These days, most parents want their children to have a unique name to save them from having to be the 14th Emily or Michael in their class. But the trend really started with celebrities, who seemed to feel a lot of pressure to pick a “weird,” name for their kids to help them stand out. While Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin’s daughter Apple’s name seemed odd at the time, it’s really the least strange name in Hollywood these days. But even some of the most seemingly unique celebrity baby names out there have been repeated by multiple stars.
No, there’s still only one X Æ A-12 out there (that’s Elon Musk and Grimes’ son’s name), and only one North West. But there are three Saints, for Axels, and several Birdies. And that’s only the beginning. We’ve rounded up 15 celeb baby names used by at least two different famous parents — sometimes way more than two. It’s still better to only than being the 100th Emma, but it is funny that even these unique monikers were more popular than the celebrity parents may have realized.
Saint
Harper
Harper is a little more of a regular name than some of the others on this list, so it’s not too surprising that it’s been repeated throughout celebrity families — but it is a bit surtprising just how popular it is for the stars. David Beckham, Neil Patrick Harris, Bill Hader, and The Office‘s Jenna Fischer all have girls named Harper. Neil Patrick Harris came first, and his daughter Harper is now 10.
Birdie
Birdie would already be a cute nickname, but it’s also the given name for three celeb kids. Brie Bella, Jessica Simpson, and Busy Phillips all have daughters named Birdie, although Busy’s came first. (Her daughter is now 12.) Brie’s daughter is now 3, and Jessica’s is 1. Busy Phillips was just such a trendsetter.
Axel
Starting in 2010, Axel became a very popular name for celebrity sons. That year, actors Will Ferrell and Kaitlin Olson both named their boys Axel. Then Seth Meyers joined them with his own baby boy Axel in 2018 — and we can’t forget Fergie and Josh Duhamel’s son Axl (no “e”), who’s now 7.
Lincoln
Celebs have used this name as a gender-neutral moniker. Bill Murray named his son Lincoln in 2001, and then Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard named their daughter Lincoln in 2013. Kristen later admitted they chose the name before they knew the sex of their baby. “[Dax] always wanted his first to be named Lincoln and so we got lazy when we found out she was a girl and [said], ‘Hey, why not Lincoln?'”
Bear
This unusual name isn’t quite as unique as these celeb parents may have thought. Liam Payne, Kate Winslet, and Alicia Silverstone all named their sons Bear — although in fairness to the Clueless star, she was first. She named her son Bear Blu Jarecki way back in 2011.
Mason
Another popular Kardashian kid name? Mason — but Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick were actually last to having that moniker idea. First came Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville, whose son, Mason, is now 17. Melissa Joan Hart also has a son named Mason, and he’s 14 — and then comes 10-year-old Mason Disick.
