Try saying "Zuma Nesta Rock" five times fast--it's hard. That phonetic flow could be tough to master, let alone live down, for the newborn son of Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Stefani.
The stylish rock-star couple welcomed their second little boy Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. Little Zuma is the younger brother of two-year-old Kingston, who's been known to sport a supercool faux-hawk and mingle with the likes of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt.
Growing up might present more challenges for Zuma than his sibling, based on his name alone.
The Associated Press consulted its panel of baby-name gurus to weigh in on the quirky moniker.
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EXPERT: Whitney Walker, co-author with Eric Reyes of "The Perfect Baby Name" and consultant through ThePerfectBabyName.com.
SPECIALTY: Phonetics and rhythm--how names sound and flow together.
IMPRESSIONS: "Zuma Nesta Rock sounds like a water park ride or a new energy drink. Zuma is unusual and rather appealing--for a girl. It's said to be taken from Zuma Beach in Malibu, and while place names are great, they have to fit the gender of the baby. But with the `A' ending and the popular `Z' beginning (as in Zoe, Zelda, Zora), Zuma just sounds too feminine. So does Nesta (supposedly Bob Marley's real name), and it's not a good idea to pair two `a' endings as first and middle names--too cutesy."
"Rock is probably thrown in there just to point to the parents' careers, and it does help to add some masculinity. Add Rossdale and you've got four names with the "S/Z" sound in common to tie them together, but they don't flow rhythmically. Finally, it's always a good idea to name siblings in the same genre, but Zuma and Kingston aren't."
GRADE: C
