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 2-year-old Kingston.
A panel of baby-name gurus weighed in on the quirky moniker.
EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author of “The Perfect Baby Name” and consultant on 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.”
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 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.”
“It’s a good bet little Zuma may be investigating a name change at some point down the road!”
GRADE: C minus
EXPERT: Jennifer Moss, author of “The One-in-a-Million Baby Name Book” and founder of Babynames.com.
SPECIALTY: Practicality; 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 . … But it’s also associated with the Zuma Beach (in Los Angeles), which is really beautiful.”
“Kingston seems so upper class and just sophisticated that everybody was expecting another name that went along with it.”
GRADE: D
Associated Press
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