Celebrity Baby Names From The '70s That Are Still Groovy Today

Although famous people in the 21st century receive mixed feedback on their children's names, they're not the first generation of parents who wanted something eye-catching for their kids. In the '70s, people were inspired by the '60s counterculture and incorporated those themes into every aspect of life. Naming expert Laura Wattenberg spoke to Today about how, because of that, baby naming evolved at the end of the '60s as well. "Our culture's whole approach to naming started to change: from tradition to fashion, from conformity to individuality," Wattenberg said. "The 1970s were the first decade of this new name world." She added that traditional names like Mary and William shrunk in popularity as parents opted for more "punchy" girl names or boy names with a "laid-back confidence."

Hollywood stars notably gravitated toward these unique names. Some celebrity baby names were shorter or less formal than their parents' names while others were considered unusual for breaking social norms. Regardless of public opinion, alternative names from the '70s resulted in memorable 21st-century icons, such as the stunning actors Angelina Jolie and Kate Hudson.

If there's one thing about Kate Hudson people might forget, it's probably the fact that she's a nepo baby. Her mother is the stunning actor Goldie Hawn, and her biological father is the singer and songwriter Bill Hudson. Hawn and Bill met on a flight in 1975 while she was separated from her first husband, Gus Trikonis. After Hawn finalized her divorce, she married Bill in 1976. The newlyweds welcomed their first child, a son named Oliver Rutledge Hudson, that September.

Shortly before her parents separated, Kate was born in April 1979 as Kate Garry Hudson. Her full name is pretty concise. The first part, Kate, comes from the Greek word "katharos," which means "pure." Her middle name, Garry, has Germanic roots and means "spear." The masculine name defied gender norms that people typically stuck with in the '70s, but there's a bittersweet reason for that. Hawn's uncle Garry died not long before she had her daughter, so she honored her late relative by naming Kate after him. In a TikTok interview with eTalk CTV, Kate said, "I was named after my Uncle Garry. My mom — her favorite uncle."

For 21st-century parents looking to name their daughters, Kate could serve as inspiration for the 2020s trend of giving children nicknames as first names. The rom-com actor's middle name also validates parents who care about the sentiment behind a name more than the gender.

American actors Jon Voight and the late Marcheline Bertrand are the lesser-known nepo baby parents of Angelina Jolie. Bertrand was 20 years old when she met Jon in his early 30s in 1970. As the more established performer, Jon received his first Oscar nomination not long before meeting the mother of his children. The couple married in December 1971 and welcomed James Haven Voight in May 1973 and Angelina Jolie Voight in June 1975. The Voights separated the following year, leaving Jolie and her brother in their mother's care. In adulthood, Jolie quietly dropped the last name Voight.

Angelina means "messenger of God," thanks to its Greek root word "angelos," which means "messenger." The middle name Jolie comes from the French word "joli," which translates to "pretty" or "nice" in English. While it was common to give babies religious names, Angelina wasn't very common in the '70s. Its shorter counterpart, Angela, was in the top 10 names for American girls, according to the U.S. Social Security Administration. Jolie's performances in '90s and 2000s films probably contributed to both of her names becoming more popular in the 2000s. Angelina reached its peak in 2005 while Jolie reached its peak in 2008. The latter name is also a great, modern alternative for the popular '70s name Linda, which also means "pretty."

Rock artist Frank Zappa met his wife Gail in the '60s when she was a secretary for a club in LA. He reportedly blew his nose on Gail's skirt on the first date, but that didn't stop them from falling in love, getting married, and building a family. The Zappas had their first kid in 1967, and they welcomed their last child, Diva Thin Muffin Pigeen Zappa (better known as just Diva Zappa), in July 1979. 

The name Diva has Latin origins, and it either means "goddess" or "divine lady." As a word, it either refers to a woman with an attitude or a stellar female opera singer. The musician Frank could've had the second definition in mind for his daughter, and in a 1980 interview with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, he explained that Diva got her name from crying loudly as a baby: "She's audible at 300 yards" (via Christian Science Monitor). In combination with its divine meaning, the name Diva sounds pretty avant-garde and would still be a unique baby name for the modern day. 

Diva's middle names are another testament of her parents' dedication to going against the grain. The meaning of Thin is self-explanatory in English, but the origin and meaning of Pigeen are unknown. The name Muffin most likely refers to the baked treat. While many food-related names have connections to nature, naming a baby girl after a sweet treat is a very sentimental gesture. Fortunately, Diva's not the only Zappa child with an uncommon name. Her parents named her older sister Moon Unit, and they named her older brothers Dweezil and Ahmet. 

Liv Tyler's last name rings a bell because of her rock star father Steven Tyler, but she didn't always grow up with it. Her singer mother Bebe Buell had a short-term relationship with Steven and got pregnant with Liv, who was born in July 1977. However, Steven wasn't really available due to his drug addiction, so Buell raised Liv with her former boyfriend Todd Rundgren and gave her the musician's last name at birth.

Liv told Wonderland Magazine that Rundgren had a feeling she wasn't his biological child but wanted to raise her anyway. "Todd basically decided when I was born that I needed a father so he signed my birth certificate," she said. Liv eventually met Steven at eight years old and discovered the Aerosmith legend was her father a few years after. She later made Rundgren her middle name and took Tyler as a last name.

Buell reportedly named Liv Tyler after the Norwegian actor Liv Ullmann. Although the name sounds like a short form of Olivia, it's actually a name with a different meaning in Scandinavian cultures. Liv comes from an Old Norse name meaning "protection," and it can also mean "life." This empowering girl name has a very nice sound, and it could be an alternative for the popular 2020s baby girl name Olivia.

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