Thu Jun 28, 2007

Hot Topic: Baby-Name Consultants to Name Your Baby?  Yes or No?

Forget Jacob, Michael, Emily and Emma, the most popular baby names in 2006 according to the Social Security Administration.  These days, parents want their kids to have names that set them apart from the rest of the pack, and a few are taking it to the extreme by hiring a baby-name consultant.  Yes, a baby-name consultant. 

For $95, BabyNames.com will set you up with a half-hour phone consulting session to find that perfect name for your little one.  If that’s too much time and money, you can pay $35 and they’ll suggest 12 names based on a list of preferences you can check off on the site.  Do you want you trendy or traditional? Ethnic or biblical?  How about a name of your favorite place?  (Please, just not Paris.)

But if money is not an object, you can shell out $475 to pay a numerologist to see if your favorite name has “positive associations,” like one California woman who wanted to test ‘Leah Marie.’ Lucky for her, the name had good vibes.

For $35, I can get a few baby name books AND a frapuccino.  For $95, I can take a couple of girlfriends out to a nice dinner where we can brainstorm about baby names.  Give me $475, and I can visit far-away relatives to learn more about the names of all my family members (always a good place to start a name search).  And there’s always the internet and the library where I can get information for free. 

So hire a consultant to pick the perfect moniker for my kid?  Not my style.  What about you?

Views: 248 | Posted by MomFarah on 06/28 at 12:00 PM
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