Emma Dethrones Emily as Most Popular Girls Name

It's not just Beyoncé, Jay-Z with unique taste in monikers

(NEWSER) - If Blue Ivy Carter raised your eyebrows, you obviously have not met the other 28 celebrity babies who made it onto the Huffington Post 's list of weird Hollywood baby names:

• Audio Science: Shannyn Sossamon's son
• Kyd: The, well, kid (har, har) of David Duchovny and Tea Leoni (he's a boy)
• Jermajesty: Jermaine Jackson's son
• Pilot Inspektor: Jason Lee's son

Take your pick: Bear, Moroccan, or Zuzu

(NEWSER) - Celebrities tend to choose some very, er, interesting names for their offspring, but this year two names stood out: Bear Blu Jarecki, born to Alicia Silverstone, and Moroccan Cannon, born to Mariah Carey. Those two tied for the worst celebrity baby boy names of 2011 on a new BabyNames.com poll, ABC News reports. The worst baby girl name "award" went to Zuzu Audrey Peterson, daughter of a former Top Chef Just Desserts contestant. Poll respondents also didn't like the name Mirabella Bunny, daughter to Bryan Adams, or Kevin James' choice for his son, Kannon. More»

Anonymity offers the chance for a fresh start: Alina Simone

(NEWSER) - Twelve years ago, Alina Vilenkin took her mother's maiden name and became Alina Simone, and with the switch came a whole new life. She went from being a person who never followed through on anything to one who finally pursued her true passion: singing. "I changed my name and it changed me," she writes in the New York Times . "I poured my best self into my new name." So when she heard that an audience member at one of her shows decided to change her own name to "Alina Simone," Simone No. 1 wondered if Simone No. 2 would follow a similar path. More»

Experts say yes in new study

(NEWSER) - Ever noticed how perfect the name Wordsworth is for a poet, or wondered whether Usain Bolt's last name prompted his running career? Researchers are currently investigating whether one's name can influence one's choice of job, with one study already suggesting it can. Indeed, it's become a big enough field to earn its own name: nominative determinism, the Telegraph reports. The term first appeared in New Scientist, whose editor has been mulling the issue. More»

...but you can still name your kid Luke

(USER SUBMITTED) - Stumped on what to name your kid? Well, if you live in New Zealand, you have one less choice. The country's Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages has effectively blacklisted the name "Lucifer" after blocking three requests for the name by new parents. Lucifer joins a list of 102 other names that have been shot down in the last two years, including single letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. The name "Messiah" is also on the list, reports the Sydney Morning Herald . More»