Congratulations to Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who had their baby Oct. 2. The happy couple welcomed a baby girl into the world. A baby girl named Wyatt Isabella Kutcher.
My first thought when I heard the name? _Thank goodness it’s at least something_ somewhat _normal_.
I know that each couple is entitled to name their child whatever they want, and we shouldn’t judge. And, hey, there’s probably some history or deep personal meaning behind that name. But I don’t think celebrities realize that a name is pretty much a permanent fixture in your life (yes, you can legally change it, but it still follows you from birth until death).
It often seems like all celebrities just want to one-up each other with strange names for their kids with little thought for the kids themselves in some weird attempt to be the most unique and therefore best celebrity couple out there. (Ashton and Mila, you guys don’t have to compete for my love, though. I’ve been rooting for you two since the beginning of “That 70’s Show”).
North West. Blue Ivy. Apple Martin. Sage Moonblood (seriously. He’s Sylvester Stallone’s son). What’s with the names, guys? One day these kids are going to grow up and people are going to have to say “Hey, North West,” with an absolutely straight face. Do you realize if you all weren’t famous you would be dooming each of your kids to a childhood of being bullied on the playground?
And one day these kids are going to be able to Google themselves and see all of the faceless Internet commenters discussing how ridiculous their parents are for choosing such a weird name? I’m just saying that you should use those nine months of pregnancy to really think through the name, and remind yourself how mean people on the Internet can be and how fragile the self-confidence of a preteen is.
Now I realize Wyatt Isabella Kutcher is a little different, but compared to the rest of them, it’s tame. The first thing I think of when I hear the name Wyatt is Wyatt Earp, the infamous cowboy in so many old Western movies. And, hey, maybe that’s who Wyatt Isabella Kutcher is named after. I have no idea. But I’m always going to think of the cowboy first, and the Kutcher/Kunis baby second. I still think it’s a pretty good name, however. Nothing some poor child will be tormented with, at least.
You can name your baby whatever your little heart desires. I get that, I really do. And if I wanted to call my future child Beetlejuice Bulkley, I totally could. But that doesn’t mean I should. In fact, I probably shouldn’t name my future child after any Tim Burton movies because that would be cruel.
And I remember being in third grade. It sucked because even a somewhat normal name like McKenna can be turned into an adolescent bullying tactic. And these kids have their famous parents to protect them (and probably keep them far away from public school anyway), but with the current state of technology, adults are turning into children with their online insults, and the children of celebrities are not immune.
I just want everyone to keep in mind that young children — and even some middle-aged adults — are cruel, and it doesn’t take much to give someone something to make fun of.
So, just think before you name, dear celebrities. Because, though you may be constantly in the news regardless of what you do, do you really want your children’s names to be headlines before they are even old enough to read it?