Nameberry.com editors Pamela Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz — who penned the books Baby Name Bible and Beyond Ava & Aiden — are blogging for UsMagazine.com about why celebs choose the names they do, and what they mean.
Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom let it be known that they were putting a great deal of effort towards finding the perfect name for their newborn son before they announced that it was to be Flynn — with no middle name given.
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Flynn fits right into the current trend of Irish surnames for boys (following in the footsteps of Ryan and Riley) and names relative to the Fin- family. Flynn itself means "red-headed" in Gaelic and brings to mind the dashing swashbuckler Errol Flynn (who inspired the phrase "in like Flynn," and the more recent hero of Tangled, Rapunzel's rescuer, Flynn Rider).
Although Flynn has not been used much as a celebrity first name, it can be found in middle place, for Elle Macpherson's son Arpad (known as Flynn), Gary Oldman's son Gulliver, and Marley Shelton's daughter West. Other celebs who have used Irish surnames as firsts include Patrick Dempsey (Sullivan), Sadie Frost and Jude Law (Rafferty) and Eric McCormack (Finnegan).
Flynn has never been used much in this country, never having been among the Top 1,000, but it is popular in both Australia and New Zealand, where it's currently in the Top 100.
Numerous notables have gone the related Fin- route, using Finn, Finlay or Finley for both sons and daughters, among them Lisa Marie Presley, Chris O'Donnell, Holly Marie Combs, Daniel Baldwin, Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn, Jane Leeves, and Christy Turlington and Ed Burns.
Kerr and Bloom have pared their son's name down to two syllables. A few who have also taken this minimal route with their children's names are Charlie Sheen (twins Bob and Max), Dennis Quaid and Matt Lauer (Jack), Kevin James (Shea), Brad Pitt (Knox), and Larenz Tate (Miles).
