What's in a Name? Tori Spelling's Son, Liam McDermott
Credit: Kyle Blanc/FilmMagic
Nameberry.com editors Pamela Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz -- who penned the books Baby Name Bible and Beyond Ava & Aiden-- are blogging for UsMagazine.com about why celebs choose the names they do, and what they mean.
Happy early birthday, Liam McDermott!
It's fitting that little Liam McDermott -- son to Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott, who was born just four days before St. Patrick's Day on March 13, 2007 -- should have an Irish first name. Liam is one of the most popular Irish boys' names to hit our shores in recent decades. Along with such brethren as Conor and Aidan, it's picked up where older Irish names such as Sean and Kevin have left off.
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Propelled from obscurity by Irish actor Liam Neeson, the name is actually an Irish variation of William (or Uilliam, as it's sometimes spelled in Ireland). Neeson's own first name is William, with Liam being the short form.
Rachel Hunter and Rod Stewart also chose Liam for their son, as did Calista Flockhart.
Look back at other celebs' baby bumps
Liam first hit the Top 1000 in the U.S. in 1967, and it has been rising ever since, now hitting No. 75. An ideal blend of the simple and the exotic, we predict it will go yet higher on the popularity list.
Liam is also in the Top 50 boys' names in Australia, New Zealand, Wales, and -- more surprisingly -- Belgium and Sweden.
Can you guess whose baby bump this is?
In Ireland, it is No. 17, but such exotic (to American ears, anyway) Irish boys' names Cian and Oisin -- pronounced Keen and Osheen -- are ahead of it.
It's unusual, especially for a boys' name, for a short form to be taken from the end rather than the beginning of a name. A few other examples that are stylish these days include Xander or Zander for Alexander, Drew for Andrew, Lex for Alex, and, especially popular for girls, Bella for Isabella.
Tell Us What You Think
15Oh my god.. i know not one girl who has my name... but a hundred boys who do... although my name has slight variation.. it's still technicaly the same thing. It pisses me off some times that everyone thinks that Liam or Lyam is just a boys name...i am a girl by the way.
My son who is 8, is named Liam. It fits him well.
To Tricia 11:53 am I hope you realized when you named your children that you are setting them up for a lifetime of having to spell their names for people. As a teacher, it drives me a little crazy when people take a common name and try to be "creative" by changing the spelling. Why would you take a wonderful name like Jacob and change the spelling to Jackob? It sounds like it should be pronounced Jack-ub. Just my opinion.
Love my daughters name: Braelyn Janine
patty- wonder what you LOOK like! HATER
I love the show tori and dean i do not know how u can handle being a full time mom and handle her professional life!!!!
My son is Liam Thomas.11 mo old..i really liked it:)
my son is named is Liam Thomas!Love it!
Trisha I've heard of Wyatt a lot and Mckenzie is pretty popular as well. So is McKenna. I'm a teacher so that's how I've run across these names.
My Ex husband and I named our Daughter Michaela (MY KELA) Grace Depending on which member of the family is talking to her. she is either Kela-Grace or Gracie
She's scarier than whatever it is behind her.
How is this news? Tori is the UGLIEST, middle-aged no-talent on TV! And her husband is such a JERK! Who cares what they name their kids.
well tricia, they DO have the same names as all the other children, except they're names are spelled ridiculously. Why would someone do that is beyond me, it's like trying WAAAY too hard to be different.
My mom cut the PA off of her name "Patricia" & named me Tricia, & when hubby & I choose names 4 our children a girl was Kyrah Morgannah (pronounced Morg-anna) & a boy Wyatt Jackob (pronounced Jacob) & our second child Myrah Keelie (pronounced Key-lee) & Cullen (Irish for Kevin, my hubbies name) & McKenzzie. Common names are so over used we wanted something that didn't make our children sit in a classroom w/ 4 others with the same name.
I named my son Xander... Not Alexander just Xander. My daughters name is Isabell and we call her Bell for short. I love the name Liam!