The days of flipping through a book of baby names are over. Some parents now pay for the privilege of having someone talk you through them.
Expectant parents pay for the convenience of a carefully curated list of names before they welcome their newborn baby.
After you have filled out the questionnaires, the baby name consultant will send you a page with possible names. This will cost you a fair amount.
Colleen Slagen, 34, is a nickname enthusiast who charges expectant parents hundreds of dollars to help them choose the perfect name after launching her company Naming Bebe in January 2022.
Colleen says she has always had a great love for names, spending her childhood poring over phone books and baby name books.
Name enthusiast Colleen Slagen, 34, is charging expectant parents hundreds of dollars to help them choose the perfect name after launching her company Naming Bebe in January 2022
Now the avid name lover has turned her passion into a profitable business, charging $350 an hour and earning a whopping $63,000 a year.
The Boston resident said the business started as a “fun hobby” alongside her full-time job as a nurse practitioner when she first returned to work after maternity leave following the birth of her daughter.
However, her creative business went viral when the mom and name enthusiast started sharing her baby name ideas on TikTok, leading to a huge response to her services.
“I think a lot of people have a pretty good idea of what they want, but they want to hear a third party’s opinion,” the mother of three, who is keeping her own children’s names private, told The New York Post.
Colleen handles 15 clients per week and has a six-week turnaround time for the list of possible baby names. She then sends the clients a six-page PDF.
Choosing a baby name may seem like a piece of cake, but Colleen’s clients are demanding and often have very specific wishes.
She told The Post that some requests she’s received in the past have centered on the fact that the name had only been used 25 times the year before or that the name had a specific sound.
Colleen also offers a $75 service where she answers a question about the name and posts it on social media.
Midwesterner Morgan Timm, who has no children, also earns about $37,500 a year from her name consultations
Her website included sample questions, including asking them to come up with names with a certain number of syllables, nicknames that go well with a sibling’s name, or similar alternatives for a name they can’t use.
The expert uses baby name forums, books, Social Security Administration data and other sources to come up with options that perfectly fit the criteria.
But she’s not the only one making money from naming babies.
Midwest Morgan Timm29, also earns approximately $37,500 a year from her name consultations.
Morgan, who has no children, has about 25 clients a month and charges $125 per client.
She gives parents 15 pages of possible names and lists which nicknames she recommends and why.
“There’s a lot of interest,” she told the outlet. “A lot of people are looking for that unique, one-of-a-kind, but not weird or strange name.”
Colleen uses baby name forums, books, Social Security Administration data, and other resources to come up with names that fit the list perfectly (stock image)
In May, the most popular baby names in the US of the past decade were revealed, with social media helping to propel a number of newcomers to the top of the list.
Liam and Olivia were still the most popular boys’ and girls’ names in 2023. It is already the seventh and sixth year that they have both been in first place.
Last year, Emma and Charlotte were in second and third place for girls’ names, while Noah and Oliver were in second and third place for boys’ names.
There was only one new name in the top 10 list for 2023. Mateo made his first appearance in the list of best boys and entered at number six.
While some names have stood the test of time, the Social Security Administration (SSA) reported that social media stars are having more influence than ever on new parents’ name choices.