Nameberry.com editors Pam Satran and Linda Rosenkrantz — who also wrote the book, Baby Name Bible — are blogging for UsMagazine.com about why celebs choose the names they do, and what they mean.
Nelly May Lois, the name of the newborn daughter of Zoe Ball and DJ Fatboy Slim (real name: Norman Cook) fits right in with two of the hottest baby-naming trends right now: "nickname-names" and using two middle names.
Can you guess the bundled up baby?
Both these trends got their start in England, where Nelly's parents live. Names that could be nicknames are among the most popular on the British charts, with Evie climbing fastest to reach the Top 10, and Ellie, Katie, Millie, Gracie, Libby, Maisie, and Lexi in the girls' Top 100.
Check out more adorable A-list tot pics
Using two middle names are a royal custom that have filtered down to the general public and are now crossing the Atlantic. Several American celebs have adopted the trend: Amy Poehler and Will Arnett's son is Archibald William Emerson, for instance, while Charlie Tamara Tulip and Dolly Rebecca Rose are Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell's twins' names. Nicole Richie's two kids are Harlow Winter Kate Madden and Sparrow James Midnight Madden.
While Nelly can be short for a wide range of names, from Helen to Eleanor to Cornelia, it has stood on its own for more than a century. It was one of the most popular names in the U.S. at the end of the 1800s when spelled as Nellie, and then dropped over the decades until it fell off the Top 1000 in 1980.
Even in Britain, where nickname names are hottest, Nelly — and Nellie and Nell and Nella — are fairly obscure and were given to fewer than 100 girls born last year.
