Few things, it seems, get the tabloids talking quite like the names that celebrities choose to bestow upon their babies.
Yes, I'm talking about Liam and Cheryl's baby boy. Avert your eyes if you could care less about celebrity baby stuff. Because according to The Sun newspaper, Cheryl Fernandez-Versini and Liam Payne have named their baby Bear.
The Sun newspaper reports:
CHERYL and Liam Payne have named their baby Bear, The Sun's Bizarre column can reveal. They decided on the unusual name after spending a week getting to know the tot. Sun's Bizarre column can reveal. They decided on the unusual name after spending a week getting to know the tot.
I'm not about to run you through the things that have been trending on social media since the name was announced but suffice it to say, people like to have their say when it comes to distinctive baby names.
Not that it matters what I think about Cheryl and Liam's choice for their baby's name but I reckon it's pretty awesome. If I were a celeb I'd make the most of the chance to make outlandish decisions and live a flamboyant life. Isn't that the point of being famous? I'd have orchids in every room, a different pushchair for every day of the week, and someone to come to the house to run us through a baby yoga class every morning before the butler delivered my decaf yak latte.
No kid of famous parents is going to grow up living a totally 'normal' life so why should they get saddled with normal names?
As it happens my kids don't have the most conventional names and I am indeed a fan of the quirky and unusual when it comes to naming a baby. A name should be distinctive, in my view; it's meant to convey something about who you are. That's harder to do with a straight-laced or very common name.
I loved having an unusual name when I was a kid and even felt sorry for the Sarahs in my class who were always known as Sarah A and Sarah B in order to distinguish between them. Wee David and Big David isn't much better for the boys in a friend's son's class. Not much chance of that happening to little Bear Payne.
So stuff what the papers say and forget the wringing of hands and clutching of pearls on social media. I think Baby Bear is pretty darned cute, and I bet his parents don't give a damn what anyone else thinks either.
What's your view? Are you a fan of the unconventional when it comes to baby names or do you prefer traditional names for babies? Leave us a comment below or come and join the conversation over on our Facebook page.
My sons have Scottish names, Fergus and Alexander which are quite unusual and also family names. They seem to like them and we think their names suit them.