How popular is the baby name Twifia in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Twifia.

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Popularity of the baby name Twifia


Posts that mention the name Twifia

Baby name story: Twifia

"18 years free internet" (Twifi's baby name offer)

A baby girl born in Graubünden, Switzerland, in either late September or early October was given the second middle name Twifia.

Why?

Because Swiss internet provider Twifi was offering 18 years of free internet to any family willing to name their baby either Twifia (if a girl) or Twifius (if a boy).

The parents wish to remain anonymous, and have not revealed the baby’s first two given names.

But the father was quoted as saying, “The longer I thought about it, the more unique the name became for me, and that was when the thing got its charm.”

And what if the company — which was launched in August, and has just four employees — goes belly-up before the baby turns 18? Twifi CEO Philippe Fotsch promised he would continue to pay for the family’s internet personally. “It’s a matter of honor.”

Sources:

Image: Screenshot of Twifi’s “18 years free internet” page

For-profit baby names

California mom-to-be Natasha Hill — the woman who was supposed to be getting $5,000 for allowing strangers to name her unborn baby via the site Belly Ballot — isn’t really pregnant. She isn’t even really named “Natasha Hill.”

Her name is Natasha Lloyd, and she’s an actress who was hired by the website’s founder to help drum up publicity.

Yep — the whole thing was a hoax. The folks at Today.com were the ones to figure it out:

When TODAY Moms first reported on the contest, some readers were incredulous; they couldn’t believe a real mom would do such a thing. Now it appears they were right.

Except…they weren’t. Several “real moms” (and dads) have indeed done such a thing. Here are all the for-profit baby names (and attempts) I know of:

*I never blogged about these three, so here are the details:

  • In 2001, Jason Black and Frances Schroeder of New York tried to auction off the name of the their third child (first son) via Yahoo and eBay. They were aiming for a corporate sponsor, so the bidding started at $500,000. No one bid. They ended up naming the baby Zane Black.
  • In 2002, Bob and Tracy Armstrong from Florida tried to auction off the name of their baby (gender unknown) via eBay. After eBay pulled the auction for the third time, they decided not to try again.
  • In 2002, Heather and Steve Johnston of Washington state tried to auction off the name of their baby boy via eBay. The bidding started at $250,000. I found no follow-up stories, so I imagine the auction was either pulled or unsuccessful.

Video games on one end, $15,000 on the other…such wildly different values placed on baby names. Kinda fascinating, isn’t it?

Sources: $5,000 online baby-name contest revealed as hoax, Mom crowdsources baby name for $5,000

Image: Adapted from $20 Federal Reserve Bank Note (1929) (public domain)

[Latest update: March 2022]