Rising trend: Baby naming consultants help Indian parents find perfect names

Following a viral video, consultants share why young couples are outsourcing the ‘perfect’ name for their children

What’s in the name? Apparently a fortune. A consultant from San Francisco recently went viral for reportedly charging a whopping $30,000 (about Rs26.6 lakh) to name a child. Over the years, Taylor A Humphrey’s high-end service has over 100,000 followers on social media, highlighting a new demand for expert baby-naming help.

New parents are hiring experts to name their kids (Shutterstock)

While this is not a new practice, a similar market is emerging in India. Consultants and agencies now offering deals and packages to new parents pan-India and abroad. Here’s why it’s picking up.

Name consultants services in India

This rising demand stems from new-age Indian parents having little free time while wanting a special, well-researched name for their child. Delhi-based Shivangi Varshney, who runs Baby Naming, says, “I have been in this field for the seven years. Indian parents have recently realised this is an option. Couples are busy and want the best names for their child.”

Her method involves looking closely at the Sahasranama (1,000 names) in ancient texts to make sure the names are exactly what the parents asked for. Her services, which take about a week, come in three packages, starting from Rs11,000 and go up to Rs51,000, which includes 25 ideas and chances to make changes.

Amit N Bajaj, who runs Kolkata-based Dusbus Namkaran, confirms business is booming. His company focuses on a mix of modern and traditional names based on astrology and numerology. Dusbus offers different package levels — Diamond (Rs10,999), Gold (Rs6,000), and Silver (Rs4,500) — and works with NRI clients who want names that ‘feel Indian’ but are easy to pronounce.

Less Worry, More Value

For clients, these services are an easy solution to dealing with the pressure of finding the perfect name. New parents Sonam and Viren Ahuja from Noida tell us, “It’s like hiring people to organise baby showers or birthdays. Using a name consultant frees you from the stress.” They chose a package which gave them ten names to pick from.

Mumbai-based couple Himanshu and Vibha R Varghiya add, “Our parents named us with minimal research, but we want a meaningful name for our baby girl so we are somewhere at peace that someone is diligently working on it. We opted for a Diamond package with 25 unique names from the Vedas.”

Picking out the perfect name

Thirty-seven-year-old Taylor A Humphrey turned her passion for baby names into a full-blown business. She told the San Francisco Chronicle that she started sharing ideas online 10 years ago, describing herself as a ‘name nerd’. Her services helps parents choose names that match their personalities, tastes and values through detailed questionnaires and thousands of spreadsheets filled with potential baby names.

Closer home, numerologist Jayaa Verma, who runs Name It Right in Pune says, “I aim to give 15 names in my packages.” Her highest costs Rs4,000 including taxes. Jayaa shares that she gets over forty orders daily, including rush jobs and requests to fix existing names. Each package, comes with name options, accompanied by their meanings, religious references and an explanation of why it’s the best fit for the child.