What’s in a name? For content creators online, an opportunity for a viral moment. A birth announcement already has the potential to drive major clicks: Toss in an out-there name and you’ve got yourself a mini news cycle.
Trisha Paytas, a longtime internet celebrity and provocateur, has had more than a few of them — as when she and her husband, Moses Hacmon, announced the names of their daughters, Malibu Barbie, born in September 2022, and Elvis, born in May 2024.
This month, the couple caused a stir again when they welcomed their son Aquaman Moses Paytas-Hacmon to the world.
Aquaman is his legal name, not a nickname, Ms. Paytas, 37, said in a phone interview.
Welcome to the age of the viral baby name, where hyperunique monikers have become increasingly popular, particularly among the social media-famous set. The last few years alone have given us Locket Romance and Poetry Lucia, born to the reality television star Francesca Farago and Jesse Sullivan; and Rumble Honey, Whimsy Lou and Slim Easy, the children of the lifestyle influencer Nara Smith and the model Lucky Blue Smith.
Ms. Paytas has cultivated a particular hype cycle around her baby name announcements. With the arrival of each child, her followers have clamored for details, posting videos trying to guess the names and reacting to the eventual reveals.
Over the past decade and a half, Ms. Paytas has become known in part for trying out different stunts and adopting new personas in a bid for attention (good or bad). She once dressed up as “Trishii,” a character Ms. Paytas said was inspired by Japanese pop stars but many viewers found to be offensive.
She has appeared on an array of reality television shows and celebrity talk shows and, these days, hosts her own podcast “Just Trish,” recently releasing an episode sponsored by the prebiotic soda brand Olipop announcing her new baby’s name.
The name of the couple’s newest addition was inspired by her husband’s love of water and the superhero film by the same name, Ms. Paytas said to The New York Times.
“We just started watching a bunch of water movies,” she added. “We watched ‘Ponyo.’ We watched ‘Waterworld.’ We watched so many. And then when we watched ‘Aquaman.’ We’re, like, Oh, this is our kid.”
(The couple has a film poster in honor of each of their children’s names in the playroom of their house, Ms. Paytas said. They just hung up Aquaman’s tribute.)
Online, the reactions to the new baby’s name have skewed harsh. Ms. Paytas said she was surprised by the vitriol her family had faced.
“People are calling it, like, child abuse,” she said. She said she came across saw one video on TikTok of someone wishing for the baby to get bullied. “The anger and the ill wishes upon, like, an actual baby that has nothing to do with them or their children was actually a little alarming.”
“Maybe because I’m postpartum, but I definitely had a few cries over it,” she added.
Emily Kim, a full-time baby name consultant who lives in Minneapolis, cited Ms. Paytas, along with Ms. Smith, the lifestyle influencer, and Ms. Farago, the reality television star, as leaders in the unorthodox name trend.
“Those are the big personalities making noise, making the biggest shift,” Ms. Kim, 34, said. Her rates start at $325 for a name consultation, which consists of a five- to seven-minute video of her personalized name suggestions.
While Aquaman may not have surprised Ms. Paytas’s longtime fans, for passive observers, including herself, Ms. Kim said the choice felt “done to be sensational.”
“I’m really curious to see the trickle-down effect,” Ms. Kim continued, wondering if Ms. Paytas and others would influence everyday couples.
Ms. Paytas said her son was part of a new wave of children with creative names; among their peers, she argued, her three children would not be out of place.
Besides, she added, Aquaman can choose to go by his middle name, Moses, when he gets older.
Madison Malone Kircher is a Times reporter covering internet culture.
The post She’s Known for Eccentric Baby Names. Meet Aquaman. appeared first on New York Times.
