Wolf, Techno Mechanicus, and Other Unique Celebrity Baby Names
From all the Kardashian-Jenner kids to Slim Easy Smith, stars' creative talents often carry over into their personal lives.
Recently, Elon Musk and Grimes welcomed a third child, a son named Techno Mechanicus. Don’t you just wish they’d come up with something more original? Techno Mechanicus was actually on our list of possible names that they would pick, right behind John and Mike.
Celebrities choose seldom-before-heard baby names often enough that it’s not always easy to keep track of them all. To help you keep track, we’ve compiled a list of 21 of those obscure monikers, just in case you need a little inspiration.
No unique celebrity baby names list is complete without this one. When Elon Musk and Grimes welcomed their first child together in May 2020, they made headlines once they announced the name. After being legally required to change their son's name due to California regulations two times, they eventually landed on "X AE A-XII Musk." But no, we still don't know how we're supposed to pronounce it.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@elonrmuskk.
Though the two are no longer together, they welcomed their third child in September 2023. If an unpronounceable name wasn't attention-grabbing enough, this one feels... even more shocking. Leave it to Elon Musk and Grimes to prove they can come up with the most elaborate baby names. We wonder what's next if they get back together?
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Beyoncé and Jay-Z's daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, may be all grown up now, but who else could remember everyone's reaction when they announced their first child's name? To be honest, Queen Bey was probably the one who popularized all these obscure baby names. She's something of a trendsetter, after all. But now that Blue is 12 years old, dare we say her name is actually quite fitting?
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Okay, technically, his name is now Aire. But when he was born, his name was Wolf. Needless to say, lots of people on social media reacted negatively to Kylie Jenner's name for her second child with Travis Scott. Just a few months after she gave birth, Jenner legally changed her son's name. On season three of The Kardashians, she said, "I didn't realize the postpartum hormones would hit me that hard. I never called him Wolf ever." "I cried in the shower, and I was like 'That's not his name.' [...] It wasn't even on the list," she added.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@kyliejenner.
Maybe it's just the fact that it's Cher Hor- we mean, Alicia Silverstone, but this might be a favorite. It's the right balance of unique and quirky.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@aliciasilverstone.
Now not everyone may love Ed Sheeran's daughter's name, but there's a touching story behind it. In 2021, Sheeran told the British morning show Lorraine that he and his wife wanted to name his daughter something that no one else would have. "I think that she [Cherry] is the only Cherry that I've ever met and I quite like that. In my class at school there were probably more Eds," the "Bad Habits" singer candidly shared. Explaining his daughter's middle name, he added, "When tour finished, I've basically toured every single continent but I've never been to Antarctica [...] So we went down there in 2019 and it was just incredible. The most amazing place on earth."
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Listen, we love Cameron Diaz—she's one of the highest-grossing actresses for a reason. But in all honesty, we had no idea she even had a daughter. That's not entirely on us, though, because as much as her personal life draws a lot of attention, Diaz keeps prefers to keep a few details private. She and her husband, Benji Madden, want to protect the privacy of their baby girl.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
A lot of the unique celebrity baby names we just mentioned were at the very least a little quirky. But we couldn't justify this one. Apologies for adding Lucky Blue Smith's children twice on this list, but there was no way we weren't going to. And considering he's expecting a third baby with his wife Nara Pellman this year, we're just crossing our fingers that the next baby name will be subtler.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@luckybsmith.
This one is quite the mouthful, most especially compared to her older siblings, Levon and Maya Hawke. It's one of the longest names ever. But at least Uma Thurman's youngest daughter has a nickname: Luna.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
If you thought Michael Jackson's kids' names were a little unconventional, then you have probably never heard of his nephew, Jermajesty. A combination of his father's first name Jermaine and the royal word Majesty, it's definitely a unique baby name.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@jermajestyjjackson.
After suffering a miscarriage in 2018, Shay Mitchell announced she welcomed a baby girl in October 2019. In an interview with Vogue, the actress announced her daughter's name is Atlas, which is an unconventional yet adorable choice for the child of a star with a well-documented love of travel.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@itsatlasrome.
This one is an oldie but a goodie: you simply can’t talk about obscure celebrity baby names without including Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter, Apple. She's grown up to bear a striking resemblance to her Goop-founding mom all while remaining set on carving her own path, so it definitely seems like she's developed a personality to match her headline-making name.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@gwynethpaltrow.
We had no idea Diplo had a child, let alone three, but here we are. Lazer, named after his dad's hit dance music trio Major Lazer, obviously, has an older brother named Lockett. It's safe to say the Diplo's son's name is...major.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@diplo.
To be fair, given her parents’ names and those of her father's siblings (Starlie Cheyenne, Daisy Clementine, and Pyper America), Gravity actually feels quite tame. Mundane, even. (Just kidding). But hey—in context, giving her one of her birth year's top names (like Emma or Charlotte) just wouldn't have felt as grounded, so here's to a family that embraces their collective unique monikers.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@stormibree.
Frankly, the KarJenners provide plenty of names to choose from for this list (remember when everyone freaked out over North before we all got used to it?), but we settled on Psalm since he’s the newest. Just when we thought they couldn’t come up with any more names that would surprise us...well played, KimYe. Speaking of new additions, congrats on the new album.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@kimkardashian.
The Oliver family also has a collection of obscure names to choose from, and while River is the youngest, his name felt the most ‘out there’ (although his older brother, Buddy Bear Maurice, was certainly close competition).
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@jamieoliver.
The Namibian runway goddess and her musician husband now have two baby girls and a baby boy, and while the younger daughter, Gio Grace, doesn’t exactly have a boring name, we're going to give this one to Dusty Rose. Fun fact: if you Google "dusty rose," it shows you a variety of items in that color (because before it was a baby name, it was the subtle trendy shade that preceded full-blown millennial pink). If the 7-year-old decides to grow an internet presence when she's older, she's going to have to retrain some stubborn algorithms, but if anyone can do it, it's Dusty Rose Levine.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@behatiprinsloo.
We all knew that whatever name Cardi and Offset decided on was going to be unique, but we definitely would not have guessed it to be Kulture with a "K." Rule of thumb: when in doubt, go with a "K" name. Just following the Kardashians is no longer enough—you've got to keep up with the kulture.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@iamcardib.
In all fairness to Lizzie McGuire Hilary Duff, Banks is probably the best name on this list. It’s fun and different, but a little calmer than some of the others.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@hillaryduff.
Aaron Paul and Lauren Parsekian really threw us for a loop on this one. Once again, we had missed that they had a child, but we were far more surprised by the name than the actual information that a baby existed.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@aaronpaul.
We all know about the first-born Phelps baby, Boomer, but did you know about his younger brother, Maverick? It seems that with their third child, the Olympian and the former Miss California paid tribute to their fiercely independent naming tendencies. Surely there's another reason, but it's fun to think about.
Photo courtesy of Instagram/@mavericknphelps.