Last week, Forbes Magazine put out its annual ranking of the 100 most powerful celebrities. When most people looked at the list, the first thing they noticed was that Angelina Jolie had captured the #1 spot from Oprah.

 

What did I notice? The interesting names of the Top 5 celebrities on the list:

 

 

        « TOP 5 CELEBRITIES «

 

1.       ANGELINA Jolie

2.       OPRAH Winfrey

3.       MADONNA

4.       BEYONCE Knowles

5.       TIGER Woods

 

 

The least unique name on this list is Angelina, by a mile. But, arguably, much of the name’s current popularity is due to the influence of Angelina Jolie, herself.

 

The most unique name? I’m not sure. Madonna is quite unique and the singer is famous enough to be known by just one name — no last name needed for her. But she’s not the only famous Madonna in history. Tiger is actually a nickname. Tiger’s given name was really Eldrick — which is pretty unique itself. He’s since legally changed his name to Tiger. Then there’s Oprah and Beyonce. You probably haven’t met anyone else with either of these names. Which name do you think is most unique?  

 

Looking at this list got me wondering about whether having an unusual name can help a fledgling celebrity stand out from the crowd and achieve success.

 

Some of the other celebs with unique names who made the Forbes’ Celebrity 100 are:

 

 

UNIQUE FEMALE NAMES

 

DREW Barrymore (87)

GISELE Bundchen (72)

MARISKA Hargitay (98)

MILEY Cyrus (29)

REESE Witherspoon (71)

VENUS Williams (77)

 

 

UNIQUE MALE NAMES

 

BARACK Obama (49)

HARRISON Ford (17)

KANYE West (46)

KIMI Räikkönen (52)

KOBE Bryant (10)

LEBRON James (19)

RUSH Limbaugh (23)

WOLFGANG Puck (95)

 

SOURCE: Forbes website, http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/03/forbes-100-celebrity-09-jolie-oprah-madonna_land.html

 

 

 

Of course, there are plenty of celebs on the list with more ordinary names, too, like:

 

COMMON FEMALE NAMES

 

BRITNEY Spears

CARRIE Underwood

JENNIFER Aniston

KATHERINE Heigl

NICOLE Kidman

SARAH JESSICA Parker

TINA Fey

 

 

COMMON MALE NAMES

 

BRAD Pitt

CHRIS Rock

DANIEL Radcliffe

JEFF Gordon

TOM Hanks

TYLER Perry

WILL Smith

 

 

If you want to read the whole list for yourself, go here.

 

So what do you think? Does having a common or unique name have an impact on fame and fortune? Post a comment and share your opinion!

 

 

 

 

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♥  Amanda

 

If you have baby name questions for me, email me at amanda@amandabarden.com.

Your question might appear in a future edition of Ask Amanda.

 

 

 

For more information on baby names and their meanings check out

BABY NAMES MADE EASY: THE COMPLETE REVERSE-DICTIONARY OF BABY NAMES