British teen names over 200,000 Chinese babies

Chinese parents are paying for English names for their babies.
(Image credit: iStockphoto)

A 16-year-old British student has made over $60,000 helping Chinese parents give their babies English names, the BBC reports. Beau Jessup was visiting China when her friends there asked her to name their baby, which gave her the idea for her website; in China, babies often get an "English" name for studying or doing business abroad when they grow older.

But for many Chinese families, picking a name is difficult, especially because they don't have access to many English baby-name websites. "These names that we would see [as] 'stripper' names [are given to] really smart young women. So, I've heard a lot of people laughing about the 'Candy' and the 'Cherry' ... 'Sapphire,' 'Twinkle,'" Lindsay Jernigan, who started her own similar naming service, explained to NPR in 2015.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.