As much as folks like to make fun of “Black” names, we here at MadameNoire can appreciate a mother’s creative approach to naming her seeds. How else can you define your offspring from the pack? In any case, this slideshow is not about the most creative first names, but the most surprising middle names of celebrities. For example, who would’ve thunk that Martin Lawrence would have such a haughty-sounding French-British name? And Ashanti…let’s just say her mom chose right when she picked a historical African tribe to name her daughter after rather than using the name she selected as her middle name. Check out other celebs with interesting and surprising middle names.

photo credit: hollywood.com

Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence

Fitzgerald just doesn’t match his image, does it?