11 Celebrity Kids Who Were Named After Hollywood Stars

NEED TO KNOW

• Celebrities often name their children after Hollywood icons or peers as a tribute or source of inspiration

• Mindy Kaling chose classic names for her kids inspired by stars like Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy

• Alyssa Milano named her son Milo after Milo Ventimiglia, crediting him for helping her find her husband

Celebrities frequently come up with unique baby names for their children, some of which are actually inspired by their peers in Hollywood.

Reasons for naming their kids after other A-listers vary. The Office alum Mindy Kaling, for example, looked to past stars in order to find classic names for her three children. Other celebrities, like Alyssa Milano, chose to pay tribute to friends and former costars when selecting their kids’ names.

In Milano’s case, her son, Milo, is named after her friend and former costar Milo Ventimiglia. The actress credits Ventimiglia for helping her find love and thought the name would be a “lovely homage” to the Gilmore Girls actor.

“I feel like he was responsible for my husband [David Bugliari] and me getting together,” Milano told PEOPLE in June 2017.

Here are 11 celebrity kids who were named after Hollywood stars.

01 of 09

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon welcomed their twins, Moroccan and Monroe, on April 30, 2011, the same day as their third wedding anniversary.

Monroe’s name was inspired by Old Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe, though the teen now goes by the nickname “Roe.”

02 of 09

Fergie and Josh Duhamel

Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie and ex-husband Ransom Canyon star Josh Duhamel named their son Axl, born on Aug. 29, 2013, after one of their favorite musicians.

“I had this dream I was in the audience at this festival,” Fergie said on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show three months after Axl was born. “On stage singing was Jim Morrison, and then came Bob Marley, and then Axl Rose … And I wake up and it’s the first time my son kicked me in the stomach and it was like he was feeling the music with me.”

She then woke up Duhamel, and they soon decided that the Guns N’ Roses singer’s name went well with the middle name they’d already chosen: Jack.

“It just had this ring to it,” the artist added.

03 of 09

John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

Two of John Legend and Chrissy Teigen‘s four children are named after music icons.

“We named our first daughter Luna Simone Stephens, and every name we give to our kids will have a little bit of musical history to it,” Legend told Glamour in May 2018, referring to “Strange Fruit” singer Nina Simone.

He continued, “Miles is, of course, the same name as the great Miles Davis.”

04 of 09

Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer

Former couple Amy Schumer and Chris Fischer named their son, Gene, after comedian Dave Attell not once, but twice.

After Gene was born on May 5, 2019, Schumer soon decided to change his name.

“It was Gene Attell Fischer, but we realized that we by accident named our son ‘genital,’ ” she said on her Amy Schumer Presents: 3 Girls, 1 Keith podcast.

They opted to swap out Attell for the comedian’s first name, David, which also happened to be the name of Schumer’s father.

“Two stones,” she joked.

05 of 09

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky‘s first child, RZA, was born on May 13, 2022.

Inspired by legendary Wu-Tang Clan rapper RZA, his moniker was kept under wraps until PEOPLE revealed the baby’s name two days before his first birthday. Rocky also announced it himself in a since-deleted Instagram post.

“‘WU TANG IZ 4 DA CHUREN’ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MY 1st BORN. RZA,” he wrote in the caption, per Billboard.

Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA later told CNN it was “a great honor” to be the baby’s namesake.

“RZA isn’t only a name, it’s a title. So it’s an honor and I salute [Rihanna] and A$AP and their family. All the blessings in the world from me,” he said.

06 of 09

Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg

Soleil Moon Frye‘s father, Virgil Frye, was a famous actor and boxer who died in 2012. When it came time for her and her then-husband, Jason Goldberg, to name their son, they chose to honor Virgil with one of his nicknames. Lyric Sonny Roads was born on Feb. 10, 2014.

“While I was pregnant, we kept seeing the word ‘lyric’ over and over again. We’re big believers in signs. So it was meant to be,” Frye told PEOPLE. “Sonny was the nickname of my dad and Roads is a name we love. We always wanted ‘Roadie’ as a nickname.”

07 of 09

Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes

Mae Whitman and Carlos Valdes welcomed their first child, Miles, in the summer of 2024, and named him after Whitman’s former costar Miles Heizer, who played her on-screen brother in Parenthood.

“He is the kindest, gentlest, smartest, funniest little beebee and he’s our best friend (pretty much exactly like his namesake Uncle Miles @younggoth),” she wrote on Instagram shortly after the baby’s arrival.

08 of 09

Mindy Kaling

In December 2020, Kaling revealed to PEOPLE that she paid homage to some of her favorite Hollywood legends, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, while naming her two oldest kids, Katherine and Spencer.

The actress also explained that she steers clear of the more unique monikers often chosen by her Hollywood peers because she “doesn’t trust [her] own judgment with those kinds of names.”

“If I name my son River, that connotes a certain kind of person who is very go with the flow, artsy. But what if he’s not like that at all? Will he be furious with me?” she said. “I just tried to pick classic names that felt like they would have to work really hard to get mad at me about later.”

09 of 09

Alyssa Milano and David Bugliara

Milano’s son Milo is named after her longtime friend and former Pathology costar Ventimiglia. The actress credits him for encouraging her to date her now-husband, Bugliari.

The couple tied the knot in 2009 and welcomed their baby boy on Aug. 31, 2011, followed by a daughter named Elizabeth on Sept. 4, 2014.

“When Milo was born, he just looked like a Milo to me and I thought it would be a lovely homage to Milo Ventimiglia for encouraging me to find my love,” MIlano told PEOPLE in June 2017.

Read the original article on People