Sad News: Rashida Jones and That Guy From Vampire Weekend Didn’t Give Their Surprise Baby a Ridiculous Name

By Kate Hudson | Celebrity | September 26, 2018 |

By Kate Hudson | Celebrity | September 26, 2018 |

One of the best things about celebrity babies is the ridiculous names their parents foist on them. Who among us doesn’t stifle a snort or an internal eyeball each time we hear about “Apple,” “Pilot Inspektor,” or the fabled “Banjo”? Unfortunately, Rashida Jones and Ezra Koenig (Vampire Weekend) aren’t going to add their newly born child’s name to that list.

Was it a long shot to hope? Yes. Rashida Jones isn’t exactly the type of celebrity to give a truly wacky name, but she definitely was a candidate to give us one of those old-timey hipster names that are trending up, like “Mabel” or “Jasper.” I’m sorry to tell you she decided to think of her child’s future resume, and landed on a very nice, but fairly mundane (by celebrity standards) name.

You’re probably surprised at the news that Rashida even had a baby, which sure, if you follow celebrity baby news, this one wasn’t on any of our radars. In fact, even though the news broke today, the baby was born over a month ago in August. How’s that for low key?

Now that I’ve appropriately hyped up the let-down of normalcy Rashida and Ezra Koenig named their son, I’m prepared to tell you the name, now.

Isaiah. They named him Isaiah. A very nice name, but not one that’s going to have any sort of recruiter scratching their heads in bewilderment as to why his parents would ever give him that moniker. Isiah is the 47th most popular baby name for boys born in the US last year, so it’s a solid, nice, and I’m sad to say, responsible choice for a name.

It’s always impressive when celebrities are able to keep details of their personal lives under wraps in 2018. This instance in particular is probably a more impressive feat considering is that Jones’ dad, Quincy Jones, has been very open and honest in the media lately—and has been doing interviews to promote Rashida’s new Netflix documentary on his life—and he managed not to mention a word about becoming a grandfather while doing so. Well done!