We thought Hayden Panettiere had this one in the bag, slipping in well before the ball dropped with a little bundle of Kaya Evdokia, but then Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard went and won the year in sweet celeb mini monikers. And, no — they did not name their daughter Elsa.
A day after tweeting, “Crying in the car to @joshgroban christmas songs has got to be an early sign of labor, right?” Kristen and Dax welcomed their second, likely-perfect-adorable-cute-as-a-button-and-funny-too child into their growing family. World, get ready to meet Delta Bell Shepard. Daddy Dax tweeted: “Delta Bell Shepard is here. She doesn’t look like either @IMKristenBell or me, but we’re gonna keep her anyway. #christmascameearly.” And we are still awwwww-ing.
We’re crowning this one top of the list (although we suppose Kourtney Kardash still has yet to reveal her week old little one’s name) since it checks off a few of our favorite boxes. Not only is this baby name unique, but we love the idea of reviving a traditional trend — using one parent’s last name as the child’s middle name. It might not work every time (Lisa Sakowski Raphael is a little clunky, sorry mom) but Delta Bell has a beautiful, well, ring to it. Don’t ya think?
Delta is a name of Greek origin — not just Greek like the sorority (though we expect this one to tire of “Delta, Delta, Delta, can I help ya help ya help ya?” at some point in her teens) but it’s the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. You could also find this name out in the wild, since it means mouth of the river. If there’s a rise in nature baby names in 2015, you’ll know which celeb parents were above the trend.
We know, we know — what’s with all the babies on the brain this year, Brit + Co?! Well, it goes without saying that babies are just super cute. Then there’s the fact that, you know, we had one this year (actually a lot of us in this small-but-fertile company). They’re the future engineers and CEOs and startup queens and Beyoncés AND babies are the ultimate DIY project, no matter how they come to your family, no?
Happy holidays to the moms, dads and parents-to-be out there! And happy baby naming in 2015!
What was your favorite baby name of 2014? Are you expecting a bundle of baby next year? What trend are you feeling? Sound off below!