A teenage girl from Gloucestershire is making over $65,000 by helping out parents pick English names for their babies. Beau Jessup came up with the idea following a visit to China, where she discovered that parents have been giving odd western names for their kids.
Beau Jessup setup the site, Special Name, in a Chinese domain to help parents pick out an appropriate English or western baby name. She realized that the site was needed after having been approached a number of times during her China trip. She was often asked for English name suggestions by her friends' parents.
Daily Mail cites that in the last few decades, some Chinese parents have been inclined to giving their babies English or westernized names because it would be easier to pronounce, read and print. However, all Chinese babies still retain their traditional names in Chinese characters in legal government documents.
BBC reports that the Chinese usually pick out names that relate to the elements -- fire, water, wood and earth. They are also intrigued by western references and pop culture. On the other hand, because of government restrictions on the internet, they have little idea of what these references mean.
As a result, some parents have ended up picking English names they thought would be relevant to their baby, but have actually gotten lost in translation. Beau Jessup said that she knew of babies who were given the names Gandalf, Rolex and Cinderella, which could be embarrassing for the children later on.
Fantastic idea - selling English names to China. Beau Jessup an #entrepreneur in the making. Well done!#thetimes pic.twitter.com/uh1MjHIIKE
— Linda Heyworth (@HeyworthLinda) September 8, 2016
On Special Name, Chinese parents are asked to indicate their baby's gender, elements and personality traits. Then the site will suggest five potential English names, which Beau Jessup will then narrow down to three choices. These choices will then be shared to the rest of the Chinese's family members before they make the final decision. Then, Special Name would create a certificate with the chosen English name. The service cost almost $80 per inquiry.
To date, Beau Jessup have helped 200,000 Chinese parents with their baby's English name choices. "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," said the 16-year-old via the BBC report. She has not anticipated that Special Name would become a hit among the Chinese.
