lifestyle

When parents can't decide on a baby name, so they just use both.

A hyphen is the new must-have baby accessory.

In a world where celebrity babies are generally better dressed than the average punter (here’s looking at you, Harper Beckham), turning to them for inspiration when it comes to predicting hot trends is not entirely unheard of.

The latest? Double-barreled first names.

Once the territory of elderly English countesses and 1950’s musical theatre characters, the double-barrelled name has shot to popularity after a posse of celebs have made the hyphen this season’s most popular accessory.

Everyone from Kate Moss to Beyonce is shying away from the traditional first name options and slamming a second name on it too, just for good measure.

According to a survey taken in the UK, “… more than 1,200 girls born in the UK had a double-barrelled name bestowed upon them last year, nearly five times the amount that were registered in 2000.”

This from the UK’s The Telegraph:

Analysis by the Telegraph of the latest official baby name statistics shows an explosion in the use of hyphenated Christian names in recent years, especially for girls.

Names such as Amelia-Rose, Lily-May and Billie-Jo have surged in popularity, with the number of different double-barreled variations appearing in official birth registrations increasing four and a half times since the millennium alone.

Lily-Rose Depp, pondering the good luck she inherited to not be blessed with just one name, but two.

I for one think it’s a great idea. You and your partner don’t have to risk divorce when trying to choose between your two favourites, and the kid gets the opportunity to ditch the name they don’t like and go simply by the other.

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And yet. With great power comes great responsibility, and some of our favourite celebs have let the power go to their heads and have gone completely f*cking rogue.

Check out some of these pearlers (post continues after gallery):

Jamie Oliver is a top offender, with his cutsey-pie YET COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE children’s names being topped off with his most recent addition, “Buddy Bear”. I’m not sure why, but I kind of feel like either Buddy OR Bear would have been better than the combination. Like, what if this kid chooses a career in politics, or law? People will be confused if they are being represented by a man, a children’s farm shetland pony, or a teddy bear.

Jools has been quick to defend her choice, saying:

“They all have more than one name because I couldn’t decide.

I’m not sure where Petal Rainbow came from – apparently it’s a My Little Pony! I wanted to call her Rainbow but Jamie told me to calm down.

With Buddy it was quite fun choosing a boy’s name, as I hadn’t done it before. And I hate people’s opinions on names. Whatever you call your baby is your decision.”

Jamie and Jools Oliver with their kids, Petal Blossom, Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo, and Buddy Bear.

Oh, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. How about Pilot Inspektor Lee? Moon Unit Zappa? Or Audio Science Sossaman? *slowly shakes head*

As someone who struggled to even spell her name for the first, oh, TWELVE YEARS OF MY LIFE (M-a-r-g-u-e-r-i-t-e was a tough one for young child’s memory/pen license skills) I feel like I need to issue a bit of a warning: be kind.

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