Hollywood and the rest o’ the world have been abuzz with the news of Cameron Diaz’s baby daughter with Benji Madden (yes, the Good Charlotte guy) — from Diaz’s enviable choice to go nanny-free to the baby’s weird but wonderful name, Raddix.
Diaz announced the birth of the couple’s first child on her Instagram Friday, January 3 after quite possibly one hell of a hidden pregnancy. Seriously, Cameron, props. In the words of one Twitter user, “Cameron Diaz had a whole ass baby and no one knew.”
Cameron Diaz had a whole ass baby and no one knew. pic.twitter.com/ZIuuegroKd
— mona lisa vito (@foxymnj) January 3, 2020
And as for that whole ass baby’s name, little Raddix is already making waves.
why does it sound like a vaccination
— 🦋 (@buiIdcastles) January 3, 2020
So Cameron Diaz became a mom and we love that for her! But, they named their kid Raddix and I’m just not understanding. Is it pronounced… rad dicks? pic.twitter.com/hMqs0Mvg12
— Tifani (@AyyItsTifani) January 3, 2020
Time for Marg’s baby name corner! Fewer than 5 babies were named “Raddix” in the US last year. 128 boys and 20 girls were named Maddix, 22 boys named Madix, 7 boys named Shaddix, 5 boys named Brodix.
— Margaret Lyons (@margeincharge) January 3, 2020
But despite the doubters who think Raddix sounds like a vaccine or a hotel chain, we’re with Diaz in thinking it sounds pretty damn…rad.
“We are so happy, blessed and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter, Raddix Madden,” Diaz posted on Instagram. “She has instantly captured our hearts and completed our family. While we are overjoyed to share this news, we also feel a strong instinct to protect our little one’s privacy. So we won’t be posting pictures or sharing any more details, other than the fact that she is really really cute!! Some would even say RAD.”
Diaz, who is now 47, told Redbook back in 2012: “I’m sure a lot of people would expect that I would have had a child by my age. But it’s not what I’ve wanted out of my life thus far,” Diaz said at the time. “We still live in a largely chauvinistic world. There’s a box people put themselves in, and when you [live] outside of it, that makes them uncomfortable — they have to look at themselves and question their own choices.”
Damn straight, Diaz. The “right” time to have a child is when you as a parent feel ready and are able — not when a chauvinistic society gives you gripes about having a kid “by your age.” And, I mean, what on earth is age to Cameron Effing Diaz anyway? Just look at her.
As for rad little Raddix and the meaning of her name, where did Diaz and Madden get it? They haven’t personally revealed their motives (yet) but Nameberry‘s baby-name expert Pamela Redmond Satran has some ideas. She tells SheKnows, “Raddix could be a variation on the established Slavic name Radek, which means ‘happy,’ or it could be an invented name combining the ‘rad’ (as in cool) prefix with the trendy x ending. It’s similar to Angelina Jolie’s Maddox, which became much more popular as a first name since Jolie chose it and now stands at number 140. We’ve also been hearing the name Radley, as in the To Kill A Mockingbird character Boo Radley. But Raddix is definitely a new one!”
Plus, one of those mysterious insider sources who is friends with Diaz and Madden told US Weekly that the pair chose “Raddix” as a spin on “rad” and some unspecified translation of “new beginning.” “It’s so like Cam and Benji to pick a quirky yet meaningful name,” the source told US. “They agree it suits her perfectly.”
We also have to admit we’re 100% aligned with good old Urban Dictionary in this interpretation: “From the Latin word Radix meaning ‘root’ or ‘source,’ referring to that force which gives rise to all movement, feeling and growth in a person and in life.”
Sounds like Diaz and Madden are giving their gal a great root to grow from — and a whole lot of love.
A version of this story was originally published on January 3, 2020.
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