebrity Baby Names: Poetry, Locket and More

Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan got creative naming their newborn twins, daughter Poetry and son Locket, but they aren't the first famous parents to reach way outside the box for a baby name.

By Natalie Finn Nov 24, 2024 3:00 PMTags
Watch: Francesca Farago & Jesse Sullivan Reveal Unique Names of Their Twins

Anyone can name their kids Olivia and Noah, or Emma and Liam. (And they are, as those names have been the most popular for years, according to the Social Security Administration.)

But while there's nothing wrong with a modern-day classic, some parents prefer to ensure their child stands out in a crowd as soon as they fill out the birth certificate.

Enter Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan, who welcomed twins Poetry Lucia and Locket Romance Nov. 11.

And those baby names made perfect sense once their dad explained the meaning behind both.

"We said this really early on that if we ever have a kid, we want to name him or her Locket," Jesse, who's also dad to son Arlo Bear from a previous relationship, said in a Nov. 17 TikTok, describing the locket he gave Francesca for their first Valentine's Day together.

And, he continued, "We just loved the name Romance. It was so beautiful and cool and badass. So we thought that Locket Romance just sounds like the coolest guy you've ever met."

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2024 Celebrity Babies

As for daughter Poetry, "We just thought that the feeling it gives you when you hear it and say it is so beautiful and she's so beautiful, so it fits her," Jesse said. "We like names that feel romantic in general."

Lucia, meanwhile, is Francesca's mom's name and a link to their Italian roots.

Francesca Farago/Instagram

So Poetry and Locket have that IYKYK personal touch, but Jesse and Francesca are part of a long, storied tradition of famous people reaching far outside the box to name their children.

And though baby pictures are fun, an origin story is especially welcome.

For instance, Travis Barker readily shared how he and Kourtney Kardashian decided on naming their son Rocky Thirteen before he was even born.

"Rocky George played guitar for Suicidal Tendencies," the Blink-182 drummer explained said on Complex's "GOAT Talk" video series last November. And eye of the tiger isn't a bad ingredient, Travis noting that Rocky is "the greatest boxing movie of all time."

Moreover, the musician wouldn't have a "1" and a "3" tattooed on his head if 13 wasn't, in his estimation, "the greatest number of all time."

Of course not every celebrity parent is so forthcoming with how they arrived at a given name, but that doesn't make monikers like Apple or Blue Ivy or Kulture or Raddix Chloe Wildflower any less fascinating.

Here's a rundown of the unique celebrity baby names you won't find on any standard list: 

Apple Martin

As Gwyneth Paltrow explained to Oprah Winfrey, her daughter's unforgettable name was actually picked by Chris Martin: "When we were first pregnant, her daddy said, 'If it's a girl I think her name should be Apple'...It sounded so sweet, and it conjured such a lovely picture for me, you know. Apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's biblical."

X Æ A-Xii Musk

Elon Musk introduced his and Grimes' baby boy X Æ A-12 to the world on Twitter in May 2020. They later modified the spelling of his name in order to meet California's legal guidelines, which only permit letters from the English alphabet. Switching over to roman numerals, the parents agreed to spell his name, X Æ A-Xii.

"X, the unknown variable," Grimes explained on Twitter. "Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent."

Grimes continued, "A=Archangel, my favorite song" with an accompanying a rat and sword emoji. "Metal rat."

In March 2022, she announced they had welcomed daughter Exa Dark Sideræl Musk via surrograte.

"Exa is a reference to the supercomputing term exaFLOPS (the ability to perform 1 quintillion floating-point operations per second)," she said. "Dark, meanwhile, is 'the unknown. People fear it but truly it's the absence of photons. Dark matter is the beautiful mystery of our universe.'"

Sideræl—pronounced "sigh-deer-ee-el"—is "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time," she said, and a nod to her favorite Lord of the Rings character, Galadriel, who "chooses to abdicate the ring."

Kulture Kiari Cephus

Cardi B and Offset welcomed their daughter in 2018. 

When asked where the inspiration for their baby girl's name came from, "Bodak Yellow" rapper said, "Kulture [heart emojis] anything else woulda been basic Okrrrrr." As for her middle name, Kiari is actually the Migos rapper's first name. 

Atlas Noa

"In my 32 years of life I thought I had seen a lot of places, experienced a lot of things, met a lot of people and felt love...then came you," Shay Mitchell shared of picking a moniker for her and partner Matte Babel's eldest daughter. "Truth is I had no idea I was capable of loving anything like this before you arrived."

Daughter Rome filled out their roster in 2022. 

Esmeralda Amada

In 2014, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling introduced the world to Esmeralda Amada. "Ryan and I both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and we just think it's a beautiful name," she said in an interview with The Violet Files. "Amada was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish."

Mendes and Gosling used the moniker once again when naming their second daughter Amada Lee Gosling, who they welcomed in 2016. 

Raddix Madden

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden's little girl has a pretty cool name, and Diaz took to Instagram to announce welcoming the baby into the world, adding, "She is really really cute. Some would even say RAD."

Equally as awesome: Son Cardinal, who joined the party in 2024.

Elsie Otter Pechenik

Zooey Deschanel revealed her and ex Jacob Pechenik's daughter's name is Elsie Otter because the furry critters are "really sweet, they're also smart, they use tools to keep their favorite tools, [and] they hold hands while they sleep."

Stormi Webster

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott gave their baby girl the name back in 2018. As for where the inspiration for Stormi's name came from, the Kylie Cosmetics founder shared, "When I was pregnant, I used to call her 'Stormie'—when I would talk to her in my belly. It just always felt right."

Though they encountered some rough waters coming up with an equally impressive name for their son, they officially introduced the world to Aire a year after his 2022 arrival. 

Ocean King

Inspired by their faith, Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega named their first child Ocean King. Providing more context for fans, the Spy Kids star said, "God called the dry ground 'land' and the water the 'seas'. And God saw that it was good. That is why we went with Ocean. And he is a son of the one true 'King'. For us it has a beautiful biblical meaning."

Canon Wardell Jack

For Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry's third child, the moniker means "officiant of the church" and "young wolf." 

Lazer Lee Louis Pentz

Diplo decided to name his second son after his electronic dance music trio, Major Lazer

Luna Simone

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen became parents to Luna Simone back in 2016. During a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Cravings author revealed that the name was inspired by a blood moon that had occurred right before her birth. "There was a blood moon happening, and it was really a beautiful night," she recalled. "There was a really big, vivid red moon. It was just gorgeous."

Andara Rose

Would any other name smell as sweet? Bachelor Nation's Krystal Nielson and Miles Bowles introduced their little girl to the world, announcing the name: "It's official!!! Glitter baby has a name!!!! Introducing our beautiful angel, Andara Rose Bowles."

Future Zahir

Back in 2014, Ciara and Future welcomed their son Future Zahir, whose name was inspired by his dad's stage name.

Willow Smith

Willow Smith's name pays homage to dad Will Smith. Similarly, her brother Jaden Smith's moniker was also inspired by mom Jada Pinkett Smith

Bear Blu Jarecki

When Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki's son arrived, they combined two favorite names for his unique title. 

Monroe & Moroccan Cannon

When Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon became parents to twins, they drew inspiration from Hollywood and home. Turns out their daughter was named after Marilyn Monroe while their son's moniker was inspired by where Nick had proposed: in the songstress' New York City apartment, featuring Moroccan-inspired decor on the top floor. 

Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver

British chef Jamie Oliver and his wife, Juliette Norton, cooked up quite a name for their fourth child when he arrived. Although, it doesn't come as a complete surprise since Buddy's big sisters are named Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo, River Rocket and Petal Blossom Rainbow.

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt

Back in 2006, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt introduced the world to their daughter, whose name means "Messiah" or "Peaceful One." The exes also share MaddoxPaxZahara, and twins Vivienne and Knox.  

Antonio Kamakanaalohamaikalani Harvey Sabato III

Antonio Sabato Jr. and his ex-wife, Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes gave their first child together a sweet middle name. The moniker is Hawaiian for "a beloved gift from the heavens." 

Sparrow Madden

Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's son got his moniker partially thanks to a Disney character. "We really just have to work with whatever it is we both agree on, so I really liked Sparrow from Captain Jack Sparrow, and he liked it for different reasons," Richie previously said of her and her husband's choice. 

Suri Cruise

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' first and only child together got her name after her parents came across it in a book. "We had the name before we found out because we both thought the baby would be a girl," Cruise told Vanity Fair. "Some friends of ours sent us two [baby-naming] books. When we came to the name Suri, we both loved it. And we both said, 'Suri Cruise.' We later found out that it meant 'red rose,' and that was just a bonus. Suri—it was perfect."

Pilot Inspektor Lee

Jason Lee's first child was given quite the standout name, inspired by Grandaddy's track, "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot."

 

Bluebell Madonna Halliwell

For her firstborn daughter's name, Geri Halliwell was inspired by flowers.

"What really clinched it for me was my mother telling me that the bluebell is increasingly rare—so it's a precious flower, which seems just right for my daughter," she told Hello! As for her middle name, it's in honor of the Spice Girls alum's favorite performer. 

Bronx Mowgli Wentz

"The Jungle Book was something that me and Ashlee bonded over, so...it's a cool name," Pete Wentz once said of the middle name he and ex Ashlee Simpson gave their son.