AFTER years of helping her friends pick out baby names, Colleen Slagen decided to start charging people for it.
Fast forward a year, she now collects £200 every time she helps someone decide what to call their unborn child.
The 33-year-old has two kids of her own but has been “obsessed with baby names” from the age of eight and still can’t believe she gets to charge people to talk about them.
“I’m really still in a pinch-me phase,” she said. “My eight-year-old self would faint if she saw me now.”
Colleen spilled all about her job in an essay for Today, revealing that she decides your child's moniker fate through a questionnaire.
“A few years ago, I began to see articles here and there about baby name consultants,” she penned. “I couldn’t believe it was a real job.
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“I used to list it as my dream job in the game MASH.
“I’d already done some unofficial consultations for friends, which allowed me to put my years of baby name knowledge to use, and I got some really good feedback.”
Colleen launched her business, Naming Bebe, in January 2022 while on maternity leave as a nurse practitioner.
She says that business has been so busy that she “hasn’t watered her plants in months”.
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The name whizz is aware her job is a pretty modern thing but she puts this down to there being “more emphasis on being unique and standing out than there used to be”.
“A lot of parents identify with that, and that’s why unique names have become more popular,” she said. “It makes me think of the personalization of the wedding industry.
“You have to choose just the right bridesmaid gifts, get the customised welcome sign.
“It’s a reflection of your style. Just like how you decorate your home, and how you dress.
“Names come with a vibe and an aesthetic and people want that aesthetic to match their own personal style.”
To enlist Colleen’s service, you have to cough up £200 – or $250 – and fill out a questionnaire.
She reads over your answers and then gets back to you with eight name suggestions.
You can get more suggestions for more money, too.
“Recently I had a client who wanted a middle name that had some significance to places she and her partner had lived, like Berlin,” Colleen wrote in her essay.
“So I was researching like crazy trying to find names that were connected to these places that they had lived in.
“Looking at street names, monument names, flora and fauna that are notable in each area.
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“I can really go down some rabbit holes.”
The name expert also offers free advice on her social media channels, including TikTok where she has built up a loyal following.
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