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Could These Baby Names Really Make Your Kid a Billionaire?

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SheKnows
Updated: 10/5/2019
Just when we thought we’d seen every baby name list out there, along came a new one, promising fortune and Forbes — if not fame — to the lucky infants bestowed with its money-making monikers. Yes, folks, HushHush.com, which bills itself as “an exclusive online marketplace serving some of the world’s wealthiest consumers” shared with us commonfolk its top 10 baby names bound to make your newborn a future billionaire.
How did they come up with this priceless data, you’re surely wondering? (We were.) Well, HushHush did a deep dive into its internal data, as well as public data such as the Sunday Times Rich List (oh, yes, it’s a thing), to figure out exactly which names popped up most frequently in billionaire circles. They’d already done the same thing to uncover the most likely names for future millionaires.

Do we think their research methods are on point? Welp, let’s just say we’re in the camp of those who believe that baby-naming is an art, rather than an exact science. And you know who else is in our camp? Pamela Redmond Satran, co-founder and CEO of Nameberry.com, the authority on baby names. Redmond Satran is our go-to guru when it comes to all things in this department, so we asked her what she thought about names predicting future fortune.

“As a name expert and a parent, I find these kinds of studies irresistible: Most of us choose names we think will confer whatever qualities we most value on our children, whether that’s wealth, beauty, intelligence, or style,” Redmond Satran confided. “But the connection between names and money is as various as the ways people become rich. A name favored by the upper classes — an example here would be Ottilie — might indicate someone with inherited money and rich friends and family willing to finance business projects.”

She continued, “Eleanor is a name often chosen by feminist parents who value intelligence and seriousness over beauty — Eleanor Roosevelt is a common inspiration for choosing this name — which may make their daughters more successful in business. Other names such as Bill or James are so ubiquitous I don’t think you can infer any connection.”

Tea. But Aaron Harpin, HushHush.com founder, is confident his names will give kids a leg (and maybe a yacht) up: “As a parent, you want to give your child the best life possible, and wealth is a factor which comes into that. We hope this list will give mums- and dads-to-be some inspiration for names which can also set their children up for the best life possible, becoming a billionaire.” Dang. Who knew it was that easy?

So if you’re intrigued by the thought of raising the next baby Bill Gates or Jennifer Lopez, here’s the 411 from HushHush so you can decide if you want to name from one of its earlier millionaire name pools (there seem to be several in play) — or its new billionaire list.

Want a millionaire? Try one of these top 10 millionaire names for boys:

  1. Billy (Gates would approve)
  2. Max (Brief, and packs a punch, like a good Powerpoint presentation)
  3. Felix (Whoa, curveball there)
  4. Alexander (Sounds like old money, but his style is au courant)
  5. James (Definitely not a Jimbo)

And here are the top 10 millionaire names for girls:

  1. Eleanor (Not sure what Eleanor Roosevelt would say about that)
  2. Ottilie (Another curveball)
  3. Sophia (Elegant, at ease at any European soiree)
  4. Isabella (Never Izzy)
  5. Eve (The name version of a good handshake)

Ready to level up? Here are the 2019 top 10 billionaire names for boys:

  1. John/Jonathan/Jonny
  2. David/Dave
  3. Thomas/Tommy/Tom
  4. Wang
  5. Bill/Billy
  6. Charles/Charlie
  7. Michael/Mike/Mikey
  8. Robert/Robbie
  9. Mohammed
  10. Jim/Jimmy
So, basically… the breakdown is roughly that of any (mostly white dudes) USC frat house, it seems like.

Here are the 2019 top 10 billionaire names for girls:

  1. Marie/Maria/Mary
  2. Judy/Judith
  3. Sofia/Sofie
  4. Ann/Anna/Annie
  5. Victoria/Vicky/Tori
  6. Elizabeth/Beth/Lizzie
  7. Abigail/Abby/Abbie
  8. Kim
  9. MacKenzie
  10. Kirsten
With the exception of Mary and Judith, who seem to have wandered in from another era with their satin clutches full of cash, this could also be a sorority house. Or a (again, very white) Girl Scouts chapter roster. Don’t mind us, but we like our names more diverse, more bold, and more meaningful. Money talks, but maybe not so much when it comes to naming your precious newborn.

In conclusion: We’re thinking any name you choose for your baby is priceless — as long as it’s priceless to you.

— Jennifer Mattern

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This story originally appeared on SheKnows.

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