The Profitable Art of Baby Naming: How One Consultant Turned a Passion into a Lucrative Business

In today’s world of parenting, where every decision seems to carry immense weight, even choosing a baby’s name has become a process worthy of professional consultation. Taylor A. Humphrey has transformed what began as a personal fascination with baby names into a thriving business that commands fees of up to $30,000 from anxious parents-to-be. What might seem frivolous to some represents a meaningful service to wealthy clients who believe that the perfect name is an investment in their child’s future. Starting about a decade ago with simple online posts about her name obsession, Humphrey has built a clientele that includes both the anonymously wealthy and high-profile celebrities, all seeking her expertise in finding that perfect moniker for their newest family member.

The San Francisco-based consultant, who was herself named after 1980s soap opera actress Taylor Miller, brings more to the table than just a list of trendy names. With training as a doula and background in branding and marketing, Humphrey approaches baby naming with both scientific rigor and artistic sensibility. “There’s a lot more to this job than people realize,” she explains, noting that she sometimes receives urgent calls from clients that require her immediate attention. Her service involves detailed questionnaires to understand parents’ personalities, interests, and name preferences. The self-described “name nerd” maintains thousands of spreadsheets filled with potential baby names, allowing her to create personalized recommendations that include meanings, origins, spelling variations, popularity history, and overall “vibes” for each suggestion. Even her basic email consultation service commands $200, while her comprehensive packages start at $10,000 for what she calls the “VIP treatment.”

As her business has grown—she helped name more than 100 babies in 2020 alone, earning over $150,000 that year—so has the complexity of her services. Today’s parents are increasingly specific in their requests, seeking names that thread the needle between contradictory desires: uncommon but not weird, simple but not basic, trendy but not too trendy. To meet these exacting standards, Humphrey offers add-on services including “identifying a unique name aesthetic,” “baby name branding,” genealogical research to uncover family names, and even organizing think tanks to discuss naming options. With a combined social media following of 100,000 across TikTok and Instagram and a portfolio exceeding 500 children’s names, Humphrey has established herself as a premier expert in an unusual but evidently necessary niche market for the well-heeled.

The consultation process often reveals that naming a child involves much more than just picking appealing sounds or letters. During video sessions with clients, Humphrey frequently finds herself acting more as a therapist or mediator than a simple name consultant. Parents may disagree on styles or have conflicting family traditions to honor. Some worry about potential nicknames or how the name might affect their child’s future job prospects. Others are concerned about cultural appropriation or want to ensure the name works across multiple languages. These considerations transform what might seem like a straightforward decision into one fraught with emotional and social implications—explaining why some are willing to invest significant sums for professional guidance in navigating these waters.

Since being profiled in The New Yorker in 2021, Humphrey’s business has experienced exponential growth, allowing her to increase her pricing and accumulate a substantial backlog of clients. She is reportedly one of only about a dozen full-time professional baby-name consultants nationwide and the only one operating in the Bay Area. This scarcity has contributed to her ability to command premium rates for her services. While she declines to reveal her current income, the trajectory from charging $1,500 per client in 2020 to now offering packages up to $30,000 suggests substantial financial success. Despite operating in a field that some might consider unnecessary luxury, Humphrey has carved out a profitable enterprise by recognizing and serving a genuine need among a specific segment of parents who view naming as a crucial first act of parenting.

The internet has predictably responded with a mix of fascination and mockery to the concept of paying five figures for baby naming assistance. Humphrey acknowledges this reality with refreshing self-awareness: “I had to come to terms with the fact that people often find me through content that pokes fun at me,” she admits. “It’s a little embarrassing when you get made fun of on the internet. But at the same time, I’m like, ‘Well, it is silly.’ I come up with baby names for a living.” Despite the occasional ridicule, Humphrey remains convinced of her work’s value: “I accept it because I believe the work I’m doing is really important.” This conviction, paired with her specialized knowledge and the clear market demand for her services, has allowed her to transform what many would consider a hobby into a successful career—proving that in the modern parenting economy, even something as personal as naming a child has become a service worth outsourcing for those who can afford it.

What Humphrey’s business ultimately represents is a fascinating intersection of old and new—the ancient tradition of naming children meeting modern marketplace dynamics. In a world where parents increasingly approach child-rearing with professional precision and where personal branding begins quite literally at birth, perhaps it’s not surprising that specialized consultants have emerged to help navigate this first critical decision. Whether viewed as an unnecessary luxury or a valuable service, the rise of professional baby naming consultants like Humphrey reflects broader cultural shifts in how we approach parenthood, identity, and the commodification of life’s most personal moments. As long as parents continue to feel the pressure of bestowing the “perfect” name on their children, consultants like Humphrey will likely find no shortage of clients willing to pay premium prices for peace of mind.