Celebrities Who Named Their Babies After Other Stars and Why: Mae Whitman, David Beckham and More

Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Los Angeles Confidential Magazine

Celebrities Who Named Their Babies After Other Stars and Why: Mae Whitman, David Beckham and More

When it comes to choosing a name for their child, some celebrities draw inspiration from other stars’ monikers. In August 2024, Mae Whitman admitted that she named her first baby, son Miles, after her former Parenthood TV sibling Miles Heizer. “Not to be a Bieber about it but I too just gave birth to our son, Miles. From the moment we heard the first tiny sound out of his tiny piggy mouth we were besotted,” Whitman wrote in an August 2024 Instagram post. “He is the kindest, gentlest, smartest, funniest little beebee and he’s our best friend (pretty much exactly like his namesake Uncle Miles @younggoth).” Meanwhile, David and Victoria Beckham’s daughter, Harper, was named after Harper Lee, the author of Victoria’s favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. (David and Victoria welcomed Harper in 2011 and also share sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, born in 1999, 2002 and 2005, respectively.) “Victoria’s favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, it’s a very strong, passionate book and the author was Harper Lee, and that is where Harper came from,” David shared in a Facebook post following Harper’s birth. Keep scrolling to see more celebrities who decided to name their kids after other stars:

Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Los Angeles Confidential Magazine

Celebrities Who Named Their Babies After Other Stars and Why: Mae Whitman, David Beckham and More

When it comes to choosing a name for their child, some celebrities draw inspiration from other stars’ monikers. In August 2024, Mae Whitman admitted that she named her first baby, son Miles, after her former Parenthood TV sibling Miles Heizer. “Not to be a Bieber about it but I too just gave birth to our son, Miles. From the moment we heard the first tiny sound out of his tiny piggy mouth we were besotted,” Whitman wrote in an August 2024 Instagram post. “He is the kindest, gentlest, smartest, funniest little beebee and he’s our best friend (pretty much exactly like his namesake Uncle Miles @younggoth).” Meanwhile, David and Victoria Beckham’s daughter, Harper, was named after Harper Lee, the author of Victoria’s favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird. (David and Victoria welcomed Harper in 2011 and also share sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz, born in 1999, 2002 and 2005, respectively.) “Victoria’s favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird, it’s a very strong, passionate book and the author was Harper Lee, and that is where Harper came from,” David shared in a Facebook post following Harper’s birth. Keep scrolling to see more celebrities who decided to name their kids after other stars:

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Mae Whitman

Whitman welcomed her son Miles in August 2024 and revealed that she named him after her Parenthood TV sibling, Heizer. They starred as siblings Amber and Andrew “Drew” Holt on comedy series from 2010 to 2015.

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David and Victoria Beckham

David revealed in a 2011 Facebook post that the pair named their daughter, Harper, after the famous author who wrote Victoria’s favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey

Cannon and Carey welcomed twins Monroe and Moroccan in May 2011. At the time,b Carey revealed that Monroe paid homage to her love for the late actress Marilyn Monroe.

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Josh Duhamel and Fergie

Duhamel and Fergie welcomed son Axl Jack in August 2013, named after Axl Rose, the frontman of Guns N’ Roses.

“Fergie is a huge Guns ‘N Roses fan — one of her career highlights has been performing and recording with Slash — so Axl makes perfect sense,” a source close to the singer told Luxury Handbag Shopping shortly after their son’s arrival.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Harry and Meghan welcomed daughter Lilibet Diana in June 2021, who is famously named after both the late Queen Elizabeth II and Harry’s late mom, Princess Diana. (The couple also share son Archie, born in May 2019.)

“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales,” a statement posted on Meghan and Harry’s Archewell website read at the time.

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John Legend and Chrissy Teigen

Legend and Teigen named their kids, Luna Simone and Miles Theodore, after civil rights activist and soul singer Nina Simone and the famous jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. (Legend and Teigen also share daughter Esti and son Wren, born in January 2023 and June 2023, respectively.)

“We named our first daughter Luna Simone Stephens, and every name we give to our kids will have a little bit of musical history to it,” Legend shared on stage at the BBMAs in May 2018. “Miles is, of course, the same name as the great Miles Davis.”

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Joel Madden and Nicole Richie

Madden and Richie welcomed daughter, Harlow Winter, in 2008 and named her after actress Jean Harlow and model Shalom Harlow. (The couple also share son Sparrow, born in 2009.)

“I really like Jean Harlow the actress, and [Nicole] likes Shalom Harlow the model,” Madden explained to People in 2008. “Harlow’s cool because it feels like a classic name. Winter [is] so serene and quiet and that’s how [our daughter] is.”

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Norman Reedus and Helena Christensen

Reedus and Christensen welcomed son Mingus in 2009 and chose his moniker after jazz bassist Charles Mingus.

“His father especially is into Charlie Mingus,” Christensen told The Independent in 2006. “I was more into Thelonious Monk, Chet Baker, Billie Holiday — but we thought ‘Mingus’ sounded cooler than ‘Monk’ for a first name.”

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Mindy Kaling

Kaling named her kids, Katherine and Spencer, after the “incredible” Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. (She welcomed Katherine, Spencer and Anne in 2017, 2020 and 2024, respectively.)

“I don’t trust my own judgment with those kinds of names,” Kaling told People in December 2020. “If I name my son River, that connotes a certain kind of person who is very go with the flow, artsy. But what if he’s not like that at all? Will he be furious with me? I just tried to pick classic names that felt like they would have to work really hard to get mad at me about later.”

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Alyssa Milano and David Bugliari

Milano welcomed son Milo with David Bugliari in 2011 — and paid homage to her Pathology costar Milo Ventimiglia. (Bugliari and Milano also share daughter Elizabella, born in 2014.)

The actress revealed that she chose to name her son after Ventimiglia because he encouraged her to date her husband Bugliari.

“I used to confide in Milo Ventimiglia and say, ‘Is that weird if I date an agent that’s at my agency?’ and he was very, like, ‘No, if you’re compatible, you should go for it,’” she said in an interview with W Magazine in June 2017. “So I feel like he was responsible for my husband and [me] getting together.”

Milano noted that she “loved” the name Milo and also “thought it would be a lovely homage to Milo Ventimiglia for encouraging [her] to find [her] love.”