Baby names are probably not the first thing you'd think about when you hear about professional athletes and their families, but there are some sportspeople who go down an unconventional path and give their sons and/or daughters the most bizarre names imaginable. Sure, it's fun to come up with peculiar nicknames for your group of friends, but when it comes to your children, you might want to re-think a potential forename because they'll have to endure bullying, and of course, the snide insults of their parents. Well, at least until you're at least 16 years of age, that is.
Yeah, the sports world is a hot mess of insanity with a ton of weird names on team rosters in each sport from the National Football League to the Premier League. It's sort of funny how names like "Bill" and "Britt" were probably strange names in the past, but soon you'll see that those names were normal as you'll come across kids with names such as "Apple" and "Angus" like the sweet fruit and the small beef cattle steak. But I'm not going to tell these parents what decisions they should be making because to each their own. Also, these kids are likely going to be raised with a bunch of dough unless if these couples fall apart or lose a ton of money due to regrettable actions like bankruptcy, gambling, alcohol and drugs.
Without further ago, here are 15 athlete kids who will probably change their unusual name when they grow up.
15 True (Tristan Thompson's Daughter)
If you're like me, you keep tabs on both sports and pop culture for your journalism jobs.
Anyways you should already know that Revenge Body host Khloe Kardashian and her basketball beau Tristan Thompson had a child on April 19, 2018. Thompson, of course, plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers as a power forward and a center.
Thompson was accused of some wrongdoing multiple times even when she was pregnant with his second child and her first child.
Despite all the endless drama surrounding the couple's relationship, Kardashian named her daughter True Thompson because it was her grandfather's first name and her father's middle name. It's a small world, huh?
Still, Kardashian's reasoning on why she named her daughter True won't keep her away from bullies in elementary, middle and high school. Also, True doesn't have a middle name yet, but we'll let you know if a new update comes up on our radar.
Kardashian explained to ET, saying, "True doesn't have a middle name — for now. It was enough pressure to pick a first name ... I have a couple of names in mind, I'm just not completely sure about it yet."
"I plan to take my time and decide if I'll give her one at all ... I can add it at any time and it's easy to get on the birth certificate."
14 Bowden Saint-Claire (Christian Ponder's Daughter)
Bowden Saint-Claire Ponder is the young daughter of former NFL quarterback Christian Ponder, who most recently played for the Minnesota Vikings, and ESPN reporter Samantha Ponder (nee Steele), who currently serves as a host on Sunday NFL Countdown.
As you may already know, the high-profile couple met on Twitter and married at a Wisconsin courthouse after just two months of getting to know each other. The Ponders certainly don't regret their decision to have a quick, pre-Christmas wedding ceremony, but they might regret the names they gave their children: Bowden Saint-Claire, whose nickname is Scout, and Robinson True, whose middle name might've been stolen by Khloe Kardashian, but does it really matter? They're both awkward names even though there are special meanings behind them.
Papa Ponder has explained his daughter's name to the Pioneer Press in the past, saying, “I think a lot of people think it’s football related ... Obviously, he was my coach. But I think it’s more about the guy, that he has so much character. … Coach Bowden meant a lot to my family. He coached my dad and me, as well. So it’s an honor to be able to use his name. So hopefully she grows up and has the character that he has had.”
13 Sovereign-Dior Cambella (Cam Newton's Daughter)
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and his longtime girlfriend Kia Proctor most definitely have a knack for coming up with interesting baby names. Baby #3 is currently on the way for the Newton-Proctor family, so let's take a look back at the couple's first two children: Chosen Sebastian Newton, whom we'll discuss a little later on, and Sovereign-Dior Cambella Newton.
Obviously, Sovereign-Dior won't catch as much attention as Chosen, who was a part of Cam's heartfelt video in 2017. But if you're interested in designer goods, then you'll likely have a reason to remember the Christian Dior brand, unless if you can't stand that brand for some reason.
According to the Charlotte Observer, Cam wants to have a big family, but seriously, he and his girl should stop and take a pause before selecting thought-provoking names for their future children.
Well, at least Cam's stepdaughter Shakira via Kia's previous relationship with an unknown ex-boyfriend has a more normal name compared to the current couple's kids. Hopefully, Kia is just planning to be a baby-making factory and not a baby name generator because she doesn't always have the best judgement when it comes to generating names for young, innocent children who deserve simplicity.
12 Chosen Sebastian (Cam Newton's Son)
Now, let's take a look at Cam Newton and Kia Proctor's son Chosen Sebastian Newton.
Cam certainly had a wild week before the highly-anticipated NFL Honors show back in 2015. Chosen was born on Christmas Eve 2015 in the midst of a heavily publicized football game between the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants that featured an aggressive battle between Josh Norman and Odell Beckham Jr. plus the resulting Beckham Jr. suspension.
Anyways, Cam has explained why he named his son Chosen in an interview with the Charlotte Observer.
Cam simply didn't want to burden his son by naming him after himself. Cam told reporters at the CO: "Every person I’ve had this conversation with (when) I say, ‘I don’t want (him) to have the pressure of being a junior,’ they reply, ‘What the hell do you think Chosen’s going to bring?’”
Cam also mentioned that he decided on the name Chosen because he wanted something "masculine, but yet unique."
We still wonder if Chosen will keep his name when he gets older and develops more brain cells, but it's definitely a one-of-a-kind name and he'll be able to stand out in a crowd without even trying to be someone he's not.
11 Tatum (Dustin Johnson's Son)
Tatum Gretzky Johnson is the eldest son of PGA Tour golfer Dustin Johnson and Los Angeles-based model Paulina Gretzky, who's arguably the most popular child of retired NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, also known as "The Great One."
The couple got engaged in August 2013 after seven months of dating following an impromptu first date at the World Challenge, and yes, Paulina's parents tagged along.
"That's how it goes in our family," Wayne told Business Insider. "Janet and I go out to eat, and we somehow always wind up with seven or eight people at the table. Everyone is invited."
The couple welcomed their first son Tatum on January 19, 2015.
Johnson told Golf.com, "Having a new son has been fantastic. Everybody is healthy. It's been great."
Sometimes, it's better to stick with the traditions. We completely understand that the well-known couple wanted to stick with the Gretzky family's tradition of naming their kids names that start with the letter "T" but they could've used a more traditional name like "Tom" or "Timothy" because "Tatum" almost sounds like the noun "tantrum" and that's one of the many annoying things that parents, especially millennial parents, don't want to deal with in on a regular basis.
10 Queen Elizabeth (Manny Pacquiao's Daughter)
Filipino boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao currently serves as the Senator of the Philippines, but during his heydays, he was ranked No. 2 on ESPN's list of top pound-for-pound boxers of the past 25 years as of 2016. In general, he continues to top the charts as No. 4 in BoxRec's greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all-time as well as the first boxer to have won major world titles in four of the original eight weight classes of boxer (flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight).
Manny and his wife Jinkee, a former Vice Governor of Sarangani, have five children together. The Pacman used to sell cigarettes and sleep on the streets of Manila with a family who once lived in poverty. Yet, the Pacman ended up becoming one of the world's greatest pound-for-pound boxers and even has a No. 1 hit dedicated to him that's titled "This Fight's For You."
The couple welcomed their daughter Queen Elizabeth Pacquiao in December 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
Manny excitedly told Umagang Kay Ganda: "It was my first time [to cut my baby's umbilical cord]. It was also my first time to help my wife give birth. ... Thank God for giving us a healthy baby."
Of course, the couple flew back to the Philippines to have Queen Elizabeth christened, but his admiration of the Windsor Castle was a bit too extreme.
9 Sundance Thomas (Kerri Walsh Jennings' Son)
As you may already know, Kerri Walsh Jennings is a beach volleyball player who represents the United States. She's a three-time Olympic gold medalist, one-time Olympic bronze medalist and a beach volleyball career leader in both career victories (133) and career winnings ($2,542, 635) as of 2016.
But, of course, she wouldn't have been this successful without the help of her equally successful teammate Misty May-Treanor, who won three Summer Olympics and five FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships together. Fans often call the pair "the greatest beach volleyball team of all time."
With a progressive record like that, you'd likely think Walsh Jennings would give her children proper names so they'd fit in with the private school kids one day. But no, the 39-year-old's second son is named Sundance Thomas Jennings.
Walsh Jennings explained the reason behind the strange name in an interview with PEOPLE: "When Casey threw out the name Sundance his eyes lit up like the sun and he smiled so big and bright. 'Baby,' he said. 'Can you imagine a little Sundance?! Picture our 5-year-old little boy shaking hands and introducing himself at school. ‘Hello! my name is Sundance,’ in his cute little voice. And then when he’s older, sitting on his porch watching his grandkids run around — ole Sundance!'"
Regardless of his parents' thoughts, Sundance is probably going to be ridiculed by his peers in his teenage years.
8 Zaire Blessing Dwyane (Dwyane Wade's Son)
Dwyane Wade is arguably one of the best shooting guards in NBA history. The 36-year-old has an inspiring rags-to-riches story to tell as he was born and raised in Chicago's South Side to a drug addict mother and a bunch of gang member relatives.
In an interview with ESPN, Wade recalled: "I've seen the needles laying around the house. I've seen my mother shoot up before. I've seen a lot of things my mother didn't even know I'd seen as a kid."
Dwyane's name should've been spelled "Dwayne," but he hasn't changed his name so far in his darn good career. Perhaps that's why Dwyane named his son Zaire Blessing Dwyane Wade, who was his first ever child with his ex-high school sweetheart wife Siohvaughn Funches. Nothing has been openly admitted on how Zaire got his odd name, but we'll let you know if anything comes up.
Anyway, Zaire seems to have already been getting things going as he threw down his first dunk in Cleveland Cavaliers gear in late 2017. We don't know if he's going to be as explosive as his dad in his prime, but we'll see if he'll earn a spot on the Cavs' roster in the future. He already goes mostly by Zaire Wade, suggesting we won't be hearing his full name in NBA broadcasts in the future.
7 Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee's Son)
Okay, we're cheating a teeny tiny bit because Jason Lee is better known as an actor who starred on the hit television series My Name Is Earl and appeared in a wide range of films such as Alvin And The Chipmunks, The Incredibles and Jersey Girl. But did you know that the 48-year-old started out as a professional skateboarder in the 80s and 90s? Yeah, you read that right.
Lee has been married twice and engaged once. This may turn out to be a complete 180, but the skateboarder-turned-actor had a son with his then-actress fiancee Beth Riesgraf named Pilot Inspektor.
According to UsMagazine.com, Lee named his first son Pilot Inspektor due to his awe of the song "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot" by Grandaddy (rock band).
There's no doubt that the poor kid has one of the wackiest celebrity baby names and he's probably not going to become a pilot inspector in real life, but he still has to wait two more years before he can legally change his name to something more normal like "Paul" or "Patrick." That's got to be a long, two-year wait for a change that'll make a very significant difference in his life.
6 Sailor Stevie (Steve Swisher's Daughter)
Remember former MLB catcher Steve Swisher?
Steve Swisher is indeed the father of former MLB first baseman Nick Swisher. Nick wasn't much of a name in the baseball world, but he should count his blessings that he had a normal name of Nicholas unlike his little sister Sailor Stevie Swisher.
In case you need a refresher, Nick was born in 1980 to Steve and his first wife Lillian Marie Malizia. There's absolutely no way he could've shared the same mother with Sailor, who was born in 2016.
The couple wrote on their respective Instagram accounts: "So excited to introduce you to our tiniest princess, Sailor Stevie. She has stolen our hearts and our family feels complete."
The couple then told PEOPLE: "Watching Emme meet her baby sister for the first time was so incredible ... We weren’t sure what to expect because she has been the center of our world, but she is so sweet and gentle with her. Our family finally feels complete. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for our precious little girls.”
Anyway, the last name Swisher makes Sailor sound like a cartoon character of some sort and it doesn't matter how you read her name because it's still going to sound like a childish moniker instead of a genuine forename.
5 Saylor James (Jay Cutler's Daughter)
Speaking of the name Sailor, let's not forget that former Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and his reality television star wife Kristin Cavallari have a two-year old daughter named Sailor James Cutler. Why the abnormal name? Keep reading, folks.
Saylor was baby #3 for the Cutler-Cavallari family. Not only that, Saylor is actually a French surname, but here's the twist: It's often used as a stage name for a dancer, acrobat, etc., since it's a creative way to spell the noun "sailor." About the masculine middle name of James, it's a timeless boys' name that means supplantar, but it's kind of bizarre to see that incorporated into a baby girl's name. We can only predict that the couple weren't thinking about the trends that were in style at the time, but hey, funny things do happen and they were out of the loop to say the least.
Hopefully, Saylor hasn't asked her parents as to why she was given her first and middle names yet. She's an adorable toddler who looks good in light, rosy shades of pink. In our opinion, she deserves a better name when she grows up and learns the harsh realities that are going on in the adult world.
4 Brooklyn (David Beckham's Son)
Brooklyn Beckham is the 19-year-old son of David Beckham, a male model and former Premier League right winger, and Victoria Beckham (nee Adams), also known as "Posh Spice." Ironically, Posh Spice was attending a Manchester United match and that's where she met her future husband, whom she married at the Luttrellstown Castle in Scotland on July 4, 1999.
Posh and Becks have four children together. Their eldest son, Brooklyn, was born in Westminster, London, on March 4, 1999. Now, you might've already thought that the well-known couple named their son Brooklyn because he was conceived in Brooklyn, but that wasn't the case.
Victoria Beckham chose the name Brooklyn because she liked the name Brooke and she was in Brooklyn when she found out she was pregnant.
In her autobiography Learning to Fly, Posh wrote: "It was when we were in Marbella that we came up with the name Brooklyn. We already knew he was a boy and so I knew he could end up a footballer, so it had to be a name that was a bit blokey. I had always liked the name Brooke and then we suddenly thought about Brooklyn. I’d always like it as a place – it’s very multi-cultural, very grounded. And it was only afterwards that I realized how appropriate it was because it was in New York that I found out I was pregnant and where David came after the World Cup."
3 Rayden (Richard Sherman's Son)
If you follow the NFL, you'd probably be well aware that cornerback Richard Sherman is a loud mouth who tends to be very outspoken. The 30-year-old now plays for the San Francisco 49ers, but we can't forget his days with the Seattle Seahawks, especially when he ripped his then-rival Michael Crabtree in an infamous postgame interview following the 2014 NFC Championship Game with FOX Sports sideline reporter Erin Andrews.
"I don’t want this to look like I was upset with him, I was frightened, I felt threatened, we all like Richard Sherman a lot at Fox,” Andrews told CBS Sports. “At that moment I saw how crazy it was going to blow up, and I wanted to make sure people knew it wasn’t a situation where I’m a victim and he acted like an idiot."
Richard Sherman and his wife Avery Moss have two children together. Their son Rayden Sherman was an interesting baby boy. Did you know that Rayden was born on February 5, 2015 and that 2/5 was the equivalent of Sherman's football number 25? Also, the couple selected the name Rayden because they wanted their little man to have the same initials of "R.K.S." like Richard's father Richard Kevin Sherman. However, it's unclear what Rayden's middle name is, but that's alright because his name is still unconventional and he's most likely going to have a hard time dealing with other students calling him names when he gets to the middle and high school stages
2 Fawn (Pete Rose's Daughter)
Pete Rose, also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle," is a former Cincinnati Reds player and manager who faced multiple baseball-related penalties following accusations that the switch-hitter gambled on baseball games for the MLB teams that he played for in the past. Up to this day, the issue of Rose's possible reinstatement and election to the Hall of Fame remains a hot topic in the baseball world; but we'll see what happens in the next couple of years because the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down a federal law that prohibited sports gambling in all 50 states.
Anyway, Charlie Hustle certainly got around when it came to courting the ladies and starting (or combining) families with them. When he was with his first wife, Karolyn Englehardt, he had two children with her–a daughter named Fawn Rose and a son named Pete Rose Jr.
Of course, Pete Rose Jr. never lived up to the super-high expectations that his father set for him, but Fawn...come on now! A fawn is a baby deer living out its first year. It shouldn't be a name for a baby girl. Seriously, what kind of a female would be content in knowing that her name is Fawn?
1 Jagger Stephen Patrick (Brent Burns's Son)
San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns, also known as Chewbacca from Star Wars, is known for his wookie-length beard and copious tattoos, but there's so much more about the 2017 Norris Trophy winner.
Burns married his longtime girlfriend Susan Holder in July 2009. Together, the Beauty and the Beast-like couple have two children–a daughter named Peyton Gabriann Burns and a son named Jagger Stephen Patrick Burns.
Don't get me wrong, the Burns clan is a pleasant family to converse with; but Jagger for a boy's name? Uhm, no. Was the father-of-two trying to name his son after Mick Jagger, Jaromir Jagr or "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5?
In all honesty, whatever reason Burns provided to the media in an attempt to explain his son's uncommon name probably won't sit well with the most of us because it's still going to be unorthodox, no matter what. I mean, Burns should've known that the school-age kids were going to ask questions about this and that during school hours, and Jagger didn't need to answer any more questions. Jagger will likely get a lot of shade thrown at him if he hasn't already been stressed out on a playground in the San Jose area.