From Rock to Bear: 6 mums share how they decided on their kid's unique name.

Earlier this year Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden announced the arrival of their baby daughter Raddix, and with that, discussion of some of the more unconventional celeb baby names (the likes of Gravity, Rocket, Apple, Pilot Inspektor and Stormi) came back up for public discussion.

But for many non-celebrities, choosing a more unorthodox name for their child or children has always been a priority – along with the usual elements like finding something that suits them and, of course, a name that’s actually agreed upon by both parents (often a challenge in itself.)

Brace yourself: Reddit reveal the worst baby names they’ve ever heard. Post continues below.

Mamamia asked six parents how they chose their kids’ unique baby names and the story behind them.

Kylie and son Kale

Kylie’s son is 10-year-old Kale.

“I have probably only come across three other Kale's with a K," she shares, "and he definitely doesn't pop up on any 'lists' you ever see on social media."

Kylie doesn't feel she actually chose the name – it was more like the name came to her.

“When I was approximately 8.5 months pregnant, I had a very vivid dream. I was holding my beautiful newborn baby boy, and throughout the dream, I referred to him as Kale. As if that was always what it had been. When I woke, I obviously discussed the dream with my husband and that was pretty much it.”

“Then, in the early hours of a rainy morning in February 2010, I gave birth to the most gorgeous human being I'd ever seen. And I looked at my husband and said, "This is Kale, just like he was in my dream.”

Kylie said that most people love the name, although some family members do fondly refer to him as ‘little cabbage’ – even though at the time of his birth, ‘Kale’ was not widely known as a superfood.

"That catastrophe happened about 12 months later,” she joked.

Regardless of the superfood association, Kylie says Kale “loves the fact that he has a semi-unique name. He never comes across anyone with the same name. He says it makes him feel special!”

Kirstie and sons Rock & Duke

Kirstie and her partner were always clear about wanting strong names for their children, and decided upon Rock (now three) and Duke (eight weeks).

“We named our first Rock because it means strong, and they are very hard to break – and also because we all received rocks at my father's funeral the year before he was born," she said.

“Duke means leader and leaders are powerful and strong. The only negative we had was someone telling us we couldn't name him that as it was on the Australian banned list for names. But we spoke to Birth, Deaths and Marriages before we announced his name and got permission.”

Sjaala and kids Sjenna, Inydana and Kyan

Mum Sjaala named her three children Sjenna (28), Inydana (15) and Kyan (5).

"They are all a bit different but as you can see my name is a bit different,” Sjaala told Mamamia.

It took two weeks for Sjaala to decide on her first child’s name, Sjenna.

“Someone suggested Jenna which I liked but didn’t love, then my dad suggested that I do the same as what they did with my name – stick an S on the front (my name comes from the name Jaala, a nod to my Arabic background), so I did!”

Although Sjaala says she loves their unusual names, she admits they have posed some problems.

“Coming from a small country town it was always a source of confusion for the locals. Now that we are much more multicultural and worldly, it’s [considered] more 'normal'.”

Sian and kids Griffin & Bo

Sian has two children, six-year-old son Griffin and three-year-old daughter Bo.

“To decide on Griffin’s name I trawled the baby books until I found it," Sian reveals. "It’s Welsh, like my name and my husband’s. Delightedly I realised down the track that there was a Griffin in the TV series Party of Five which was definitely a positive name association!”

Her daughter Bo was named after her childhood dog, a Doberman named Bo.

“My father bought a Doberman puppy when I was 18 months old and named her Bo, after the beautiful actress Bo Derek. Bo and I grew up together and while she is long gone, her name and memory has left an indelible mark on my heart.”

Shannon and Kidd

Shannon’s son is seven-year old-Kidd.

“It was inspired by David Duchovny’s son’s name. I heard it and found it in an old baby name book I’d been given. The meaning is "forever young and handsome". It was the only name that stuck in mine and my husband’s minds," she said.

Although both Shannon and her husband were set on the name just before his birth, Shannon had a pang of worry that maybe Kidd was too unusual.

“But then he was born on the 29th of February. With a birth only once every four years he was destined to be forever young and handsome. He gets some taunting from the bullies at school about his name but it’s nothing serious and it suits him perfectly,” she told Mamamia.

Nikki and son Bear

Nikki’s firstborn son is three-year old-Bear.

“For an unorthodox name it actually came to us in a pretty orthodox way!” Nikki says.

“Many people may not know that Bear (spelt Ber in English-Hebrew translation) is a traditional Yiddish Jewish name. It is more commonly used as a second name. Yiddish is a hybrid language widely used in European Judaism of German and Hebrew, and while as Jews we tend to stick to very traditional tribal or biblical names, Yiddish ones are just as popular and widely used in our community.

"So it’s tricky to be different and unique because of this – but at the same time we weren’t really looking to stray far from tradition. We had considered using Ber as a second name like most people do but we realised we would just call him that anyway, so we went with Bear as a first name. So we have an unorthodox orthodox name!” Nikki explains.

“It’s funny that when we tell someone not Jewish his name they think we’re a super hipster family, when in actuality we’re just super Jewish.”

Shona Hendley is a freelance writer from Victoria. An ex secondary school teacher, Shona has a strong interest in education. She is an animal lover and advocate, raising three goats, two cats and two humans. You can follow her on Instagram here.

Feature Image: Supplied/Shona Hendley.