Would You Pay Someone $30,000 To Name Your Baby?

Naming a newborn can be a challenge; a name is a pretty permanent gift to give a small human you just met. Which is why some parents are turning to baby-naming services. That’s right: There are experts who are paid to think of names. The service can run up to $30,000, and it's not just for out-of-touch rich parents who don’t want to be bothered. Both of the naming experts profiled in a Bloomberg article on the trend say that parents tend to be “extremely involved” in the process. They're often seeking out the service because they are having trouble picking something out themselves. Sherri Suzanne, whose NYC baby-naming services start at just a few hundred dollars, said she considers the family's background and even helps families pick names that would be easy for both Americans and family abroad to pronounce. The experts also take into consideration things like whether the name is already trademarked, "likelihood of success," and whether it has an “aggravating past.” Marc Hauser, who runs a much pricier Swiss-based baby-naming service, says that his own name wouldn’t make the cut; it comes from Mars, the Roman god of war — pretty "aggravating." (That means my name, which has similar roots, wouldn't pass muster either. Thanks Mom and Dad!)