Lisa Bonet, of “The Cosby Show” fame, had another kid last month. To put it kindly, Lisa is a little unusual. She’s the sort to dance naked in the middle of a fountain because she felt like it. No actual reports of this, but I wouldn’t put it past her. Let’s just call her a very, very, shockingly free woman. So really, everything considered, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that Lisa and boyfriend Jason Momoa named their son Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. Okay, it’s still shocking.
You know her as Lisa Bonet from “The Cosby Show,” and Lilakoi Moon (Bonet changed her name in 1995) has given birth to her third child: Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
Lilakoi, 41, has a daughter Zoe, 20, with ex-husband Lenny Kravitz and a daughter Lola, 20 months, with boyfriend Jason Momoa of “Stargate: Atlantis” fame.
According to his website, Bonet delivered a son named Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
From the fan forum on his official site:
“He was born on the stormiest [sic], rainy night.
so Nakoa(warrior)…Mana(strength/spirit) Kaua(rain) po(dark)…
The name was always going to be Nakoa-Wolf, but Jason did the research on first middle name, 2nd middle name as you know is Jason’s.
[From the Huffington Post]
Um… obviously. I don’t really know what to say to this. There are a lot of stupid celebrity kid names out there. But at least you can pronounce most of them. I can’t make fun of something I can’t pronounce. And I already feel so sorry for this little boy that I don’t want to make it worse. You know he’s going to change his name to Paul as soon as he turns 18. The only theory I can come up with here is that most parents eventually mess their kids up in some way. Maybe Lisa and Jason thought they’d get it out of the way early.
Here’s Lisa Bonet and Jason Momoa with baby Lola Momoa shopping for clothes on October 14th. Images thanks to Splash.
Bronx Mowgli, you have been dethroned.
i think its beautiful.
Ya know – there are languages other than English.
Maybe I’m weird but I could totally pronounce that. Maybe it’s because I like Polynesian names. It sounds Hawaiian. Though I can’t be sure.
(edit) So just looked up the father and he’s from Hawaii. Now that name makes perfect sense.
That kid will probably end up going by Nakoa. Which isn’t very weird at all. I have friends named Sayaka, Omeed, Yahya, Omonivie, Marize, Setie, Martial Mitsuo…and various others. (Just went to my facebook…:P)
So yea…Nakoa isn’t that hard to pronounce.
Lisa, Greta Garbo called, she wants her drag back.
The pic of Dad flipping off the camera is particularly endearing.
It’s a Hawaiian name and it’s a cultural thing. Jason is part Hawaiian.
I think they did a wonderful job picking a name. Local parents, while giving extremely long names, always have a shorter nickname picked out. Just like how many people with American names will use the Hawaiian translation instead. It’s nice to see a celebrity parent being respectful and proud of his heritage.
Lisa Bonet can do no wrong. She was/is and will always remain, the rightful Queen.
And at least the kid’s name means something, unlike many others who name odd names that hold no meaning.
p.s. anyone know how momao is looking these days, I heard he got a bottle smashed in the face.
Yeah, actually Bronx Mowgli still holds his crown. There’s a huge difference in being named after a fictional character in Jungle Book and just having a long-ass name of cultural significance.
Oh come on. The name isn’t even that bad. The dad is Hawaiian and here in Hawaii there are a ton of long ass names like that. I’m betting the kid will most certainly not change his name when he’s older, people don’t do that here.
I still think the one to be dethroned is “Apple”…and just as evidence that these children do not appreciate their weird names, Barbara Hershey and David Caradine named their son Free and he changed it to Tom when he was older.
Nakoa is a boy’s name. Maybe “Koa” for short. I’m in Hawaii, and I don’t think the name is odd at all. (Except for the “Wolf” addition to the first name.)
(Thanks NotBlonde — I was wondering whether there was any Hawaii connection when I saw the name.)
who cares, really?
Enkay, exactly!
I don’t get the trashing of a non english name either. Jaybird, you can do better than this.
Were there enough spaces on the birth certificate?
I actually kind of like the name “wolf” for a middle name. But have no fear – we’ve got our boy’s name locked and loaded.
I actually think it’s lovely. It sounds like music. And some of these are actual Hawaiian names. It’s not like she’s making something up.
I met a Nakoa a few years ago. I don’t think this name is really that weird at all. Maybe you should try pronouncing the names of some of the streets in Hawaii – now THOSE can be wicked hard to say.
Thanks CB, I read this title and thought I was having a stroke.
I live in Hawai’i, have four beautiful, Hawaiian children who each have Hawaiian middle names and with the exception of the “-Wolf” addition, the name is quite normal.
Frankly, I’m disappointed that people see something that obviously isn’t Hebrew or English in origin and automatically think it weird, despite the fact that we live in one of the most diverse nations, culturally and ethnically, in the world.
I agree with most commenters. I know this article was just an attempt to be witty/funny, but it really falls flat. Moxie Crimefighter (Penn Gillette’s kid I think) and Pilot Inspektor (I think Jason Lee’s kid?) are much worse and just prove that parents can name their kids whatever they want, sometimes with disasterous results. And what about the soap opera actor dude who named his kid Peanut? Sad, but who cares. Seems pretty insignificant after watching Ann Coulter spewing hatred all over Matt Lauer. God he rocks, I would have been compelled to do something violent.
Choose another child to mock, okay? This is clearly a Hawaiian name and who are we to make fun of other peoples’ heritages?
Just for CB, here’s how to pronounce his name phonetically:
Nah-koh-ah Mah-nah-cow-ah-poh Nah-mah-kah-eh-ha Moh-moh-ah.
I lived in Hawaii for almost 5 years, so it isn’t that uncommon.
Thanks to the other commentators who pointed out that this is a Hawaiian naming style and that it’s gender appropriate.
To be honest, until I read the comments I just assumed (because I wouldn’t know the father from Adam) that it could be translated as “We-are-such-worldly-people-that-we-are-naming-our-child-after-random-words-in-a-foreign-language-dictionary-and-our-egos-think-it-sounds-pretty.
JayBird’s assessment of Lilakoi (who still acts under the name Lisa Bonet) is pretty spot on though.
This is nowhere near as bad as the wentz baby name. I actually like the cultural significance of it. And he’s named after his daddy! How cute!
Even though I can’t pronounce it to save my life, Bronx still holds the crown.
I think it’s a beautiful name, and it’s nice to see a semi-famous couple (they had a press release, they’re being written about here) give their child a name that they chose because of a special connection with it.
Seriously, you gonna tell me that “Bronx Mowgli” wasn’t at least partly a grasp at media straws? There are some NONSENSICAL names out there just for the sake of it. This isn’t one of them.
I want to know why Lisa’s name is Lilakoi instead of Lilikoi (an actual fruit), though? A play on the name Lila?
I LOVE her boyfriend. I don’t like her for getting knocked up by him, and that’s just because I was influenced by his rabid fans. I read their respective message boards on IMDB and came away from them thinking Bonet was a total skank who got pregnant to hang onto him. Who knows how correct that assesment is, those fans were able to convince me very easily because he’s SO DAMN HOT and I wanted to believe it.
Re: the name. It’s Hawaiian and inappropriate to make fun of. You shouldn’t make fun of it any more than you’d make fun of an African or hard to pronounce Russian name.
I don’t think it’s weird. I just find it pretentious.
That said, I don’t ever begrudge parents the naming of their child. If the name means something to them and their collective parental heritage…then fine.
I think the way my brother SPELLED his kids’ names, which are rather traditional, is totally ridiculous, but I know that my sister-in-law chose those spellings because SHE thinks it’s pretty. Who am I to judge her for that?
It would be inappropriate to walk up to the kids and make fun of them or laugh at the mother in her presence…but I chuckle to myself and shake my head in amazement every time I see something with my nieces’ names on it.
It’s not inappropriate to make fun of things. It’s inappropriate to be mean. I’ll giggle at Lisa Bonet’s kid’s name all I like, and I’ll roll my eyes at celebrity baby names like Moon Unit, Apple, and Mowgli.
It does not follow that because I find these names amusing…that I would be rude or abusive to the people who chose them.
Congratulations on the baby. It’s a very unusual name but honestly, I think it’s beautiful.
So much better than Moses, Nesta Zuma (or whatever the hell it is) or Bronx Mowgli.
At least with Lisa, I have the feeling she didn’t name the baby like that because she wants to show off or because it’s trendy. That’s a lot more than can be said for GOOP-Gwynnie, Gwen Stefani and the Simpson-Wentzes.
I hope little Nakoa-Wolf grows up to live up to his name. Congratulations!
I find “different” names endearing, all the more so if they hold some cultural or familial significance. I love hearing the entomology of someone’s name, especially if the name in question isn’t as boring as wonderbread. Like someone mentioned previously – the whole world doesn’t speak English, and not all of our 7 billion inhabitants are caucasian.
But what do I know? I was two seconds away from being named “Aerial Space” or “Lunar Landing”.
Whatever happened to just good old names like B-O-B Bob?!!!
So, by the rationale they used (warrior, strength, rain, dark), my child’s name should be “August, freakin’ hottest day of the year, not a cloud in the sky, middle of the afternoon” Gee, why didn’t I call her that?!
I saw Lisa at my local bank recently and I swear to Lucifer, I thought she was a bag lady hitting up the teller for food or money. Her dreads are truly disgusting and her outfit wasn’t much better. Got to say, I didn’t notice she was heavily pregnant but that might have been the 40 layers of filthy crap she was wearing..
i think she is beautiful! love her so much.
i like the kids name too. its pretty long but it meaningful to them and not something stupid just to be “different” like other stars do.
I love the name. I lived in Hawaii for quite some time and grew to love the island and the people who live there. The culture as a whole is just such a positive one. I agree he’ll probably end up being “Koa” or something. My children both have 2 middle names, and I have 3. Mine were given to me as signs of respect for my ancestors.
Wow, that’s a mouthful!!!
He is gorgeous, I wanna steal him. Long names ar common is several cultures.
Lisa Bonet is in her forties, and she looks fantastic.
Its a long name but it wouldnt be considered too unusual from where I’m from (New Zealand). We have very similar names to that. The meanings given behind the name are the same as the translations we would use here.
It sounds like the researched the name and picked something meaningful to them.
It’s funny because about 3-4 years ago he was on a network TV show playing a bartender, being so gorgeous and my friend who is Hawaiian/Japanese looked him up and he really is Samoan. Not Hawaiian blood but now I know not to believe everything I read online. It stated him as having German blood also. I remember this because we had a bet on what nationality he really was and we both lost. I guess it is easier for him to say he is Hawaiian but he just lived there like so many Japanese do.
I like his name. I hope he becomes famous like his mother…lol
Thank you to Anna for pointing out that Gwen Stefani named her son Nesta Zuma! Now *that*, to me, is a ridiculous name (especially because there isn’t a rastafarian bone in either Gwen or Gavin’s bodies). And Apple is right up there with my least fave names, too.
At least, if Jason *is* Hawaiian, he and Lisa are honouring his culture. Although, at the risk of being lambasted, it does seem a little over the top to me, which suits Bonet’s character to a tee, of course.
They are both gorgeous; I’m sure their baby is too.
It seems to me that if a couple want to incorporate their heritage into their names that just because those name are not so easy to pronounce… those names shouldn’t be made fun of
hahaha @ baholicious… It took me a minute too.
I’m just throwing my comment in the ring, to agree – it’s a traditional Hawai’ian name, and they have a heritage. It’s not like that retarded Pilot Inspektor name or the new King of Future Therapy Bronx Mowgli.
in hawaii i’m sure it would not be unusual. many hawaiian names have beautiful meanings when translated into english. for example, i believe the name leilani means “flower from heaven” or something similar. perhaps his name is meaningful for the parents. in any case, grow up, people…white culture is not the only culture.
One Hawaiian newspaper prints the names of all babies born that week. Many names are longer than Nakoa’s; anyway they are fun to read and if you know any Hawaiian, it is cool to understand the significance of how the child is named.
I think my only concern is the middle name Wolf. I went to school with a German kid named Wolfgang, and the jokes that ensued from it were relentless.
The rest of the name is really pretty, though.
I honestly do not know why this blogger would put down someone who gives their child a Hawaiian name. Next time think before you write! Many of our Hawaiian elders take naming a child very seriously, it is spiritual for most. I’m proud that Jason actually took the time out to research his son’s name, it shows his pride in his Hawaiian culture.
I am Hawaiian, and Nakoa is a strong name for a son. That is the kind of name you want for a son. You see many Hawaiian’s believe that sometimes your name will dictate the kind of person you will become. I named my son Kekoa, which is a variation of Nakoa, it also means “warrior”. It was our hope he would grow into a strong young man, and he has.
It is apparent Jason and Lisa put a lot of thought into the name they wanted to give their son. They thought of when he was born as well as what the meaning of his name would mean for him as a young man.
I suggest that YOU do a little research before putting down a culture you obviously know nothing about!!!!
The names are also derived from the Maori language (if someone has already said this I apologise, lots of comments…haven’t read all of them).Maori are the first peoples of Aotearoa (New Zealand).
The wolf part is off, but I think Nakoa is a nice name – and I don’t see anything weird about the rest of the names.
It’s not my style to speak for another and I want to make it clear that it’s not my intention, I am stating my opinion of another’s motive. I honestly don’t think JayBird meant any offense when writing the article. Any cultural insensitivity was not malicious, it was poked fun at and clearly struck a nerve that was absolutely unintended. JayBird has been a member of this board for more than a couple of years and has now been writing to entertain us for a solid time as well. We know her better than to assume she’s suddenly racially motivated to muck up trouble! I think we can say a cultural name is relevant and beautiful and still be far more gracious to JayBird than some have been.
… stepping off my soapbox now …
As far as unusual names go, I have one and I’ve never met anyone who shares my name. Of course as a little kid I wanted to be an Amy or Jenny just like all the other girls. I got over by middle school and I really like it now. In a way I think it’s partly defined who I have become. I plan to give children I have names that are not difficult, but a bit uncommon.
Try Fi-Fi Trixie Bell….Sir Bob Geldolf and his wife Paula named their daugther this horrid name quite some years ago…I am about to google it and find out if the poor child changed her name yet…she should be about 18 or so…SMDH!!! Believe me, there are a lot worse names than these….Fi-Fi Trixie Bell to me “takes the cake”. LMAO!!!
McKenna, just curious, is that your surname or first name?
No small wonder the girl can’t find work. Is she even from this planet?
Ok, so this is a name that some people think is long winded. But what people or better yet haoles don’t understand is that in Hawaii, this is the norm. You give your child a rediculously long name orginally because it was to show not just your name, butyour entire ancestry
Manakauapo is not grammatical. Jason’s mother speaks no Hawaiian. She randomly slapped together a bunch of words with the hope that they would produce something meaningful. It’s pathetic that they wanted to be all cultural by giving this child a long Hawaiian name, but failed to secure the aid of someone who actually speaks it.