'I am a gravestone baby.' The parents looking for baby name inspiration in cemeteries.

It's 2024 and the baby name stakes have never been higher, apparently. 

In fact, so intense is the pressure to find a 'perfect' moniker for a baby, parents are going to great lengths in their hunt to find a name for their new arrivals.

There are now hundreds of TikTok accounts dedicated to unearthing 'unique' name suggestions, the annual Nameberry list of popular new baby names is met with much anticipation, and people are searching the far corners of the earth to find the right fit.

They're looking far and wide and deep, deep down. As in, six feet under.

Influencer Haley Hodge has recently raised a few eyebrows after sharing her unconventional tips for finding baby name inspiration. In a video shared to TikTok, the pregnant mother showed off an expedition she went on with her family to a North Carolina cemetery.

Turns out she was visiting the dearly departed to try to find the perfect name for her impending baby.

@hodgehouse Fun fact: My sister came from someones gravestone 🤍 #babynames #southport #love #fyp #viral #weird #graveyard ♬ Beautiful Memories - Lux-Inspira

"When cemeteries hold the prettiest names, so you take the family to look for baby girl's name," she wrote in the caption for the video.

As she wandered around the cemetery, Hodge began noting many of the names engraved on the gravestones and offered commentary on whether they might be a good fit for her unborn baby.

She also added that her sister had been named after their parents spotted it on a gravestone — so, the tradition clearly runs in the family.

Since Hodge posted the video, it has been viewed a whopping 2.7 million times and has garnered quite an interesting mix of responses in the comments section. On the one hand, quite a few people seem to find her decision to go name-hunting in a cemetery a little... on the nose.

"This is so creepy," wrote one.

"I couldn't do this it would freak me out," someone else commented.

"Rigor mortis sounds kinda cute," joked another.

"Omg not on my alive body," wrote another. "I'm too superstitious."

But if you can look past the spooky connotations that are sometimes attached to graveyards, it turns out a lot of people really loved the idea. Many thought it was a really special way to keep the memories of these people moving into future generations.

"How beautiful must it be for some of these souls to hear their name spoken again after so many years," wrote one person.

"I like the idea of carrying on the name of someone gone," commented another.

"You're basically giving those names a life again," said another TikTok user.

A lot of people in the comments section agreed that this was a great idea and said they would do the same for their baby or had in fact already chosen names for heir own kids that way.

"This is exactly how we found our sweet boy's name," wrote one.

In the end, Hodge and her husband did find on a name for their unborn daughter and decided to share the news with their (clearly invested) followers on TikTok.

@hodgehouse Replying to @babycenter Now to decide on the final middle name to go with it...🥰 #reveal #gravestone #graveyard #mom #babygirl #fyp #viral #love #honor #rememberme #julybaby #pregnancyjourney #pregnant #3under3 #2under2 ♬ original sound - ✨ Hodge Fam ✨

After visiting local cemeteries they went with the name 'Salem', taken from the gravestone of US coast guard Salem Dickson Rankin, who passed away in 1992.

In a more recent video shared to TikTok, Hodge can be seen visiting the former Salem's gravesite and placing flowers where he rests. She included a caption saying that he will be an "honorary grandpa" to their little Salem when she arrives.

After the original video garnered such attention, Hodge told PEOPLE she isn't bothered by some of the comments that are against her approach to finding her baby's name. "I just saw it as, I'm going to the place where people's grandparents are, their best friends, loved ones. I don't see it as a place of evil," she told the magazine. 

"These are people who lived lives, and hopefully good lives and were good people."

Feature Image: Canva.