How much is your future baby's name worth to you? Most people would tell you that you can't put a price on something that special, right? Not Los Angeles mom Natasha Hill, however. She thinks $5,000 is just about right and recently sold the right to name her child for that amount.
Seriously. It came out of a contest launched by BellyBallot, a website that lets your friends and family vote on your baby name via Facebook and other social media sources. To grab some publicity, they launched a contest to be their national "Belly Branding" winner.
"One lucky pregnant couple will win $5,000 in exchange for letting the entire world decide their baby’s name," the site proclaimed. And people actually entered. How many I'm not sure, but Hill was the winner, and after the voting, which is to take place from March 18-22, they'll be given both a boy and a girl name that they will then be expected to bestow upon their baby.
Does anyone else find this all a little ... wrong?!
I'm definitely of the belief to each his or her own when it comes to choosing a baby name (as horrifying as some choices may be), but to thousands of strangers and their own, not so much.
Hopefully people will be kind and pick something respectable, and the way the contest is designed (BellyBallot will select a list of names based on what's trending and some from advertisers, and users can vote based on those). But you never know.
More from The Stir: 24 Baby Names You'll Wish You Thought Of
I understand that times are tough, and $5,000 is a lot of money, but the thought of anyone selling the right to name their own baby is pretty depressing. I mean, if she was starving or something, that would be one thing, but Hill says she just wants to pay some bills and put some away for the kid's college education.
I suppose on one hand, it's "just" a name, and you could always use a nickname once you pocketed the cash, but still. A name is the very first thing we give our child. My children love to hear stories about why I chose their names (and argue about what which ones would have been better). I can't imagine telling them that I just let a bunch of strangers pick them.
I hope she saves some of that cash for the therapy the kid might need one day.
Would you ever sell the right to name your child?
Image via jetsandzepplins/Flickr
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Comments 15
The Mother can always change it but seriously dumb!
I think it's a great story to tell your child. Instead of the boring I named you this way to common name after your Grand daddy. What's interesting about that? It is a name with a story behind it (I mean the world bid for it) and also money for college that they'll appreciate. The only way I can see it being wrong is if it were a horrible name. Then I would just call them something different until I could change it to that.
I am not sure if I would do this myself. However, if this is what she chooses to do more power to her I guess. My son means to much to me to let a stranger pick anything about him. Good luck to mom and baby.
I would never do this but don't judge a couple that decides to do it. I do however judge women like Saturnsmom that say things like 'let my kids father' pick the names. A father has just as much right to name a baby as a mother does.
How about "My parents are total morons" Hill?
NEVER! I cherish my childrens names because I picked them out and they have special meaning to it.