Baby Name Consultant Admits She Stole Her Cousin's Dream Baby Name — for Her Family's New Dog (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

A TikToker obsessed with names broke a major name rule in a hilarious accident.

“My mom was rescuing a dog, who would join our family dog. Her name is Olive and I was trying to think of a name that worked perfectly with Olive. The new dog is this gorgeous little white dog, and I was like, ‘Oh, she has to be Pearl,’ " Jessie tells PEOPLE.

“My mom was like, ‘You’re so right, 100%, she’s Pearl.’ I was helping her take care of the dog and the more time I spent with her, the more I was like, ‘Her name is Pearl, no doubt.’ "

The cute name was a fit for the dog, but it wasn’t until they introduced her at a family gathering that Jessie realized where she’d heard the name before.

“It came time for my son’s first birthday that my mom was hosting. And my whole family walked in and we were very excited for them to meet Pearl. And right as it flew out of my mouth, I looked and made eye contact with my cousin and her jaw was just on the floor.”

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Jessie’s cousin asked if she was kidding, and confirmed the suspicion that Jessie was the one to suggest they named the dog Pearl.

“Her partner actually was like, ‘Oh thank God, I did not want that name to be on our list. Thank you for taking it out of the running.’ And I was like, ‘No it’s not out of the running! You could still use it.’ "

And if she was still passionate about the name, Jessie says her family would support her cousin in using it.

“We honestly have the kind of family that if she truly wanted to use it, we would all just laugh and move on. I don’t think anyone would question it much.”

Jessie was so surprised to see how many people felt she did something that really overstepped.

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Jessie continued, “I said, ‘I would think it was funny and I would make them take pictures together and wear matching sweaters and stuff.’ I just think that speaks more to our sense of humor as a family. She definitely was not bothered. I waited until the dust fully settled to even post it, just in case there was some underlying feelings that maybe hadn’t come out immediately. She thinks its funny. There are definitely no actual hard feelings.”

That said, her cousin will be surprised to learn about their TikTok viral moment, as she’s not on the platform herself. “I have to tell her I posted it and that people were actually mad, because she’s going to think it’s so funny.”

Stock image of infant’s diaper being changed.Getty

For the year ahead, Jessie things we’ll continue to see “nursey or nursing home names.”

“We’re loving giving babies ‘old people’ names. I think it’s just the most like long-standing trend of late. I wouldn’t expect those to go anywhere,” she shares. “Other ones that I’m really seeing are Soren for a boy and other softer boy names. I think that’s one that’s really going to stand the test of time.”

“We have all of the ‘El’ girl names. We love Ellie. Everyone wants their daughter to be named Ellie with some unique formal name, so we have the Eliana takeover, the Eleanors. We also love the food names, like Olive and Clementine and sort of those like kitschy, fun, vintage names.”

This recent viral moment has made it clear to Jessie that conversations around naming are changing — and there’s a rule set being formed in the process.

source: people.com