
Baby names have never been so lucrative, with one United States woman claiming she charges as much as $50,000 to help expecting parents name their bundles of joy.
Taylor Humphrey, 37, is a professional baby namer and self-professed “name nerd”, the New York Post reports.
Describing herself as a baby name consultant, she offers an extensive array of services through her company What’s in a Baby Name.
Prices range from $345 (US$200) for personalised recommendations to “concierge” baby naming services that can cost $52,000 (US$30,000).
The brand has helped name 500 newborns.
Like Nameberry, which regards itself as the world’s largest baby naming site, Humphrey is capitalising on a growing trend of parents fretting over the “perfect” name.
Pamela Redmond, chief executive of the website, told the San Francisco Chronicle curated services help parents deal with the pressure to pick something special.
“A lot of people say they want a name that’s unique or individual. But, when it comes right down to it, they really don’t. Most baby name consultants are selling a vast idea of what constitutes good taste.”
But Humphrey said her work goes beyond name selection.
On her Instagram, the trained doula wrote “I don’t name peoples babies; I help them craft legacies that will stand the test of time”.
Her full-service offering is limited only to prospective parents “own imagination” and can include benefits like baby name branding or a naming think tank.
While she started out charging a flat rate of $172 (US$100), over the years, Humphrey increased her prices as her customer base expanded to the uber-wealthy.
A New Yorker profile published her starting package price of $2590 (US$1500) in 2022 - to much public ridicule.
“I had to come to terms with the fact that people often find me through content that pokes fun at me,” she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“At the same time, I’m like, ‘Well, it is silly.’ I come up with baby names for a living.”
But it seems Humphrey is having the last laugh.
While she wouldn’t say what she was currently making a year, the New York Post previously reported she made an estimated $221,000 (US$150,000) in 2020.
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