Mark Wahlberg's Grace Margaret Is a Favorite, While Jamie Oliver's Buddy Bear Maurice Gets a Big Thumbs-Down
BabyCenter's® "Moms and the City" asks Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and other stars how they chose their children's names
San Francisco — December 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — BabyCenter®, the #1 pregnancy and parenting destination worldwide, today announced its list of the most and least favorite celebrity baby names of 2010. BabyCenter surveyed its audience to see which celebrity baby names made the A-list and which fell short. Based on responses from almost 2,000 moms, BabyCenter found that Mark Wahlberg and his wife, Rhea Durham, did the best job in naming their little girl, Grace Margaret. Also topping the list are new parents Neil Patrick Harris and partner David Burtka, who chose Harper Grace for their daughter’s name. Additional favorites include Stella Zavala, daughter of Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso, and Easton Quinn Monroe, son of Jenna and Bodhi Elfman.
“Hollywood headliners know how to keep baby naming interesting, and the rest of us are influenced by their choices – whether we love them or hate them,” says Linda Murray, BabyCenter editor-in-chief. “Celebrities are creative people, and we see that reflected in many of their name choices. But they’re not all immune to the lure of family traditions, spiritual beliefs, or the sound of a beautiful, classic name.”
Top 10 Favorite Celebrity Baby Names
Grace Margaret (Mark Wahlberg & Rhea Durham)
Harper Grace (Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka)
Aviana Olea (Amy Adams & Darren Legallo)
Olivia Marie (Lance Armstrong & Anna Hansen)
Bryn (Bethenny Frankel & Jason Hoppy)
Eli Benjamin (Rachel Dratch & John Wahl)
Stella Zavala (Matt Damon & Luciana Barroso)
Gia Francesca (Mario Lopez & Courtney Mazza)
Levi James (Sheryl Crow)
Easton Quinn Monroe (Jenna & Bodhi Elfman)
Not all nominees can be winners. According to BabyCenter moms, leading the pack of least favorite celebrity baby names is Buddy Bear Maurice, son of Jamie Oliver and Juliette Norton. Also high on the list is Egypt Daoud, son of singer Alicia Keys and her new husband Kaseem Dean, aka Swizz Beatz. Those aren’t the only names that moms aren’t big fans of. Axel, son of Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin, and Billie Beatrice, daughter of Eric Dane and Rebecca Gayheart, also made the list of least favorite celebrity baby names.
Top 10 Least Favorite Celebrity Baby Names
Buddy Bear Maurice (Jamie Oliver & Juliette Norton)
Egypt Daoud (Alicia Keys & Kaseem Dean, aka Swizz Beatz)
Cosima Violet (Claudia Schiffer & Matthew Vaughn)
Axel (Will Ferrell & Viveca Paulin)
Krishna Thea (Padma Lakshmi)
Gideon Scott (Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka)
Billie Beatrice (Eric Dane & Rebecca Gayheart)
Abel James (Amy Poehler & Will Arnett)
Vida (Matthew McConaughey & Camila Alves)
Nelson (Céline Dion & René Angélil)
So how do celebrities come up with names for their children? BabyCenter’s “Moms and the City” team caught up with some of our favorite celebrities to find out exactly where they got their baby name inspiration. For answers from Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Mario Lopez, Tina Fey, and other stars, check out the video at www.babycenter.com/celebrities-talk-baby-names.
For complete 2010 Baby Names coverage, visit www.babycenter.com/special-report-baby-names.
###
About BabyCenter® LLC
BabyCenter® is the voice of the 21st Century Mom® and modern motherhood. It’s the #1 pregnancy and parenting destination worldwide, reaching more than 8 million moms monthly in the U.S. and more than 20 million moms monthly in 22 markets from Australia to India to China. In the United States, 7 in 10 babies born last year were BabyCenter babies. BabyCenter is the world’s partner in parenting, providing moms everywhere with trusted advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, friendship with other moms like them, and support that’s remarkably right at every stage of their child’s development. BabyCenter also works with some of the world’s most prominent brands and institutions to provide life-stage marketing solutions and a direct line to highly engaged moms. BabyCenter is a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.
About “Moms and the City”
“Moms and the City,” BabyCenter’s celebrity bloggers, channel the edgy, honest, and sometimes controversial opinions of three real moms of New York City. These award-winning journalists – Denise Albert, Melissa Gerstein, and Raina Seitel Gittlin – cover parenting issues from the trenches as they trek through the joys, the dysfunction, the exhaustion, and the exhilaration that motherhood brings. “Moms and the City” is a multi-platform brand with exposure on the web, on television, and in print. Specifically, the women of MATC co-host a half-hour television show, Moms and the City & a Dad Named David, seen weekly on WNBC and NBC’s digital station, New York Nonstop, and Nonstop stations around the country. The women also appear as experts on other television shows and radio programs around New York. Additionally, MATC content can be found at www.momsandthecity.net and at www.nydailynews.com/moms. The Moms write articles and interview A-list celebrity moms and other not-so-famous moms about all things motherhood. Denise (denise@momsandthecity.net) is an award-winning journalist and a guilt-free workaholic mom of two boys. She’s also the co-chair of the parent association for her children’s school. Melissa (melissa@momsandthecity.net), the mother of three young children, spent the last ten years working in film, theater, and television production. She’s from the Midwest and a graduate of New York University. Raina (raina@momsandthecity.net), an Emmy award-winning journalist, juggles various television projects while spending time with her 2-year-old son. She has worked both in front of and behind the camera.
