Like other Indonesian babies named after famous companies and products before him, baby Google — named so because his parents wanted him to be as useful as the world’s most popular search engine — has received freebies from the tech giant.
The Google news (geddit?) reached Google’s Indonesia office after it went viral last week. Today, Instagram gossip account @lambe_turah shared a post from baby Google’s Instagram account showing the infant photographed with several goodies sent by the tech giant’s Indonesia office.
“There are several items inside [the box], such as a token of appreciation and souvenirs for baby Google. One of them is the blue jumpsuit worn by baby Google in the photo,” Google’s mother, Ella Karina told Kompas on Monday.
However, Ella declined to mention the gifts in detail. She said the present was sent by a motorcycle taxi driver to their home in Bekasi Regency in West Java. As soon as they received the package, Google Indonesia contacted Google’s father, Andi Cahya Saputra, to send their well wishes for the 7-month old baby.
“Google [Indonesia] congratulated us and prayed so that baby Google will become a useful person for others and that he can help many people in the future,” Ella continued.
Andi previously said the idea to give his child a tech-inspired name first crossed his mind when Ella was seven months pregnant, but he wasn’t able to decide from his list of tech names — which also included Microsoft, iPhone, iOs, Windows, among others — for his baby boy until right before his son was born on November 30, 2018.
Andi’s family understandably had reservations about the name Google — even Ella only answered “baby boy” if someone asked her what their newborn baby’s name was for his first three months. Some people even went as far as to accuse Andi and Ella for exploiting their newborn for fame or, indeed, gifts from the tech giant.
Fast forward to today, Ella says the name has grown on people, including her.
“We are really thankful to Google for their appreciation. So, there’s a pleasure [for getting the attention]. [We are] more confident [about the name],” Ella said.
Google has joined a list of Indonesian babies with unusual names, who, thanks to their viral fame, received gifts from the companies and products they were named after, such as Go-Pay and Pajero Sport — presumably because they provided plenty of free viral marketing for them.
