I waited for days to talk about Holly Madison’s new baby. She gave birth to her second child, a boy, last week. She and her husband Pasquale Rotella are already parents to a three-year-old daughter named Rainbow Aurora. That’s why I wanted to talk about this! Back in 2013, Holly’s baby name choice caused an instant controversy. The minute she named the baby Rainbow Aurora, people were yelling at her and making fun of her. While I didn’t like the baby name either, I believed Holly’s explanation for why she gave her daughter that name, that she had known a Rainbow as a girl and she had always loved the name. Holly also said that it’s not like she gave the baby a “stripper name” like “Amber, Crystal and Jessica.” I’m still flabbergasted by that, by the way: when did Jessica become a stripper-name?
Anyway, Holly and Pasquale’s newborn baby boy has a name now. And while it’s no Rainbow Aurora, it is pretty unique. They named the boy… Forest Leonardo Antonio Rotella. Oh…I’m not sure about this. Considering Pasquale’s name, I’m assuming his whole family is pretty Italian, so the “Leonardo” and “Antonio” are probably family names or they have some kind of significance to him. Which means that Holly probably got to do the first name. And she chose Forest? Her children are Forest and Rainbow. If she has another kid, it will probably be Lake, River, Cloud, Mountain or Grass. And who is naming their kid Forest after the prevalence of Forest Gump in our culture?
Photos courtesy of Instagram, WENN.
I would have started at Leonardo and stuck Forest at the end or middle…..but it’s her little baby boy so Welcome to the World Forest!
My sister and BIL just named their baby Forest too. I cringed when my brother made the first, I’m sure of many, Run Forest, Run jokes.
Jessica is not a stripper name.
Jessica is a standard middle aged lady name. Amber is a pretty common little girl name. Crystal? Sure.
Jessica, especially in the US, was one of THE most common names of the 80s. Always makes me chuckle that the Simpson family named their daughters Jessica AND Ashley/Ashlee.
That’s why there most likely are many strippers named Jessica, born in the 80’s, like there are many cashiers or lawyers named Jessica, because it’s just such a popular name. I doubt that some stripper named Helen or Barbara would choose Jessica to be their pseudo though – they’d choose Crystal et al.
@Norman Bates’ Mother: That’s how I always interpreted Holly’s comment. Exotic dancers are just women in their 20s and sometimes 30s, so any given dancer’s name is likely going to be one of the common ones given to women born around the same time. I’m guessing Holly has met some women who are strippers and rolls her eyes at the name stereotypes a bit. I only know a handful of women who’ve had that job, and I know I think the name stereotype is silly – all the women I know have very ordinary names except for one who has a name that’s odd in a grandma type way (think Ethel rather than Crystal).
Jessica = stripper name because Jessica Rabbit?
God bless her. She has a healthy baby boy and a beautiful family. And she can name her kid whatever she wants to!
Rainbow is just horrible. I’ve always liked the name Forest.
I’ve heard Forest before. I think “Jessica” was probably shade at someone from the mansion.
So was Crystal.
And I’m sure there was an Amber in the mix. Unless, she was being rude towards Amber Rose.
I actually like the name Forest. I find it more tame than Rainbow.
I just dont think Forest goes that well with Leonardo and Antonio, but overall its not that bad of name.
I like the name Forest as in trees but unfortunately it does make people think of Forrest Gump and that Confederate general he was named after…probably not where she wanted to go with that
Thank you, they’re, different names entirely:)
A lot of people name their children after Confederate luminaries here in the South. It’s not unfortunate when it is your heritage and history. People are entitled to their opinions about that but honestly…we dont really care. The Forrest Gump thing is pretty unfortunate though. She probably has no idea, she’s from Alaska or somewhere like that. I think it’s a dumb name but I don’t like last names as first names or things as names. It’s her kid though so I didn’t expect anything classy or traditional.
Works for Forrest Whittaker so why not?
I actually thought of him before I thought of Forest Gump. I like the name, although people will do the whole run Forest run thing. But then again, the kids his age prob won’t, so who cares!
her kids first names dont go with their last name at all
but forest is much better than rainbow
Rainbows and forests are big themes in some of Pasquale’s music festivals which could also explain the name choices. So the kids have built in marketing, lol!
80s baby! Im not a fan of my name but I don’t associate Jessica with middle age lady. I always thought of it as the perfect name for a cheerleader…and I’m far from a cheerleader! 😉
Forest is a lovely name. I do not associate it with Gump whatsoever.
I have also known a few folks named Forest and they were nice people, so the name does not hit me in the way it would if I had known some ‘shady’ Forests. HAHA HAAHAHA I am cracking myself up right now.
I think by the time this kid is old enough to care, there might not be that much “run forest fun”, or if there is, it will come from adults. Teens now are into the 90’s but he’s a baby. By the time he’s older, his peers won’t know that movie.
I do think her names are hippy dippy, sort of, but not totally out there weird. Not like, Apple or North, neither of which are “real” names. (I use quotes because a name really is whatever you decide to make it, but you all know what I mean–I guess recognized by society as names.) Rainbow is a name, though relatively uncommon. One of Jamie Oliver’s daughters has it as a middle name, the wife on Blackish is called Bo, short for Rainbow. I was thinking Forest should be spelled with two R’s (like Forrest Gump), but Forest Whitaker uses one R, so there you go. That’s a real name, just relatively uncommon, and it kind of goes with Rainbow, because of the nature theme. They’re not for me, but I don’t see making fun of her. Holly always seemed pretty nice to me.
Strange names = attention, and that’s all Holly wants.