Names like John, James and Emma are out, and monikers inspired by celebrities² and their offspring are in. 

 

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow named her children Apple and Moses, singer Beyonce gave birth to Blue Ivy³ and Kim Kardashian has a daughter called North. 

 

But what if these names aren't crazy enough for your child? What if you want something really unique? 

 

Luckily for you, a Swiss company will now come up with a truly individual name for your baby - at a cost of £21,000. 

 

Erfolgswelle has been creating names for brands and products since 2003, but branched out into naming babies after director Marc Hauser noticed a friend of his arguing with his partner. 

 

"The choice was causing tension between the couple, so he thought I could help," he told Le Matin. 

 

After helping⁴ his friend, Mr Hauser, who has worked with companies such as Nestle and Alstom, saw the business opportunity in extending the service to parents across the world. 

 

He created a team of 13 naming specialists and historians, who check numerous databases to ensure the names they come up with do not exist anywhere else. They take into account the culture and nationality of the parents and also make sure the name doesn't have a double-meaning or negative connotations in the 12 most popular languages. 

 

"We rely on culture, the origin and the desires of our customers," Mr Hauser said. "The pronunciation and spelling need to be intuitive. If a person has to repeat his name four times on the phone and no one understands it, it is a failure."

 

The whole process takes four to five weeks, hence the large fee. 

 

"It's the same work, so the same rate, as for the development of a brand name internationally."

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