Opinion

Eithne Shortall: Unsure what to name your baby? Hire a baby name consultant, silly

While professional services exist for parents, the process of naming a child adds to the story around how they came to be who they are – and it’s fun

Eithne Shortall. ‘Your name does play a part in shaping who you are. Being called Eithne has thus far made me feel pretty young, because people expect me to be 80’

I recently discovered the existence of baby name consultants. These are people who you pay for guidance in picking a name for your impending child. As you might expect, the bulk of them are situated in the United States, but there are prominent consultants operating in Britain, and they all take clients from across the world. For some, rates start in the hundreds; for others, it costs more than a thousand pounds for a bespoke ...