Nicole Kidman and the name game
The doctor delivered a Sunday on a Monday to Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban, who welcomed their baby daughter, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban. Glad to see Nic and the U-man continuing the tradition of attention-hungry celebrity parents who give their kids strange names. No word yet on a name for Matthew McConaughey's baby boy who was also born Monday. (Matthew's redneck brother Rooster named his second son Miller Lyte after his favorite beer)
I have a theory that child-naming is second 
only to designer purses in parading your style. Are you a trend follower (Madison, Logan)? A trend starter (Kennedy, Brooklyn)? Or just cruel (Keebler, Juana)?
It’s astonishing to look at this list of the top baby names going back to 1897 and see how names come in and out of fashion. From the starched era of Mildred and Dorothy to the odd Reagonomics-inspired days of Tiffany and Morgan, names reflect their decade (yes I’m looking at you, Zowie Bowie).
In one of my favorite books of 2005, the Freakonomics fellas, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, proposed that baby names “migrate” through the population from a higher socioeconomic level to a lower one. Amber, Heather, and Stephanie started out as high-end names, they say, before they caught on with the mall rats.
My favorite take on the celebrity obsession with making their kids eat in the cafeteria alone is comic magician Penn Jillette, father of Moxie CrimeFighter and Zolten: "Everyone I know with an unusual name loves it," he told the New York Times. "It's only the losers named Dave that think having an unusual name is bad, and who cares what they think. They're named Dave."
Sharon Kennedy Wynne
Sharon Kennedy Wynne has sunscreen in her blood. She may have been born in Buffalo but she got here as fast as she could, in time for kindergarten. She grew up in St. Petersburg, graduated from the University of Florida journalism school, and even got married at Sunken Gardens. She's one of the few adults we know who actually loves taking her kids to the beach. She has two sons and with 10 years of parenting under her belt, she's starting to feel a little less out of her league. She comes from a large family and loves to debate, so brace yourself when the hot topics come up.
Amy Hollyfield is a workaholic mother of two young
daughters, blessed to have a work-at-home husband who makes their life possible. She was born in Detroit and moved around a lot as a kid (read: Air Force brat). She has lived in Florida since the month after she
graduated from Northwestern University. She lives for the yelps, hugs and kisses that greet her on nights that she makes it home before bedtime.
Sherry Robinson was born in the Sunshine State but she feels more comfortable inside a mall than outside at the beach -- thank goodness her husband is the outdoorsy type. He takes their two sons on night hikes, beach runs and bug hunts while Sherry does her best to take care of the homestead -- and find out what is new on the store shelves. A graduate of the University of South Florida in 19noneofyourbusiness, Sherry has been at the Times for nearly 20 years. And with nearly 10 years of parenting experience, Sherry is eager to offer up some great dish on raising kids and keeping your sanity.
Guest blogger Tracey Henry, a.k.a. Suburban Diva, is a frantic, slightly frazzled mother of four. She is a freelance humor writer and author which is the only thing that parenting four children ages 12-1 trains you for, except perhaps court jester and professional bull rider. She and her husband have lived all over the country, but settled in Florida eight years ago because the beachcombing is so much better here than on the banks of the Mississippi. Their family time includes a lot of sport -- both watching and playing -- and fun in the sun and surf. Catch her in Whoa, Momma! and on her site, 
Sherri Day and her husband welcomed their daughter into the world in early 2008. So far, she describes parenthood as exciting, exhausting and exhilarating. A self-described Southern belle with small-town values and big-city idealism, Sherri was born in rural Georgia. She received her bachelor's degree in journalism from Clark Atlanta University and her master's of journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. She is the Brandon bureau chief for the Times. Sherri moved to Tampa from Brooklyn four years ago.
I think Matthew McConaughey's baby name is Levi.
Posted by: baby boy | July 11, 2008 at 02:53 PM