British Teen Has Made $64,000 Helping Chinese People Name Their Babies

Beau Jessup may look like a typical teenager, but she’s already made thousands of dollars helping Chinese parents name their babies.

The 16-year-old girl from Gloucestershire has so far made £48,000 ($64,000) by helping Chinese parents name their babies through her website called “Special Name.” As of press time, the service has named 234,353 infants.

Beau came up with the idea after a family trip to China, BBC reported. During a meal with friends, she was asked to give an English name for a newborn, much to her surprise:

“I’m not really qualified or relevant enough in that baby’s life to be the person to give it a name.”

But after hearing “embarrassing” names, Beau gave in to the call.

Beau is aware of how Chinese parents name their babies. She said they are fascinated with Western culture, but because of restricted internet access, they could not use standard naming sites.

“Being exposed to luxury items and things like Harry Potter, Disney films and Lord of the Rings means they use those for reference. I once heard of someone called Gandalf and another called Cinderella.”

To get the best of both worlds, she sought for similarity between how they pick Chinese and English names.

Special Name works by asking the user to select the baby’s sex and pick five out of 12 default personality traits. Suggested names are printed on certificates, along with corresponding meanings and celebrity namesakes.

“It is called ‘special name’ and it’s based on individual preference and what they personally want their child to be.”

Selected names are then shared with loved ones over WeChat, where the final moniker is decided.

For now, Beau is happy about her site’s success. She’s still surprised at how it ended up “more than just a small project.”

“It’s nice to be a part of such a happy experience and be a part of those young stages in a baby’s life.”

Beau’s success is a reflection of how serious Chinese parents are in naming their children, where some pay as much as $29,000 for a well-researched name.

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