The boy’s name Ryder got a real shot in the arm on the American naming charts in 2004 when Kate Hudson named her first son Ryder Russell (his father is The Black Crowes front man Chris Robinson). Hudson was part of the new wave of young Hollywood embracing motherhood at a relatively young age (she was not quite 25 years old). Now that the couple is divorced, Kate is with another musical front man (Matthew Bellamy) from the band Muse. Together they have a son called Bingham Hawn Bellamy (b. July 2011) who they refer to as just Bing. We don’t expect this one to show up on the naming charts any time soon, though! Way too unusual and surnamey for most people’s tastes. Bingham is apparently Bellamy’s mom’s maiden name, but Bing Russell was also the name of Kurt Russell’s dad. So the name, while strange, has family importance to the couple.

English actress Kate Winslet has two children by two different husbands. Her daughter with director Jim Threapleton was born on October 12, 2000 when Kate was barely 25 years old. They named her Mia Honey Threapleton (Winslet and Threapleton divorced a year later). Back in the year 2000, the girl’s name Mia was barely a Top 100 favorite and today it’s a Top 10. Winslet’s son with her second husband, director Sam Mendes, is named Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes (b. 2003). Winslet and Mendes divorced in 2010. Wonder if husband #3 followed by kid #3 will be in her future? We’ll have to wait and see.

After a long and…er…robust pregnancy, Jessica Simpson announced the birth of her healthy 9 lb. 13 oz. baby girl on May 1, 2012. The name? Maxwell Drew. Yes, for the reality TV star turned businesswoman, we found this choice a bit of a head-scratcher. But then again, it’s par for the course when it comes to celebrity. We can only ask, why choose two (commonly considered) BOY names for the girl you hope will wear Christian Louboutin heels instead of Nike running shoes? Apparently both Maxwell and Drew are family names. Perhaps they should have waited for a boy.

Mason Dash Disick came into this world on December 14, 2009. While the name Mason was already on the rise, Kourtney still further positively impacted the usage of this name by bestowing it on the newest generation of Kardashians. In 2010, the name soared to #12 on the charts and in 2011, Mason became the 2nd most popular boy’s name in America. Apparently Americans are no longer keeping up with the Joneses. They are “Keeping up with the Kardashians” now. Now that baby Penelope arrived in July 2012 we expect this old mythological female name to garner some attention, as well.

On February 22, 2008, Jennifer Lopez and her then-husband Marc Anthony (whose real last name is Muñiz) welcomed twins Maximilian and Emme. We must admit, these names are a bit tame for this level of super stardom which is kind of refreshing. Well, not entirely. Maximilian unapologetically means “greatest” but Emme is not as familiar. It probably comes from an old Germanic root word meaning “whole, universal”.

Demi Moore was ahead of the Hollywood pregnancy fad when she started having babies at the young age of 26 with her then-husband Bruce Willis. Apparently, she was also a trend-setter when it came to picking out unusual names for her daughters. The first was Rumer Glenn (b. 1988) named after British novelist Rumer Godden. In 1991, Moore had her second daughter Scout LaRue whose name came from one of the most beloved characters in American fiction, Scout Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird” and lastly there was Tallulah Belle whose name was inspired by Tallulah Bankhead, a husky-voiced actress from the Golden Era of Hollywood. Tallulah Willis later changed her name to Lula having been dissatisfied with her parent’s original choice. Wonder if we’ll see more celebrity children follow suit!

Mark Whalberg has four children with model girlfriend turned wife Rhea Durham. They are named Ella Rae (b. 2003), Michael Robert (b. 2006), Brendan Joseph (b. 2008) and Grace Margaret (b. 2010). We guess the crotch-grabbing former underwear model is more old-fashioned than we would have guessed. He and Rhea picked some pretty traditional names.

On August 10, 2009 Jennifer Hudson gave birth to a baby boy whom she named David Daniel Otunga Junior. That was easy. When you decide to have a “junior” it certainly doesn’t yake much thought on what to name him. David is one of the most successful names ever and an unequivocal timesless classic. It also means “beloved darling”. We are happy for Jennifer!

Elizabeth Banks and her husband had a son in March 2011. They named the little guy Felix which means “happy”. An off-beat yet fortuitous name indeed! Felix was born via surrogacy because, as Banks herself has been quoted as saying, her belly is “broken” so she made a “baby cake” in another woman’s “oven”. Her baby’s name is no accident either. According to Banks: “Felix means ‘happy’ and ‘lucky’ in Latin. And true to his name, Felix is a very happy baby and a blessing on our life.” Congratulations funny lady!

Katherine Heigl and singer-husband Josh Kelley adopted a baby girl from South Korea in 2009. Katherine chose the name Nancy Leigh for the girl (in honor of her own mother and sister). They call her Naleigh for short. Recently in 2012, the couple adopted their second daughter domestically. Heigl said: “”Her full name is Adalaide Marie Hope Kelley – Adalaide because of my great-grandmother, Marie after my middle name, and Hope because that is what the [adoption] process became.”