Junior Pantheon

What is it with celebrities anointing immortal status to their little ones?

Padma Lakshmi’s Krishna Thea, (whose full name packs a triple threat of holy power), is among the most recent to join the ranks of the Junior Pantheon.  Celebrities, alas, may be the modern equivalent of gods on Earth.  Many treat them as such.  Is it a case of hubris to call one’s child after an immortal, or merely wishful thinking in hopes that the child will mimic their wonderful qualities?

Iris, Maeve, Maya, Lorelei– goddesses of Greek, Celtic, Hindu and German origins respectively, along with Celtic boys Dylan and Finn, have infiltrated the modern name scene to such an extent that their origins are largely forgotten.  The English upper class has been hip to Greek chic for a century, and France has followed suit. Isis, Egyptian goddess of nature, is quickly becoming a star in the African American community.  Others I’ve run across in real life include Adonis, Mars, and Zephyr.  Ambrosia, Bodhi, Eden, Heaven, Heavenly Joy, Seraphina, and Zion, are still more celestially inspired celebrity choices.

Other celebrity children inducted Junior Pantheon include:

Athena, daughter of Laetitia Casta

Atlas, Anne Heche’s baby boy

Gaia, Emma Thompson’s tween

Hermes, Kelly Rutherford’s son

Maya, child of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke

Ptolemy, Gretchen Mol’s boy

While the possibilities are practically as endless as the stars, here’s a small offering:

Goddesses

Aoife- Pronounced “EE-fa”, she’s a warrior princess from Irish Lore.

Ceridwen-Welsh goddessof poetry, said with a hard ‘C.’

Freya- Norse goddess of love, popular in England.

Ixchel- Mayan goddess of medicine, the earth and the moon, Itzel is a common variant in Mexico.

Niamh- “Bright one”, daughter of Celtic sea god Tír na nÓg.

Thalia- Greek muse of comedy and one of the three Graces.

Gods

Emmanuel- Judeo-Christian name of the return of an earthly God.

Odin- King of the Norse gods, who was in charge if such disparate elements as art and death.

Ramses- Variant of Rameses, the name of various king-gods, all sons of Ra, who reigned supreme in Ancient Egypt.

Thor- Odin’s son, Norse god of thunder and war.