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Shiloh. Suri. Grier. Apple. Pilot. Audio Science. Such are the names for some of the babies born to celebrities recently. They've been doing it for years, those wacky celebs. From Frank Zappa (children named: Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, and Diva Muffin) to Bob Geldof (children named: Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, Little Pixie and the daughter his previous wife had with Michael Hutchence, Tiger Lily Heavenly Hirani) to Demi Moore and Bruce Willis (children named: Rumer Glenn, Scout LaRue, Tallulah Belle) to good old George Foreman, who decided to name all of his children George, ranging from George Jr to George the Sixth and including Freeda George and Georgetta, his two daughters. If your parents have enough money, while the public might think your name is strange, you'll be able to get away with it in style. I don't imagine little Shiloh Nouvel ("new messiah") will catch much s**t as she goes through school, with Brad and Angelina being her DNA donors. It makes me wish that my parents would have had more money when I was growing up. Zara is my real name. I've been told of several different meanings for it, based on which culture is claiming ownership of it. Its origin is of an Arabic descent, and I've been told that it means "dawn," "glow," "morning star," "desert flower," and even been told that it's just another offshoot of Sarah, which means "princess." I tend to just pick "dawn" and stick with that. However, growing up, I didn't want to stick with it at all. Having little kids come running up, slashing their arms at you and calling you "Zorro" isn't cool. Every time we discussed the letter Z in class, I was held up as the prime example. I NEVER got picked first to leave the class room if we went alphabetically. Then there's been the life long explanation of how to properly pronounce it. If you meet me in person, you'll hear me say it. But at the beginning of the school year, all the teacher had to go on was my name written on a roll call list. They NEVER got it right. Even throughout G.A.T.E. classes, where you would think that the teachers would have been a little better versed in language, they would still said it wrong. It is NOT a "cute" version of Sarah, but with a Z. The best way that I can convey how to pronounce it is telling people to think of a Russian Czar. Then add an "Ah" sound. Zah-Rah. But said fast. I can practically hear you all saying it out loud right now. Mmmmm. The power. Now that I have your attention, please don't ever consider naming your child Zara. Not because of what I went through in school. My mom has a hissy fit every time she sees someone name their child Zara. She thinks of it as HER name, dammit. She found it in a bible passage when she was taking a bible as literature course in college. The name was a boy's in the story, belonging to a set of twins. She saw it, was pregnant with me, knew that nothing else really sounded right with my last name, and bequeathed me my unusual moniker. As much as I bi**h that it was a pain in the a*s to grow up with the name, I truly love it now. It's unique without being too weird and something that everyone remembers. At this point in my life, I believe I was born to be a Zara. I can't imagine being named anything else. I did not give Midget an odd name. Her name is somewhat classic, and one that I loved from the time that I was about 16 years old. People question me as to who it is taken from, and depending on who is asking the question, I give different answers. Sometimes I say that it's from one of the artists that I love, sometimes from an actress I admired growing up. Most of the time they just want to know why I'm calling her "Butthead."Midget's name has gained in popularity recently. Back when I first made the internal decision that I liked it, the name had fallen out of favor. The year that she was born, it was one of the most popular names chosen for little girls. My mom, who religiously pours over the birth announcements in the newspaper (looking to see if anyone new "stole" HER name) told me last week that she counted 5 newborn girls who share Midget's name. Wonderful. My middle sister has the name Amanda. When she went through school, there was at least one other Amanda in every class that she was in. She spent her entire elementary education referring to herself as "Amanda J." She now laughs and tells Midget that she'll probably be doing the same thing. To avoid that with my baby sister, as an 11 year old, I nicknamed her Nikki. My mom had been planning on referring to her precious Veronica as "Ronnie" after Ronnie and the Ronnettes, but I thought it was stupid. I began calling her "Nica-poo" and eventually evolved it into Nikki, which my mom grudgingly accepted. She preferred spelling it "Nickie" but my love for Motley Crue won out that argument as well. The less letters for a little kid to learn, the better. I personally think popular names are mean to give to children. There are far too many Jennifers, Jessicas, Jasons, Andrews, etc etc etc, in the world. Try recycling an older name. Just, for the love of all that is Awesome, DO NOT just respell the same boring name!! Your little Gyssykah will hate you when she's older, especially when she's spelling out her name over and over and over again for everything she ever applies for. Shoot for unique, not obnoxious. Just stay the f**k away from Zara or my mom will k**k your a**. Discussion of the Day: Do you like your given name? Is there anything else that you would have preferred being named? If you have kids, what were some of the deciding factors that you used when naming them?