An entrepreneurial British teen has set up her own business which offers Chinese families a suitable English name for their children. She has already recommended names for over 221,000 babies, and in doing so, has made a whopping GPB50,000 (RMB442,684).
Many Chinese people choose English names that can be a bit off-the-mark from your typical given name, such as Rain, Alien, Bambi, Bunny, Candy and Happy.
According to some, this predilection for sugary names could be a symptom of the Kawaii (Japanese for “cute”) craze that started in Japan and has spread throughout Asia. But Beau Jessup, a 16-year-old has spotted a marketing opportunity.
Beau set up specialname.cn six months ago as a website Chinese parents can go to for suggestions of ‘normal’ English names. She attributed its success to the importance of having an English name.
The website asks users to pick five attributes from a list before calculating a suitable name, supposedly based on expert knowledge. Before the user is told the name however they have to pay a fee of RMB68.
Considering she only started her site six months ago, it appears Beau has a pretty bright future ahead!
[Image via The Telegraph]
