Names are very important in today’s society. Many religions and nationalities believe that a person with a strong name will be strong and a person with a weak name will be weak.

My grandfather was a Cherokee Indian and appropriately thought that his children had to have strong names. My grandmother on the other hand was Irish and thought that plain names would be best. In the end my grandmother won and my father and his brother and sister were stuck with Terry, Nancy, Betty, and Tim. It is common to see older names such as these in older individuals; however this is not always the case.

In today’s society most people want to name their children something that is unique and different. Perhaps that is why myself and my sister where named after movies, Sheena from “Sheena of the Jungle” and Jessica from “Snowy River”. My mom went on to name my smallest sister Tamika. While those names are not that off the wall my husband named our daughter after a video game. We named her Aeris after the popular Japanese video game Final Fantasy 7. Still that is not too odd; it is unique and rarely heard however some names that are floating around today makes you truly wonder what on earth the parents were thinking. Below is a list of names I myself have heard in my lifetime.

Hamburger & Hotdog: This is a true story, my grandmother once told me before she passed away that she went to school with twins that bore these names.

Pizzaz Pilgrim: I saw this name in the classified adds in our local newspaper in an add for a couch for sale.

Briggeta Houfgneger: An old boss of mine where I use to work at a daycare. (I am not sure about the spelling of the last name but that is how it is said).

Robert Roberts: I know this man and still wonder why on earth his parents named him Robert when his last name is Roberts.

I also conducted a survey to see what the strangest and most unique names most people had ever heard were and here are some of the answers.

Strangest and most unique

• Pepsi
• Coke
• Idaho
• Montana
• Twins named Velvet & Satin
• Spring Painter
• Koonsith
• Whiskey-girl/Sunshine-girl/Theron-boy
• Krishnakumar
• Topanga
• Beeves
• Barnaby
• Abcdee
• Liberty Ann Justice
• Free
• Puma
• Banjo
• Sailor

Celebrities

Celebrities are perhaps some of the most talked about people in the United States, so why I have to ask would they name their children names that are totally off the wall? Here are some of the not so wacky celebrity names followed by what I think are the totally crazy ones.

• Kim Basinger & Alec Baldwin: Baby daughter Ireland
• Gwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin: Baby daughter Apple and son Moses
• Courteney Cox & David Arquette: Baby daughter Coco
• Toni Braxton & Keri Lewis: Baby son Diezel Ky
• Julia Roberts & Danny Moder: Twins Phinnaeus Walter and Hazel Patricia
• Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck: Baby daughter Violet
• Geri Halliwell & Sacha Gervasi: Baby daughter Bluebell Madonna
• Jools Norton & Jamie Oliver: Baby daughter Daisy Boo
• Tonya Linette Lewis & Spike Lee: Baby daughter Satchel
• Claudia Schiffer & Matthew Vaughn: Baby son Caspar
• And here are perhaps the more strange and wild celebrity baby names.
• Shannyn Sossaman & Dallas Clayton: Baby son Audio Science
• Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes: Baby daughter Suri
• Matt & Annette Lauer: Baby boy Thijs
• Beth Riesgraf & Jason Lee: Baby son Pilot Inspektor
• Paula Yates & Michael Hutchence: Baby daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily
• Paula Yates & Bob Geldof: Baby daughters Fifi-Trixibelle, Peaches, Little Trixie, and Honeyblossom
• Heidi Klum & Seal: Baby son Johan Riley Fyodor Taiwo
• Alice Kim & Nicolas Cage: Baby son Kal-el Coppola

Celebrities want to be more marketable

But what about the celebrities themselves? Some have changed their names to be more marketable and memorable in their fields. Below is a glimpse of some of the Celebes that have changed over to either more whacked out names or names that are more common.

Busta Rhymes – Use to be: Trevor Tahiem Smith

Queen Latifah – Use to be: Dana Elaine Owens

Demi Moore – Use to be: Demetria Guynes

Eminem – Use to be: Marshall Bruce Mathers III

Whoopie Goldbert – Use to be: Caryn Johnson

Kirk Douglas – Use to be: Issur Danielovitch Demsky

Perhaps there are even more strange names out there, but I personally have not come across them yet. I’m sure individuals will continue to make their children unique by giving them names most people would never dream of.