KEY POINTS:
LOS ANGELES - Sunday used to be a day to relax, watch football or go to church.
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban gave it new meaning today.
The Australian power couple welcomed the birth of their daughter in the early hours of this morning and swiftly announced to
the world her name: Sunday Rose Kidman Urban.
It immediately raised the question: Why Sunday?
The birth came on a Monday in the US.
In Australia, it was Tuesday.
One name expert suggested it may follow a tradition used by ancient African tribes in naming their baby daughter Sunday.
It was also speculated Sunday may have been inspired by Australia's Queensland island chain, The Whitsundays, where Kidman celebrated her 40th birthday.
Or that it was in honour of the day the couple were married two years ago.
Others pondered whether Kidman and Urban were just keeping up with the Joneses, or in this case, the Cruises, the Jolie-Pitts, and the Martin-Paltrows who set a precedent that included names not on the Top 10 Most Popular Baby Name List.
Kidman's ex, Tom Cruise and his his wife, Katie Holmes, called their daughter Suri, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie named their daughter Shiloh, while Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin ended up calling their children Apple and Moses.
In Hollywood, it appears a simple name does not fly.
"Sunday is a choice to rival Tom and Katie's Suri and Brad and Angelina's Shiloh," baby name expert Pam Satran, co-author of Cool Names and The Baby Name Bible, told American magazine, Us Weekly's website.
Satran pointed to Africa as a potential historic source.
"Sunday is one of the next generation of word names," Satran continued.
"But it also harkens back to the ancient tradition of day-naming as practised by many African tribes and originally brought to America by the early slaves."
It has also been speculated Kidman added her surname to her daughter's name to keep the "Kidman" name alive.
Her parents, Janelle and Antony, who were reportedly in Nashville for the birth, had two daughters and without a son, the "Kidman" name may have been lost.
Satran, however, said the couple's decision to give Sunday both surnames "is a signal that this is a marriage of equals".
Sunday may not be common in the 90210 postcode, but "Rose" as a middle name is a regular in Hollywood.
Satran told Us the daughters of Michelle Pfeiffer, Teri Hatcher, Ewan McGregor, Sylvester Stallone and Eric Clapton all have Rose as their middle name.
Kidman gave birth to her daughter in the capital of country music, Nashville, Tennessee.
The actress, who turned 41 in June, has two adopted children, Isabella, 15, and Connor, 13, with Cruise.
Meanwhile, in Australia some wags are suggesting the new bub may get stuck with the nickname, Sunday Roast.
- AAP
