What's so odd about Hazel?

Someone asked me just yesterday what name I would choose if I had to have a different first name. I was stumped. ‘Nina’ is all that comes to mind. Not that it is a typical Polish name. Au contraire-- I remained nameless for a while as my mother stubbornly petitioned the authorities in Poland to permit a name that was not an official entry on the calendar of saints (ah the paradoxes of communist governance!).

Today, the press is bemused at the name choices for the Julia Roberts twins (Hazel and Phinnaeus). But a WashPost article reminds us that celebrities have often found apt names for their offspring on lists that are anything but pedestrian:

Celebrity baby names these days are very . . . different. We say this not to pass judgment, but to point out one more way celebrities are not like the rest of us.

The list keeps growing. Demi Moore and Bruce Willis are the parents of Rumer Glenn, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle. Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay singer Chris Martin recently begat Apple. Sylvester Stallone sired Sage Moonblood and Sistine Rose. Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette are the proud parents of Coco. Singer Erykah Badu -- herself on the celebrity all-name team -- has a child named Puma. John Travolta and Kelly Preston named their boy Jett. Christie Brinkley's youngest is a girl named Sailor. The late rock star Michael Hutchence named his daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. Long-ago rock star Bob Geldof calls daughter Fifi Trixabelle to dinner. Soccer star David Beckham and Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams's brood includes Brooklyn, Romeo and a soon-to-be wee one who reportedly may be dubbed San Miguel. Supermodel Claudia Schiffer has a girl named Clementine, as does Cybill Shepherd. Rob Morrow, of "Northern Exposure" quasi-fame, dubbed his baby Tu, as in Tu Morrow.

We'd mention that Michael Jackson named one of his children Prince Michael, but this seems like the least Out There thing about Michael Jackson.

Of course, there are those that follow another extreme, opting to choose a plain and simple name and use it over and over again. The article notes that George Foreman named five of his ten children ‘George.’