Sunday With Phinnaeus and Vivienne

July 27, 2008, 8:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Articles, Connie, Featured  | 7 Comments

Celebrity babies already have one strike against them, being born into a famous family. But far too often, they also get stuck with a completely stupid moniker because their parents have something to prove to the world.

My daughter Rose and I first noticed this phenomenon with Apple Paltrow: we thought it was just a quirk. But then the Julia Roberts twins, Hazel and Phinnaeus, arrived, and the momentum started building. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes named their daughter Suri, a choice panned by the baby name experts on the Today Show. Next came the Jolie-Pitt twins, with the boy named Knox. Really? Knox Pitt? Did anyone realize his initials would be KP? And his sister\’s name is Vivienne. That\’s a name that hasn\’t been used in decades, since — oh, I don\’t know — Hazel and I Love Lucy! But at least we recognize Vivienne as a name. Her brother is a gelatin brand.

Now, just a few weeks ago, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban named their new daughter Sunday. At first I hoped that Keith and Nicole had been misunderstood and had meant to say their daughter\’s name was Sydney Rose, to honor their birth country. We all know how Australian accents can be tricky, and Sunday isn\’t a name; it\’s just a day. But there\’s nothing to be ashamed of — just call up the clerk\’s office and get that change made. It\’s for her own good, trust me. In the meantime, Rose and I will be thinking up better names for the rest of Hollywood\’s newest arrivals.


Comments

7 Comments to “Sunday With Phinnaeus and Vivienne”

  1. David on July 28th, 2008 3:53 pm

    Be careful with Hazel; if I remember right steve may use that at some point in the future on one of your Grandkids.

  2. Steve on July 28th, 2008 10:51 pm

    It is indeed my one stated middle name preference for some future daughter.

  3. Connie Maxon on July 29th, 2008 8:16 am

    I believe he’s honoring his Great-Grandmother Hazel Maxon b/c everyone in our family sidestepped her name in favor of her childless sister Aunt Elizabeth Foote. A noble claim to be sure, but let’s see it clear the future bride, mother and birth certificate.

    I am however only stating it’s a social anchor as a first name in this day and age. :) And this from someone who named her first born Rose, and somehow got the names Margaret, Grace, Jeremiah, and Carlton onto legal documents in the last 25 years.

  4. Connie Maxon on July 29th, 2008 8:17 am

    Perhaps that’s should’ve read bride/mother…

  5. Tom on July 29th, 2008 10:35 am

    Bah. A name is just noise. Do what you want, silly celebrities.

  6. Connie Maxon on July 29th, 2008 11:39 am

    Ha! He should talk…he was named after one! Specifically one Tom Selleck aka Thomas Magnum. Yes that was back in the days when names were names you could count on, before they weren’t, then were and now aren’t again. By that I mean Rock Hudson, Errol Flynn or Clark Gable. Those never caught on anywhere that I can see in any census.

    But I digress…Tom was actually named after his PGF, but he turned out to be named Donald Stuart, everyone had just called him Tom. But that’s a story for another day…

  7. Steve on July 29th, 2008 12:19 pm

    Since we’re on the subject, this is always fun to play with.

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