Taylor Humphrey makes a living from naming babies. Photo / @whatsinababyname
Parents-to-be are paying thousands to a "professional baby namer" to find the perfect name for their child.
US woman Taylor Humphrey, 33, helped name more than 100 babies in 2020, earning more than $150,000 (NZ$221,000), reports the New York Post.
Some expectant parents are turning over up to $10,000 (NZ$14,000) per name.
"If you look at the most popular baby names, it's such a telltale sign of our cultural values and our aspirations," Humphrey told The New Yorker.
Humphrey previously worked as an event planner and matchmaker, but has always been obsessed with baby names. She finally established her business What's In a Baby Name in 2015.
Depending on how much parents are willing to pay, Humphrey's services range from a phone call and personalised name list to a genealogical investigation to discover old family names.
Recently, she chose the baby name Parks for a couple who had their first kiss in a town called Parker.
And she advised an anxious mum considering changing her baby's name Isla because it kept being mispronounced, telling her to stick with the name.
Humphrey also runs a popular TikTok account where she offers free naming advice. She's frequently approached by parents who are up to their third or fourth child and have run out of ideas for names.
She recently advised a mum expecting her third child who needed a name to match those of her two older sons, Emmet and Miller.
Humphrey's top picks were Grady, Wilson, Fletcher and Waylon.
She dismissed the idea that couples who want professional help naming their baby are just lazy, saying they are in fact anxious perfectionists.
Even if they don't like her suggestions for a first name, she added that they often end up using them as middle names.
"Sometimes you see a name like Brave on my list and you think, 'I'm just not going to name my kid Brave'," she told The New Yorker.
"But it might be worth putting on a maybe list as a thought for a middle name."
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