Darren Criss' Unconventional Name for Newborn Son Is Raising Eyebrows
Originally appeared on E! Online
Darren Criss is raising some questions about exactly what's in a name.
The Glee star and wife Mia Swier recently welcomed their second child together, son Brother László Criss. And while the couple were over the moon about their newest addition, some people were less than enthused about the baby boy's name.
In fact, fans were quick to point out their surprise over the newborn's moniker when Darren announced his birth in a June 6 Instagram post, writing, "M & D just delivered their follow-up single. Brother László Criss. 6/3/24. Out now."
"Sorry," one social media user wrote in the comments of Darren's post, "but I am gonna judge a stranger's baby on the internet. Brother?"
Another fan pondered what baby Brother might be dealing with as he gets older, writing, "The future girlfriend/boyfriend is gonna be calling him brother."
And as one user very concisely put it, "bro is called bro."
Darren Criss and Mia Swier's Wedding
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Of course, not everyone took issue with the unusual name. In fact, many users came to the defense of Darren and Mia.
"We love little brother brother. congrats!" one fan wrote, while another added, "That baby is already cooler than i'll ever be omg."
Darren—who also shares daughter Bluesy Belle Criss, 2, with Mia—was quick to set the record straight on the controversial choice, confirming in the comments of his Instagram, "… and yes his first name is Brother."
And now that he's a father of two, the Emmy winner has plenty of new experience to draw, especially when it comes to how fatherhood has changed how he approaches his work.
"I think life is always present in the work you do," he told Entertainment Tonight in 2022. "So, it was present when I was a son, as a friend, as a brother, as a husband."
"I bring that to all the things that I do," he explained. "So sure, a new element of fatherhood is there, but I try and bring my best version of myself to everything I do. So, hopefully I've enhanced. I've leveled up."
For more stars who've given their children unusual names, keep reading.
Apple Martin
As Gwyneth Paltrow explained to Oprah Winfrey, her daughter's unforgettable name was actually picked by Chris Martin: "When we were first pregnant, her daddy said, 'If it's a girl I think her name should be Apple'...It sounded so sweet, and it conjured such a lovely picture for me, you know. Apples are so sweet and they're wholesome, and it's biblical."
X Æ A-Xii Musk
Elon Musk introduced his and Grimes' baby boy X Æ A-12 to the world on Twitter in May 2020. They later modified the spelling of his name in order to meet California's legal guidelines, which only permit letters from the English alphabet. Switching over to roman numerals, the parents agreed to spell his name, X Æ A-Xii.
"X, the unknown variable," Grimes explained on Twitter. "Æ, my elven spelling of Ai (love &/or Artificial intelligence) A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favorite aircraft). No weapons, no defenses, just speed. Great in battle, but non-violent."
Grimes continued, "A=Archangel, my favorite song" with an accompanying a rat and sword emoji. "Metal rat."
In March 2022, she announced they had welcomed daughter Exa Dark Sideræl Musk via surrograte.
"Exa is a reference to the supercomputing term exaFLOPS (the ability to perform 1 quintillion floating-point operations per second)," she said. "Dark, meanwhile, is 'the unknown. People fear it but truly it's the absence of photons. Dark matter is the beautiful mystery of our universe.'"
Sideræl—pronounced "sigh-deer-ee-el"—is "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time," she said, and a nod to her favorite Lord of the Rings character, Galadriel, who "chooses to abdicate the ring."
Kulture Kiari Cephus
Cardi B and Offset welcomed their daughter in 2018.
When asked where the inspiration for their baby girl's name came from, "Bodak Yellow" rapper said, "Kulture [heart emojis] anything else woulda been basic Okrrrrr." As for her middle name, Kiari is actually the Migos rapper's first name.
Atlas Noa
"In my 32 years of life I thought I had seen a lot of places, experienced a lot of things, met a lot of people and felt love...then came you," Shay Mitchell shared of picking a moniker for her and partner Matte Babel's daughter. "Truth is I had no idea I was capable of loving anything like this before you arrived."
Esmeralda Amada
In 2014, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling introduced the world to Esmeralda Amada. "Ryan and I both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and we just think it's a beautiful name," she said in an interview with The Violet Files. "Amada was my grandmother's name. It means 'beloved' in Spanish."
Mendes and Gosling used the moniker once again when naming their second daughter Amada Lee Gosling, who they welcomed in 2016.
Raddix Madden
Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden's little girl has a pretty cool name, and Diaz took to Instagram to announce welcoming the baby into the world, adding, "She is really really cute. Some would even say RAD."
Elsie Otter Pechenik
Zooey Deschanel revealed her and ex Jacob Pechenik's daughter's name is Elsie Otter because the furry critters are "really sweet, they're also smart, they use tools to keep their favorite tools, [and] they hold hands while they sleep."
Stormi Webster
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott gave their baby girl the name back in 2018. As for where the inspiration for Stormi's name came from, the Kylie Cosmetics founder shared, "When I was pregnant, I used to call her 'Stormie'—when I would talk to her in my belly. It just always felt right."
Ocean King
Inspired by their faith, Alexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega named their first child Ocean King. Providing more context for fans, the Spy Kids star said, "God called the dry ground 'land' and the water the 'seas'. And God saw that it was good. That is why we went with Ocean. And he is a son of the one true 'King'. For us it has a beautiful biblical meaning."
Canon Wardell Jack
For Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry's third child, the moniker means "officiant of the church" and "young wolf."
Lazer Lee Louis Pentz
Diplo decided to name his second son after his electronic dance music trio, Major Lazer.
Luna Simone
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen became parents to Luna Simone back in 2016. During a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Cravings author revealed that the name was inspired by a blood moon that had occurred right before her birth. "There was a blood moon happening, and it was really a beautiful night," she recalled. "There was a really big, vivid red moon. It was just gorgeous."
Andara Rose
Would any other name smell as sweet? Bachelor Nation's Krystal Nielson and Miles Bowles introduced their little girl to the world, announcing the name: "It's official!!! Glitter baby has a name!!!! Introducing our beautiful angel, Andara Rose Bowles."
Future Zahir
Back in 2014, Ciara and Future welcomed their son Future Zahir, whose name was inspired by his dad's stage name.
Willow Smith
Willow Smith's name pays homage to dad Will Smith. Similarly, her brother Jaden Smith's moniker was also inspired by mom Jada Pinkett Smith.
Bear Blu Jarecki
When Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Jarecki's son arrived, they combined two favorite names for his unique title.
Monroe & Moroccan Cannon
When Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon became parents to twins, they drew inspiration from Hollywood and home. Turns out their daughter was named after Marilyn Monroe while their son's moniker was inspired by where Nick had proposed: in the songstress' New York City apartment, featuring Moroccan-inspired decor on the top floor.
Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver
British chef Jamie Oliver and his wife, Juliette Norton, cooked up quite a name for their fourth child when he arrived. Although, it doesn't come as a complete surprise since Buddy's big sisters are named Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo, River Rocket and Petal Blossom Rainbow.
Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
Back in 2006, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt introduced the world to their daughter, whose name means "Messiah" or "Peaceful One." The exes also share Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and twins Vivienne and Knox.
Antonio Kamakanaalohamaikalani Harvey Sabato III
Antonio Sabato Jr. and his ex-wife, Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes gave their first child together a sweet middle name. The moniker is Hawaiian for "a beloved gift from the heavens."
Sparrow Madden
Nicole Richie and Joel Madden's son got his moniker partially thanks to a Disney character. "We really just have to work with whatever it is we both agree on, so I really liked Sparrow from Captain Jack Sparrow, and he liked it for different reasons," Richie previously said of her and her husband's choice.
Suri Cruise
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' first and only child together got her name after her parents came across it in a book. "We had the name before we found out because we both thought the baby would be a girl," Cruise told Vanity Fair. "Some friends of ours sent us two [baby-naming] books. When we came to the name Suri, we both loved it. And we both said, 'Suri Cruise.' We later found out that it meant 'red rose,' and that was just a bonus. Suri—it was perfect."
Pilot Inspektor Lee
Jason Lee's first child was given quite the standout name, inspired by Grandaddy's track, "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot."
Bluebell Madonna Halliwell
For her firstborn daughter's name, Geri Halliwell was inspired by flowers.
"What really clinched it for me was my mother telling me that the bluebell is increasingly rare–so it's a precious flower, which seems just right for my daughter," she told Hello! As for her middle name, it's in honor of the Spice Girls alum's beloved performer.
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