Some celebrities have participated in a trend of giving their children unisex names, with the following examples being among the most notable.
While they might seem innocuous at first glance, names are among the most important parts of the human experience. This form of identification is unique to this species, and expanding the naming tradition to animals or even plants and objects is ubiquitous across all human societies.
However, names are not a product of a neutral practice that are happen to be found across all human cultures. They are an intimate, intricate part of a human being’s identity, since they are usually what society will use to refer to a person. Additionally names have their own meaning, whether they’re of Hebrew or Latin origin, or derived from more contemporary conventions. As a result, they also evoke certain feelings from people.A name can even make or break a person’s social life, as the offspring of several celebrities can attest. While most of them are content with giving their children recognizable names, there is still a trend among some celebrities to name their kids something more “unique”, usually leading to ridicule. Moon Unit Zappa, Duncan Jones (formerly known as “Zowie Bowie”), and Elon Musk and Grimes’ baby X Æ A-12 are the most infamous example.However, in the rise of gender-related discourse, a new habit has appeared in the celebrity realm. Some celebrities decided to twist the unique name trend around to give their kids unisex names, including unconventional ones.
Open acknowledgement of celebrity babies having unexpectedly gender-neutral names has been around for over a decade, but the trend really kicked in much later as more celebrities started influencing it. Victoria and David Beckham named his daughter Harper, which is uncommon, but not that odd since when it is used as a given name, “Harper” is usually given to girls. Originally obscure as a given name and primarily a surname of English origin, Beckham’s decision lead to “Harper” skyrocketing in popularity.
Originally obscure as a given name due to its primary role as a surname of English origin, “Harper” skyrocketed in popularity following Beckham’s decision. The name is now among the top ten most popular names for girls in the United States as of 2016, and it does not show signs of slowing down. While the name is far from gender neutral in terms of its current relationship with society, Harper Beckham arguably normalized the idea of a vaguely masculine name being perfectly acceptable for girls. Indeed, “Harper” is the most notable cast of a name’s popularity and role changing for the better in the past decade.
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