19-year-old earns millions by naming over 677,000 Chinese babies
She has named more than 677,900 babies so far racking up her estimated revenues over US$400,000.
(Web Desk) – A 19-years-old British teenage girl, Beau Jessup, made hundreds of thousands of bucks by naming Chinese babies to fund herself through college.
Beau designed a website, Special Name, to provide Chinese parents with culturally appropriate English names for the Chinese babies.
She started the business in 2015 and made US$60,000 by the end of next six months by naming over 200,000 babies.
She has named more than 677,900 babies so far racking up her estimated revenues over US$400,000.
The young entrepreneur said that it was just a “chance encounter”.
A total name changer
At the time, Jessup was traveling with her father in China, when one of his business associates, a Mrs. Wang, asked for help in naming her three-year-old daughter.
“I was honored and surprised,” said Jessup. “It seemed like a really important thing to do.”
Wanting to choose an “appropriate” name, Jessup asked Wang to share a little more about her hopes for her daughter. Most of all, said Wang, she wanted people to be surprised by the things her daughter could achieve. So, after careful thought, Jessup suggested “Eliza,” inspired by the fictionalized heroine from “My Fair Lady,” Eliza Doolittle.
Wang was “delighted,” said Jessup, and went on to explain the significance for Chinese people of having an English name.
In China, all babies are given a Chinese name consisting of two to three characters with a carefully constructed meaning. However, many Chinese people find it easier to interact with native English-speakers if they also have a Western name.
Traditionally, those names would be self-assigned or given by teachers. But, due to language barriers and internet censorship in China, the ability to research them can be limited, often resulting in unfortunate and sometimes comical selections, Jessup noted, highlighting examples like “Rolex Wang” and “Gandalf Wu”.
“It occurred to me that if Mrs. Wang needed this service, then maybe other parents would as well,” said Jessup.
2015 marked the end of China’s decades-long “one-child policy,” which limited many families to just one child.
By 2016, the country’s birthrate rose 7.9 percent to 17.86 million, according to China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission.
“I thought it might be profitable to help,” said Jessup.
And so, Special Name was born.
