Would You Name Your Child After a Fast Food Icon for Money? These Parents Did!

Choosing a name for your baby can be hard. Do you search the trendiest baby monikers? Opt for a family name? Or do you name your baby after a fast food icon so your little one can cash in for college? Forget the baby naming books because one North Carolina couple went for the college fund for their little chicken nugget.

So how did this name game start? In honor of Colonel Sanders’ birthday, the fast food restaurant KFC held a contest for any baby who is born on September 9th--the Colonel's birthday. According to the contest rules, if parents name their baby after the Colonel, their child would win $11,000 to put towards college.

Here’s the good news — the baby needed to be named Harland, which is Sanders's real name and not Colonel. Pause for sigh of relief from parents everywhere. KFC recently announced that one baby was the grand prize winner — and she's one cute chick.

Proud parents Anna Pilson and Decker Platt have introduced their KFC winner, Miss Harland Rose, who they say will go by Harley.

“I’m as pleased as pumpkin punch to announce the winner of our Baby Harland Naming Contest and the Harland who will be ushering in an all-new generation of Harlands, little Harland Rose,” KFC wrote on their social media accounts.

According to her parents, while Harland wasn’t on their short list of baby names, everything changed when Anna went into labor on September 8 and little Harland made her entrance into the world just 12 seconds after midnight — making her birthday the same as the Colonel's, September 9.

You may wonder why $11,000 was the grand prize? Turns out, it was chosen in honor of the 11 herbs and spices used on KFC chicken. The money from the contest is being put into a college fund for little Harley by KFC. Financial experts say that sum would accumulate to about $44,000 when she’s ready for school. So not only does the little one get a cool name, but also a cool start to her future.