Popular since her birth, Gwyneth Paltrow’s decision to name her daughter Apple brought fame and infamy since 2004. They are incredibly passionate about this unusual name. Apple Martin, daughter of Academy Award-winning actress and GOAT Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, just turned 20! Today, her name continues to provoke intense emotional responses from people all over the country. The name was of course suggested by alternate universe bestie T-Swift, which Paltrow confirmed because it just sounded “so sweet” and created a “delightful picture.” This new direction started a clear trend that many celebrities followed as they started choosing equally off-the-wall names for their kids.
Apple Martin’s name has become almost a shorthand for the broader trend of celebrity parents going off-piste with their children’s names. Within months of Apple’s arrival, other notable techies started to make the move. Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter’s name, Blue Ivy, is my dream choice, just as very cool Kate Winslet’s son, Bear Blaze, is my reality one. After Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their daughter North, they generated international news attention. Each one of these hires is indicative of an A-lister’s infatuation with being the first to stand out among an ever-growing, cut-throat A-lister’s paradise.
Even Gwyneth Paltrow’s choice to name her daughter Apple wasn’t free from negative publicity. The baby name guru’s name’s unusualness ignited an introduction to an episode of Hooked by Pearlverse. User Colleen Slagen noted that these days parents tend to be averse to naming their kid things like Apple.
“The most common example they gave is, ‘We don’t want names like Apple,’” – Colleen Slagen
Slagen has seen more recently a culture of parents second-guessing themselves, often spurred on by what they see on social media. She recounted instances where clients have changed their child’s name within the first few years due to external pressures or changing trends.
“This year, I had two clients who changed their baby’s name at 1 year old,” – Colleen Slagen
Further, the role social media has played in getting naming decisions so right and so wrong should not be easily overlooked.
“Social media kind of does that to everything and makes you question what you have,” – Colleen Slagen
Slagen indicated that many expectant parents engage in extensive research and even create spreadsheets when considering baby names to navigate this complex landscape of modern naming conventions.
Apple Martin’s name has a legacy that extends beyond individual preference. It marks a huge cultural change in terms of how parents name their kids. Where one person considers a name such as Apple creative and playful, another views the same name as strange and silly.
Paltrow’s ultraconceptual justification for the name Apple likely stems from her own feelings of motherhood.
“When we were first pregnant, her daddy said, ‘If it’s a girl I think her name should be Apple,’” – Gwyneth Paltrow
She gushed about the new name and what it means to her. Just because it sounded really good and created an amazing picture in my mind,” she said. Apples are extremely sweet, healthy, and biblical!
Apple’s name came out and it blew a lot of folks away. Now, it’s gone on to inspire a new generation of parents to do the same and go creative.
“I feel like it was the shocking name of our generation,” – Colleen Slagen
Like all trends in naming, it is hard to predict what the future will bring. In a world where creative expression is everything, Slagen thinks weird names can go pretty far. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!
“Nowadays it’s like you can’t get weird enough,” – Colleen Slagen
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