Try saying “Zuma Nesta Rock” five times fast — it’s hard. That phonetic flow could be tough to master, let alone live down, for the newborn son of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani. The stylish rock-star couple welcomed their second little boy Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. Little Zuma is the younger brother of two-year-old Kingston, who’s been known to sport a supercool faux-hawk and mingle with the likes of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. Growing up might present more challenges for Zuma than his sibling, based on his name alone. The Associated Press consulted its panel of baby-name gurus to weigh in on the quirky moniker.EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author with Eric Reyes of “The Perfect Baby Name” and consultant through ThePerfectBabyName.com.
SPECIALTY: Phonetics and rhythm — how names sound and flow together.
IMPRESSIONS: “Zuma Nesta Rock sounds like a water park ride or a new energy drink. Zuma is unusual and rather appealing — for a girl. It’s said to be taken from Zuma Beach in Malibu, and while place names are great, they have to fit the gender of the baby. But with the `A’ ending and the popular `Z’ beginning (as in Zoe, Zelda, Zora), Zuma just sounds too feminine. So does Nesta (supposedly Bob Marley’s real name), and it’s not a good idea to pair two `a’ endings as first and middle names — too cutesy.”
“Rock is probably thrown in there just to point to the parents’ careers, and it does help to add some masculinity. Add Rossdale and you’ve got four names with the “S/Z” sound in common to tie them together, but they don’t flow rhythmically. Finally, it’s always a good idea to name siblings in the same genre, but Zuma and Kingston aren’t.”
GRADE: C
EXPERT: Maryanna Korwitts, author of “Name Power 101” and founder of BabyNamingCentral.com.
SPECIALTY: The holistic approach, from sounds and meanings to the impact of names, possible nicknames — even initials — on personality traits.
IMPRESSIONS: “This celeb couple certainly succeeded in choosing an unusual name. And they succeeded in making an even stronger statement about their fondness for Jamaica. Kingston is named after Jamaica’s capital, and Nesta was Jamaican singer Bob Marley’s given first name.”
“When it comes to historical naming tradition, both Zuma and Nesta are most frequently considered girls’ names. … As this child grows up, he will likely encounter some name-induced gender identity issues.
“As for the subliminal effect, the first name Zuma will encourage a career in acting or music, so this baby could find himself following in a parent’s footsteps with ease. But he is also likely to flounder when it comes to communication and relationship compatibility because he carries a name that will establish a highly private nature.”
“It seems the Rossdales scarified quality for quirkiness … and it’s a good bet little Zuma may be investigating a name change at some point down the road!”
GRADE: C-
EXPERT: Jennifer Moss, author of “The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book” and founder of Babynames.com.
SPECIALTY: Practicality. Moss focuses on the research process, looking for influences such as family history and life experiences.
IMPRESSIONS: “First of all, Zuma? Zuma is a diminutive of the Aztec name Montezuma — not sure the Rossdales realize that. … But it’s also associated with the Zuma Beach (in Los Angeles), which is really beautiful. … A lot of people are using `place’ names now, and I think they used it after the beach, most likely.”
“I would recommend that the boy grow up using the name Rock Rossdale because that’s probably the only normal name in there. … He’s gonna grow up in the creative community, so I don’t think he’ll get picked on too much. But there’s only one percent of people (surveyed on Babynames.com) that said they loved it. And 50 percent said they hated it. That’s a lot.”
“Kingston seems so upper class and just sophisticated, that everybody was expecting another name that went along with it.”
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