Deschanel Gets Zoo-ey With her Baby’s Strange Name

Strange baby names and Hollywood seem to go together. We’ve seen little girls saddled with North, Apple, Wyatt, Jagger and Rainbow, and baby boys called Egypt, Blanket, Banjo, Bronx and Pilot Inspektor. Add Zooey Deschanel to the list of celebrity parents who gave their kid a kooky name.

The New Girl actress and her husband Jacob Pechenik talked about their three-month-old baby daughter’s name on Tuesday’s Today Show. Her first name is an old-fashioned yet kind of charming Elsie. It’s the middle name we have a bit of an issue with. Otter. Yes, Otter.

“We both love otters,” gushed the star through awkward giggles. “They’re really sweet and they’re also smart… They keep their favorite tools and they hold hands while they sleep. There are so many amazing things about otters. They’re a wonderful animal.”

Let’s just be glad the couple didn’t like skunks.

Elsie Otter Pechenik was born in late July in Austin, Texas, and is the first child for the couple who secretly wed in August. Their other joint production, Rock the Kasbah, premiered in New York on Monday, October 19. Deschanel stars in the comedy, along with Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Kate Hudson.

What do you think of an aquatic mammal for a middle name?