Schoolgirl Makes $84,000 Helping Families Name Their Babies

Beau Jessup is a 16 year old High School student who has made $84,000 giving English names to Chinese babies.  The Gloucestershire resident has helped to name more than 200,000 babies after starting a website called ‘Special Name.”

For around $1 the website will ask parents to choose five personality traits from the twelve she has listed that the parents hope their child will display, and then presents a shortlist of three names. Once the parents have chosen a new English name the website offers a new certificate and meaning of the name, it also gives examples of famous people who share the new moniker.

Jessup came up with the idea after a family trip to China where she learnt that for the Chinese it is significantly important to have an English name for study, business and employment within the United Kingdom. She says “When I went to China I kept being asked to name babies for my parents’ friends. They explained an English name is vital because you can’t use a Chinese name on email or a university application to the UK.

She also said that she had heard some very “embarrassing” English names that parents had chosen like “Gandalf” and “Cinderella”. Jessup says her website gives culturally appropriate names. “Being exposed to luxury items and things like Harry Potter, Disney films and Lord of the Rings means they use those for reference”

One mother Songbu Wang who used the “Special Name’ to give her son an English name said “I chose Nathan because it sounds strong, what’s more, I have seen the definition from my Specialname certificate; Nathan means ‘generous’. I think a good man should be generous, a woman will like him. I think an English name can influence my child’s life”