‘Professional baby namer’ charges parents €9K to name kids

One couple reportedly paid her $10k

Taylor A. Humphrey named over 100 babies in 2020 and - despite not having a little one herself - raked in more than $150k (€138,000).

“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 during a profile.

According to her LinkedIn account, the NYU graduate had previously worked as a matchmaker, fundraiser and event planner.

She is also a reiki practitioner and has “written two feature-length screenplays, and one TV pilot that explore religion, spirituality, science, futurism and the unconditional, enduring nature [of] love.”

Now, Humphrey names babies and has even had parents pay her $10,000 (€9,260) to settle a baby name dispute. She set up her business What’s In a Baby Name in 2015, having been obsessed with baby names from an early age.

However if the price tag puts you off, then Humphrey can offer a range of services that all differ in price. Such services can include "a phone call and a bespoke name list to a genealogical investigation”, which can reveal old family names.

Recently, a couple told Humphrey that their first kiss was in a town called Parker so she suggested naming the baby Parks. Another woman was concerned that her daughter's name Isla might be hard to pronounce - but Humphrey told her to stick with it and was paid.

“Sometimes you see a name like Brave on my list and you think, ‘I’m just not going to name my kid Brave,’ ” Humphrey told outlet. “But it might be worth putting on a maybe list as a thought for a middle name.”