Baby Name of the Day: Apple

The baby name Apple remains among the most controversial celebrity baby names of all-time – more than twenty years later. 

Thanks to Cheri for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME APPLE MEAN?

In Old English, the word æppel referred to just about any fruit. That’s also true for the Old High German apful and the Old Norse eple, as well as others. Berries were different, but even dates, cucumbers, bananas, and potatoes were described as types of apples, depending on your language, back in the day.

That means we don’t know if Eve tempted Adam with an apple. We just know it was some kind of fruit.

 But say the word in American English today and a very specific image attaches. A common fruit, growing on trees, in plentiful varieties.

APPLE AS A SYMBOL

It also suggests:

• The Apple of Discord comes from Greek mythology. Eris, a goddess known for creating chaos, threw a golden apple into a group of goddesses. The apple was inscribed “to the fairest.” Did it rightfully belong to Aphrodite, Hera, or Athena? The goddesses argued, and it eventually led to the Trojan War.
• Apples also feature in stories about the hero Hercules. And the fast-running Atalanta was eventually won over by the slightly slower Hippomenes when he distracted her with apples. 
• In Norse mythology, golden apples keep the gods forever young.
• Snow White was poisoned with an apple.
• Folk hero William Tell famously split an apple atop his young son’s head with a single arrow.
• The apple of my eye is my favorite, typically as in a person. (Think “his daughter was the apple of his eye.”
• We bring apples to teachers. 
• Apple pie is the quintessential American dessert.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away –
• New York City is nicknamed the Big Apple. Why? Theories abound, but it was popularized during the 1920s by a sportswriter. He used it as a synonym for “the most important place.” It appears in other places during the decade. By the 1930s, it was a popular song and the name of at least one New York nightclub. The city’s tourism board borrowed it for an ad campaign in the 1970s. It’s been strongly associated with the city ever since.

So the baby name Apple means apple … but there’s more to this than just the familiar fruit.

And that’s before we arrive at world-changing tech company Apple. Just like with New York City, there are plenty of theories suggested. (But in this case, it appears Jobs just liked the sound and image.)

FIONA APPLE

Singer-songwriter Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart became famous in the late 1990s. She won her first Grammy award for “Criminal” in 1998 and has continued her long, successful career.

As for her professional name? Fiona Apple was born in 1977, and that’s really her middle name. 

More on that in a minute.

APPLE MARTIN

The baby name Apple became a pop culture sensation in 2004.

Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her former husband, Coldplay frontman ChrisMartin, welcomed the first child, a daughter named Apple Blythe Alison Martin. 

Blythe is for Gwyneth’s mom; Alison is from Chris’ mom.

All these years later, it still tops lists of crazy celebrity baby names.

But is it all that wild? The baby name Apple does fit in with other word names. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Gwyneth noted “there are people named Lily or Ivy or June, or you know, lots of pretty nouns.”

Their son’s name, Moses, would feel rather tame compared to Apple.

And yet, Gwyneth was quite right about Apple fitting in. 

CELEBRITY BABY NAMES

In fact, plenty of celebrity baby names from the last several decades have proven ahead of the curve, including:

• Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughters, Blue Ivy and Rumi, as well as son Sir.
• Jamie and Jools Oliver have five children together: Poppy Honey Rosie, Daisy Boo Pamela, Petal Blossom Rainbow, Buddy Bear Maurice, and River Rocket Blue.
• Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are the parents to twins Moroccan and Monroe. Cannon’s family have grown since, with children with names like Golden, Powerful Queen, Zillion, Legendary Love, Beautiful Zeppelin, and Halo – to name just a few.
• Busy Philipps has daughters called Birdie and Cricket.
• Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo are the parents of Dusty Rose and Geo Grace, as well as a third child, though they haven’t shared his name.
• Gwen Stefani and ex-husband Gavin Rossdale have three sons: Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo.
• Ed Sheeran is the father of daughters Lyra Antarctica and Jupiter with wife Cherry Seaborn.
• Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz welcomed son Bronx Mowgli together. Both parents are creative namers; since the couple split, Ashlee added daughter Jagger and son Ziggy Blu. Pete is also dad to Saint and daughter Marvel.
• Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim are the parents of Kal-el. Cage is also the father of son Weston and daughter August.
• Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are parents to Raddix Chloe Wildflower and Cardinal.
• Kim Kardashian and Kanye West welcomed first daughter North, and then continued to choose surprising names for Saint, Chicago “Chi,” and Psalm.

Kardashian siblings and other reality star families expand this list even farther.

In this company, naming your daughter Apple seems almost tame.

EDIBLE NAMES

Another factor: edible names have always enjoyed some use, including:

• Vintage gems like Olive and Clementine.
• Midcentury star Cherry, which is part-Cheryl/Charity nickname, and part-Cheri/Sherry variant.
• Ginger peaked just a few years post-Cherry, a colorful choice.
• Chip is a Charles nickname, but also chocolate and potato. 
• Throwback Rosemary, as well as modern Sage and Juniper, and rare-but-wearable Saffron.
• Coco isn’t the same as cocoa, but there’s a hint of that vibe.
• Candy-inspired names include Heath, Reese, and Dove.
• Honey is a newcomer to the US Top 1000.
• Names like Peach (as in the princess of the Mario video game world) and Plum (as in author Skyes) have appeared on the fringes of US popularity data, too.

And so that leads to an obvious question: besides the Paltrow-Martin family, how commo in the name Apple?

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME APPLE?

When it comes to uncommon baby girl names, Apple isn’t the rarest – not by a lot. And the celebrity baby isn’t the first. 

The baby name Apple debuted in the US Top 1000 way back in 1971, when seven girls received the name. 

Choices like Rainbow and Cedar were coming into use during the early 1970s, too, a little bump in nature-inspired, counter-culture possibilities. After all, Fiona Apple received the middle name in 1977. There’s no way to know for certain if other girls share her unconventional middle.

In 2004, the year Apple Martin was born, ten newborn girls received the name in the US. A year later? The name spiked to an all-time high of 44 births. 

Parent chose the name Apple for just five girls during 2024.

Something to consider: the baby name Apple fits in so nicely with current trends that maybe it would’ve been more popular if not for the celebrity baby name backlash. 

NATURE NAME WITH POTENTIAL

In fact, the baby name Apple seems like a nature name with potential.

Choices like Wolf and Rose have centuries of use behind them. More modern names like Willow and Bear just plain don’t raise as many eyebrows in the 2020s as they did a few decades back.

While it’s not likely to make many parents favorites list now, maybe a future generation will rediscover Apple. It could be the perfect name for parents searching for something unexpected, but with an appealing connection to the natural world.

What do you think of the baby name Apple?

First published on May 14, 2012, this post was revised on May 27, 2025.