Woman defends decision to let Internet name her baby for $5000

LOS ANGELES — A pregnant woman who was given $5,000 to let Internet users chose the name of her baby is defending her decision.

Natasha Hill, 26, won a contest sponsored by the baby naming website Belly Ballot.

"Especially now with people all around me trying to pay their mortgages and get by, I have $5,000 I can put towards my baby’s future, and $5,000 makes a difference in my life," Hill, a children’s art teacher in Los Angeles, told TODAY Moms.

"Here’s the chance for me to do something really positive for my unborn son or daughter."

The baby, due in September, will have their name chosen from a list of five possible girl names and five possible boy names, website owner Lacey Moler told NBC.

The names were chosen by Moler, her staff and several advertisers who provided the prize money, Moler said.

There will be rules, however. No product names or anything that's "too crazy."

Hill told TODAY that she doesn't get why people are so shocked at her decision to let strangers name her baby. 

"Strangers, after all, wrote all those baby naming books," that a lot of parents use, she said. "Just opening one up and picking something you like with your finger" is also a pretty random way to decide on a name for your child.

Hill even joked that the baby might get a more "reasonable" name if strangers choose it rather than she and her boyfriend.

She told the Huffington Post that so far her favorites are Keturah for a girl and Winter for a boy.