Would you let a bunch of strangers on the Internet choose your daughter's name? The answer, if you're Canadian dad Stephen McLaughlin, is apparently "yes."
McLaughlin and his wife are expecting a baby girl on April 2 and have set up a website where people can vote to choose their daughter's name.
The website, called NameMyDaughter.com, has been deluged with more than 7,000 suggestions for first and middle names, with the top choices ranked by number of votes. Perhaps surprisingly, the top vote-getters are currently Amelia and the less conventional Cthulhu.
In a casual Ask Me Anything on Reddit, McLaughlin promised the contest was not rigged and said he is excited to "have an awesome story to tell [his daughter] when she gets married."
So far, several of the couple's top choices were actually among the contest's top 10, McLaughlin noted on Reddit, adding that he was "quite surprised by how respectful people have been." (Although, the father-to-be has moderated out a handful of inappropriate suggestions.)
Some of these top suggestions currently include:
1 Cthulhu
2 Amelia
3 Megatron
4 Luna
5 Zelda
6 Laquisha
7 Streetlamp
8 Charlotte
9 Not Zelda
10 Slagathor
A software developer in Kelowna, British Columbia, McLaughlin said the idea for the contest came randomly to him one day after work.
"I came home one day and was talking to my wife about naming our daughter and said 'you know, I should ask the Internet because that's what I do for a living,'" McLaughlin told CTVNews.ca.
So what's the chance their daughter will actually be named Streetlamp Of-The-Sea McLaughlin?
If anything too crazy happens, McLaughlin has already stated that he and his wife have veto power.
"Unfortunately internet I know better than to trust you," the website states. "We will ultimately be making the final decision, Alas my daughter shall not be named WackyTaco692. Sorry guys the wife wouldn't go for a free for all."