3rd August 1997

If you've got an odd name become an actor

By Jill Ger

Names that were thought to be not so glamorous in Hollywood a generation ago have become perfectly acceptable these days.

If your name is your destiny, chances are the fates never intended for Uma Thurman, Neve Campbell, Keanu Reeves, Skeet Ulrich, Jada Pinkett, Winona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Mykelti Williamson and Ving Rhames to see their names on a marquee.

Maybe they would be poets, herbalists, hairdressers or, in the case of Ulrich and Rhames, professional athletes, but movie stars? With those names? Are you kidding? Stranger things happen. In a time when diversity, ethnicity and individuality are celebrated, it is the weird, one-of-a-kind monikers that are not only accepted but embraced by cutting-edge moms and Hollywood moguls.

'lf anything, Hollywood would prefer a Winona to a Wendy today," said Pamela Redmond Satran, co- author of Beyond Jennifer and Jason and other baby-naming guides. "It's considered cool to have a name that's unique."

To an MTV generation of Dakotas and Jareds, names like Shirley (afterTemple) and Gary (after Cooper) represent old fashioned sprouts on the family tree, not celebrity namesakes from the halcyon days of Hollywood.

When studio titans like Louis B. Mayer and Harry Cohen ruled Hollywood, it was routine to change a newcomer's name to something with a bit more stardust. Theodosia Goodman became Theda Bara. Emmanuel Goldenberg became Edward G. Robinson. Frances Gumm became Judy Garland. Tula Finklea became Cyd Charisse.

'There were two basic approaches when it came to renaming stars," said Neal Gabler, whose books include An Empire of Their Own, about Hollywood's founders. "One was to create a sense of exoticism, like with Pola Negri" - born Barbara Chalupiec - and the other was to deracinate any kind of ethnicity. The idea was to present someone as a paradigm of America." Names were also changed simply because a studio head demanded something with more pizazz. Goodbye to all that".

"Not one of my clients has a changed name," said Simon Halls, a publicist who represents several newcomers, including Ulrich. "It's unnecessary. It's much more about reality than illusion today."

Indeed, with stars free to show up at premieres in jeans and baseball caps and rattle the family skeletons on Oprah, is it any wonder they feel no pressure to change Keanu to Kevin? "A lot of the young stars today who have unusual names are children of counterculture parents of the 1960s," said Satran. "In the 1970s, most kids were still being called Amy and Adam.'

Reeves's first name, Keanu, means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian. (Reeves was reared in Hawaii and is part Hawaiian). Neve Campbell's first name (pronounced nev) is a variation of the pronunciation of her Dutch mother's maiden name.

Uma Thurman, whose father is a professor of Buddhist studies, has a Tibetan first name. Ving Rhames's first name is a contraction of his given name, Irving. Ulrich, named Brian, prefers the nickname Skeet (acquired because in Little League he used to fly across the field like a mosquito).

"When you have stars named Uma Skeet, it inspires people to choose more unusual names for their children," said Satran. "Parents think: 'They're stars, and their names are really cool. I want my baby to have a memorable name that stands out too.'" What's more, she added there's a more "global sensibility" in the world today, so names like Sinead (as in O'Connor) and Oksana (as in Baiul) don't sound as strange as they did 20 years ago.

Because styles in names change constantly, who knows if today's Tia and Rain will be tomorrow's Doris and Err? One thing is certain however: had Michael Caine been born a generation later, he could have remained Maurice Micklewhite.

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