British teen makes £50,000 by naming Chinese babies on Specialname website

A British teenager has made more than £48,000 after setting up a website which has helped 220,000 Chinese parents pick an English name for their children.

Cheltenham Ladies’ College pupil Beau Jessup, 16, set up the Specialname site using a £1,500 loan from her businessman father Paul, owner of the Great British Teddy Bear Company.

Beau, whose mother is Loose Woman panellist Lisa Maxwell, told The Times she came up with the idea after being asked for suggestions by one of her father’s Chinese business contacts, who told her some parents pick names like Gandalf or Rolex for their youngsters.

She told the paper: “They explained an English name is vital because you can’t use a Chinese name on an email or a university application to the UK. Your English name stays with you for life.”