While celebrities like Beyoncé, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have their hard work and talent to thank for their success, they wouldn‘t even be here if it wasn’t for their moms.
Preparing for this year’s upcoming Mother‘s Day, HOLA! USA editors found a great throwback from our archives! Today, we honor these mothers, thanks to info from Nameberry.com who had taken a closer look at the names of many moms who not only raised famous offspring, but who also happen to have, yes, memorable and cool names themselves.
Ben Affleck and his mother Chris Affleck
Most people hearing Ben Affleck’s mother called Chris assume that it’s short for Christine or Christina, but she was actually born Christopher and was an honored public elementary school teacher for 30 years. And yes, Christopher is a boy name rarely heard for girls, but according to Nameberry, there have been more than 7,000 baby girl Christophers since 1880.
Jennifer Lopez and her mother Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez
And while Jennifer Lopez‘s relationship with Ben Affleck didn’t work out, the two share the fact that both of their moms have pretty awesome names. Puerto Rico-born Guadalupe Rodriguez Lopez was an encouraging and motivating stay-at-home mom to her three daughters, including J.Lo. Guadalupe is a perennially popular name in Spain that has also had a presence in the U.S., now ranking at #456.
Beyonce and her mother Celestine ‘Tina’ Knowles
Beyoncé is so powerful that she doesn’t even go by her last name, while sister Solange Knowles has a pretty unique moniker as well. So it’s only fitting that the mom of the songstresses would have a name to match. Celestine, better known to the world by her nickname Tina, was born Celestine Ann Beyincé. Knowles gave a version of her maiden name to her older daughter, which is pretty adorable.
The Hemsworth bothers and their mother Leonie Hemsworth
The Hemsworth bother’s mom not only has incredible genes, but a really cool name as well. Leonie Hemsworth is the mother of three handsome actor sons in addition to being an English teacher. One of the old Leo-related names that have started to sound fresh again, Leonie was chosen for the daughter of Italian model Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.
Tina Fery and her mother Zenobia Xenakes
But the winner for the most unique name has to go to Tina Fey‘s mom. Sounding more like a character from a fantasy book, Zenobia Xenakes, who goes by the name Jeanne, was born in Piraeus, Greece and now works for a brokerage firm. Zenobia, the middle name of Tina’s daughter Alice, has literary ties to Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edith Wharton as well as to Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles. This definitely has comeback potential.
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