Parents Spending Over $300 Per Hour on Expert Baby Name Consultants to Explore Unique Options

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In today’s world, selecting a baby name has transformed from a familial tradition into a strategic endeavor, with parents hiring experts for a hefty fee to ensure they get the “perfect” moniker for their child.

Short Summary:

  • Parents are increasingly spending up to $500 per hour for professional baby name consulting services.
  • These consultants provide personalized recommendations based on extensive questionnaires and analysis.
  • The rise of social media and the desire for unique names have fueled this trend, highlighting the importance of branding from a young age.

Gone are the days when parents would simply flip through baby name books or name a child after a family member. Nowadays, a new trend has emerged, stirring quite the conversation among expectant parents: hiring baby name consultants. That’s right! Couples are paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars for expert guidance in the quest for the ideal name for their little ones. It’s a phenomenon that’s not just sprouting from the need for something unique, but rather a calculated strategy to give kids a proverbial head start in an increasingly competitive world.

Bringing a new life into this world is already daunting, and now, the pressure to choose the “right” name adds yet another layer of complexity. The uncertainty of picking a name has turned into a quest for individuality. According to experts like Colleen Slagen and Morgan Timm, parents are willing to pay top dollar to avoid the pitfalls of overused or “boring” names. Slagen, a 34-year-old from Boston, left her job as a nurse practitioner to pursue this gig full-time after friends praised her knack for selecting names. She takes on about 15 clients each month, charging a cool $350, which nets her a comfortable annual income of $63,000.

“I think a lot of people have a pretty good feeling about what they want, but want a third-party opinion,” Slagen said in an interview. “They’re wanting validation or a gut check on the name that they are leaning towards.”

The service’s immense popularity has parents clamoring for consultants like Slagen, whose schedule opens up at the beginning of each month. Her slots typically fill up within hours, further demonstrating how critical parents consider this choice. On a different note, Timm, a 29-year-old from the Midwest, has taken a slightly different approach, charging $125 per session as a side gig, bringing in around $37,500 per year while balancing her other commitments. From the looks of it, there’s a booming business in the baby naming arena!

So, what exactly does this experience entail? The first step typically involves a detailed questionnaire where parents outline their desired criteria. They often list names they’re considering, specify names they want to avoid, and indicate their syllable preference. In the end, parents receive a comprehensive PDF report filled with tailored suggestions and insightful analysis, with Slagen providing around six pages of recommendations, while Timm offers about 15.

Just as a name can be a child’s first badge of honor, it’s becoming a cornerstone for establishing their brand. Many couples hire these consultants because they simply cannot agree on a name, owing to differences in taste or wanting to avoid clashes with names of existing siblings. Slagen emphasizes that parents appreciate the pressure attached to a name today. She states:

“People realize now that names are a form of self-expression that we’re choosing for another person.”

Indeed, as social media has transformed all our lives, so too has it reshaped how names are perceived. A name now serves as both a reflection of personal values and a strategic leveraging tool for one’s success in an increasingly connected world. With platforms like Instagram and TikTok bearing such weight on an individual’s persona, parents wish their children to start strong—perfectly named for the world waiting to know them.

Among the various reasons people hire name consultants, statistical analysis shows an interesting trend: Many parents shy away from overly common names. For instance, while Olivia was touted as the top baby name in 2023, that moniker is given to just one in every 100 girls born that year, leaving countless parents feeling like they are blending into a sea of sameness.

“A lot of couples come to me because they just can’t agree on a name… they’re naming a second or third child, having already exhausted their favorite choices,” Slagen explained.

The professional baby name consultants articulate a frequently overlooked notion—the paradox of choice. As internet access expands and social networks grow, the perception of “taken names” can stifle parents’ creativity. Suddenly, what was once a treasure trove of available names feels like a finite well, drained by an ever-expanding social hive mind.

Through careful research—including perusing baby name forums, diving into the Social Security Administration’s data, and scanning through books—Slagen and Timm curate names that align with their clients’ taste while steering clear of the hot names of the moment.

In some instances, parents come with deeply personal motivations for enlisting baby naming experts. Timm recalls a specific case involving a client who had a childhood nickname that followed them into adulthood but was seen as unprofessional. This mother wanted a name that her child would proudly carry into their future, free from the burdens tied to less desirable names.

“People want names that will exude confidence and capability,” Timm shared.

More often than not, parents desire names that fall into the category of “classic but not overdone.” Slagen claims that she receives requests for timeless names that haven’t yet graced this year’s top ten, consistently balancing uniqueness and familiarity. Examples abound of how even a name can carry heavy emotional baggage. Many clients seek advice not just to find the perfect first name but to tread through the emotionally charged waters of rebranding their child’s identity after a less-than-ideal initial choice.

The exploration of more whimsical names continues to capture cultural attention. Take the recent trend among some popular influencers: sharing a laundry list of names they considered for their children yet opted against due to their unconventionality. Lifestyle influencer Nara Smith, for instance, publicly debated names like Whimsy Lou, while others like Francesca Farago opened up about considering names like Heart and Prosper.

This draws attention to the lengths parents will go to find a name that stands out, a testament to how names have grown in significance over the last two decades. This shift can largely be attributed to growing numbers of examples of unique celebrity names, such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin giving their daughter the name Apple. What was once considered daring has cultivated a culture that now values the most creative of names—however abstract they may be.

Steph Coffield, another name consultant from Minnesota, highlights the role social media has played in shaping this unique naming landscape. She observed that clients today are focused on finding names that not only embody individuality but also translate well into social media handles. Paying homage to technology, Coffield states:

“People want their kids to have that unique identity—something cool that works as an Instagram handle,” she explained.

As baby names become even more unique and personalized, there’s a growing trend of using surnames as first names. Coffield notes that this is particularly evident with names like Barrett for boys and increasingly masculine names for girls—an intriguing juxtaposition to age-old norms.

As parents dive deeper into the world of baby naming, the question arises: have we come so far that we now need to forego traditional names altogether? This debate rages on amidst the burgeoning hum of creative individuality. Coffield argues that it’s not merely about novelty; it’s about standing out in an increasingly crowded digital space.

“I think we’re going to see a lot more Sonny’s and Lennie’s—there’s just this trend with names that end with ‘ie’ for both boys and girls,” Coffield remarked.

The landscape of baby names is evolving, much like the values that underpin them. Today’s parents are more concerned than ever with how names reflect identity, aspirations, and the complexities of modern life. The intersection of self-expression and branding runs deeper than ever—representing a multi-faceted approach to naming. As we dive headfirst into this new age of baby names, one can only marvel at the shifts taking place.

Choosing a name now seems to be akin to crafting a unique life narrative, where parents must juggle their preferences, societal expectations, and individual quirks throughout the process. In such a fast-paced world, it’s delightful to witness how parents prioritize names as more than just labels—they’re investing in a legacy, a story wrapped in sounds and syllables, waiting to take flight into the world. Who knew that a name could carry so much weight? Now, that’s sexy.


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Shane
Shane is passionate about researching baby stuff for his baby girl. He worked for a premium brand consultancy. He runs the research on this site.