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.
With the naming of her third child Cosima Violet (born May 14 in London), Claudia Schiffer, 39, has continued her previous pattern of choosing a distinctive name starting with her own first intial, "C," which she also did with older daughter, Clementine, and son, Caspar.
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Cosima (accent on the first syllable) derives from the Greek Kosmos, and refers to the order and harmony of the universe. Used in Germany, Greece Italy, and by upper-class Brits, it's rarely heard in the US. English celebrity chef has a daughter named Cosima, and Marissa Ribisi and Beck used the male form, Cosimo, for their son.
The most famous bearer in history had strong musical ties — Cosima Wagner was the daughter of composer Franz Liszt and the wife of composer Richard Wagner.
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The middle name Violet is an increasingly popular floral name these days, getting a huge boost when it was chosen by Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck in 2005. A sweet and sentimental choice, it jumped to No. 141 on the popularity charts last year.
Clementine, the name of Schiffer's older daughter, hasn't made it onto the popularity lists yet but is rapidly becoming a favorite of celebrities and other cutting-edge baby namers. Kirstie Alley first revived it in the late '70s, and it's since been chosen by Ethan Hawke and Rachel Griffiths.
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Several other celebs have followed Claudia's practice of serial-initializing, often repeating their own name's starting letter. There are, for instance, Tarian, Tristan and Tyler Tritt (sons of Travis); Sadie and Sunny Sandler (daughters of Adam); Corde, Cordell and Cori, children of Cordozar Calvin (Snoop Dogg) Broadus; Scarlet, Sophia and Sistine Stallone, who all share the middle name of Rose; and — the grand prize winner — director Robert Rodriguez, who named his five children Racer, Rebel, Rocket, Rogue and Rhiannon.
