Elle Macpherson confessed she "just liked the sound of it", thus avoiding to make a fool of herself with Biblical explanations (see the post about Claudia Schiffer below). I don't like the sound of it at all, but then I don't know how it sounds in Australian English.

There is only one Aurelius, and before Elle not many thought of using his name: Marcus Aurelius (b. April 26, AD 121, Rome--d. March 17, 180, Vindobona [Vienna], or Sirmium, Pannonia), Roman emperor (AD 161-180), best known for his Meditations on Stoic philosophy. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, Marcus Aurelius has symbolized for many generations in the West the Golden Age of the Roman Empire.

But he is also an initiator of Christian persecution. Still, though Aurelius disliked the Christians, there was no systematic persecution of them during his reign. Their legal status remained as it had been under Trajan and Hadrian: Christians were ipso facto punishable but not to be sought out. This incongruous position did little harm in times of general security and prosperity, but when either of these were threatened, the local population might denounce Christians, a governor might be forced to act, and the law, as the central authority saw it, must then run its course. The martyrdoms at Lyon in 177 were of this nature, and, it appears that Christian blood flowed more profusely in the reign of Aurelius the philosopher than it had before. (take that, Caspar!)

The Britannica Encyclopedia is far less generous for Elle Macpherson's inspiration source:
"Aurelius was a statesman, perhaps, but one of no great calibre; nor was he really a sage. In general, he is a historically overrated figure, presiding in a bewildered way over an empire beneath the gilt of which there already lay many a decaying patch. But his personal nobility and dedication survive the most remorseless scrutiny; he counted the cost obsessively, but he did not shrink from paying it".

And it seems from the engraving works that he wouldn't look good in a bikini, either.

Well, let's begin with the fact that Caspar does not mean "a gift from God", contrary to the explanation of Claudia Schiffer's publicist in the German press yesterday. The name meaning "a gift from God" in biblical hebrew is of course Nathaniel. But that name was already taken in the fashion world (top-photographer Nathaniel Goldberg, the husband of Trish Goff), so Claudia had to compromise on "Caspar".

Just kidding. Caspar is one of the three wise men who came bearing gifts for the infant Jesus, guided by the Star of Bethlehem, according to the New Testament. So Claudia was a bit misleaded: Caspar is not a gift from God, he is the one bringing a gift to God. His gift, by the way, was frankincense -- a hint to the drugs surrounding the fashion trade, no doubt. If Claudia liked gold, she would have chosen the second wise man, Melchior. (Don't bother to ask yourself who's the third, I've done all the homework for you: he's Balthazar).

There aren't much famous people called Caspar (apart Claudia's son, of course). We have the nice little cartoon, but alas the ghost is called Gaspard in most of Europe. We have Caspar W. Weinberger, former secretary of state, and Caspar Olevianus, who wrote the Heidelberg Catechism. But the Caspar I really liked is this one -

Bartholin Caspar (b. Feb. 12, 1585, Malme, Den. [now in Sweden]--d. July 13, 1629, Sore, Zealand, Den.), Danish physician and theologian who wrote one of the most widely read Renaissance manuals of anatomy.
A professor at the University of Copenhagen (1613-29), he was first to describe the olfactory nerve (associated with the sense of smell) as the first cranial nerve. He also identified the small lubricating gland--known as Bartholin's gland--located near the vaginal opening in female bodies.