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What’s in a name – an awful lot! So much to consider, not least how other family members view your choice. And what a choice there is now with celebrity parents blazing a trail choosing weird and wacky names for their offspring. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin called their daughter Apple while Jermaine Jackson chose the name Jermajesty for his fourth son!

 Brad and Angelina – now racking up millions in legal fees in their dispute over vineyards – were as one when it came to choosing a name for their daughter. Thanks to them, Shiloh became an instant star – it’s a Biblical place name meaning tranquil, a word that sadly no longer applies to their relationship. How about Ignatius ? Good gracious, it’s a Latin word meaning fiery and the name of several saints including the founder of the Catholic Jesuit order but was the go to choice of both Cate Blanchett and Julianne Nicholson.

Bear – a very appropriate name given this blog’s website – has become popularised by the British survival skills expert and adventurer Bear Grylls  - who was actually named Edward Michael at birth a nod to its origins following “Teddy” Roosevelt refusal to kill a bear cub on a hunting expedition. Kate Winslet has called her son Bear Blaize, and Jamie Oliver chose it as a middle name for his baby boy Buddy.

On the subject of teddy bears – well bears like honey, don’t they,  so that gives us a segue link to Fearne Cotton and Kate Winslet again turning Honey, a term of endearment, into a name for their baby girls.

Geri Haliwell, Ginger Spice selected Bluebell for her daughter – a name which was used from 1800’s as a flower name for girls along with other popular choices Daisy, Flora, Lily, Poppy, Violet and Blossom.

It proves that Classic flower names are a timeless choice with so many to choose from that they will feature regularly on top choice lists generation after generation. Hyacinth, another older name, is taken from the Greek word for botany  but TV sitcom lovers may forever associate it with the fictional character and social climber Hyacinth Bucket in the Keeping Up Appearances comedy. A snob of the first order trying to impress the upper middle classes, she pronounced her name “bouquet” not bucket continuing the floral theme!

Some parents who are addicted to their TV soaps will opt for the name of their favourite character varying from year to year as the drama develops and new characters come on the scene. Others make no apology for naming their child after members of the Royal family or their favourite celebrity: Kylies and Kims abound but trends change and names fall in and out of fashion. Top of the 2023 charts for boys were Muhammed, Noah, Theo, Leo, Oliver, Arthur, George and Luca. For girls, Olivia, Amelia, Isla, Lily, Ava, Freya, Ivy, Sophia, Grace and Willow featured large. So far this year the girls chart looks very similar but with the inclusion of Emma and Liam and Elijah for boys.

So whether you follow the trend or strike out on your own with the choice of a name for your bundle of joy, just remember they’re the ones who have to live with your decision – at least until they reach an age where they can legally change it !