Looking back, it makes beautiful sense that Erin Aagesen would become a baby name consultant.
“I always secretly loved names, even as a kid,” she says. “I would read name books, write stories, look up name meanings, match characters and time periods. I was also really into poetry. Poetry packs so much meaning in a small space, and names are like that to me.”
As an adult, Erin’s passion has been using language to help people make informed decisions. After earning a bachelor’s degree in English literature and two master’s degrees, in public health and life sciences communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Erin embarked on a career in health communications, where she helped people make decisions about their health. She learned how to present complex data in simple ways, and how to help people balance facts and personal values.
When she and her husband Brett were expecting the first of their two children, Erin had her first eureka moment about applying these skills to names. She realized the challenge of selecting a baby name that felt just right for both parents, and that reflected each of their styles, values and family history.
“There was a ton of name information online, but the way it was presented did not make the decision easier,” says Erin. “There were a lot of one-dimensional lists out there, but that didn’t solve the problem of how to agree to a name.”
As she observed friends and neighbors struggling, too, she realized that her skills in facilitation, research and linguistics could be applied to this realm.
“Friends would tell me they’re stuck and I’d text them a list of names to consider,” she says. “They would text back, ‘Hubby doesn’t like. He had someone in his kindergarten class with that name.’ So, we’d go back and forth until I honed in on what they were looking for.”
As she got closer to the couples, Erin realized what a real source of stress the name decision was. Mothers in particular were losing sleep over this decision and spending many hours of their personal time researching names, when they were supposed to be resting.
“The public health side of me said: Wait, selecting a name is a legit source of stress for expecting mothers and nobody is acknowledging it,” says Erin. “I asked myself, how can I take the pressure off? How can I make this easier and more joyful? I know what it is like to feel overwhelmed by the number of important decisions in pregnancy and motherhood, and I want to help others through this.”
Erin officially launched her baby name consulting business, Pearl & Lark, in early 2022 and has since guided parents through a process that helps simplify the decision and relieve stress for the couple.
She begins with a consultation. Erin gets to know the parents and what’s most important to them, and then she develops a list of ten to twelve names for them to consider. After receiving their feedback, Erin continues to refine the names until they settle in on three names they love — all of which she has researched and vetted.
Through the process, Erin uses not only knowledge of names and language, but also literary concepts and poetic techniques to help parents find a name that sings.
Some parents take the final names and wait until they meet their baby to make the big decision. Others just know when they’ve landed on the right name.
“You can tell when that click happens,” Erin says. “There’s a lightness.”
It helps that Erin is there along the way to offer expertise and advice — but never an agenda.
“Pick what you love — whether it is a traditional family name, a rare name not everyone can pronounce or simply a name you find beautiful,” she says. “If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the biggest trend of all is living in alignment with your values. That’s the ‘trend’ I’d advocate for with baby names, too.”
– Katie Vaughn
Photos by Dutcher Photography.
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.