What’s in a name? ~ 5 Baby Name Resources

Yay! You’re having a baby!

…. And that’s about the time to start obsessing about baby name options.

This is a big parenting responsibility! This is what this person will be called for life (usually).

So I’ve gathered my favorite-naming resources.

newborn baby on blue basket

Five Baby Naming Tools

  1. Baby Name Wizard – Put any name into the search bar and a graph evolves to show you how popular that name has been over time. You can even put a letter or two and the graph will populate all the names starting with those letters. Super fun and informative for those looking for a unique name (who isn’t?).
  2. Nymbler – If you almost love a name or two or three, but you’re not quite committed – this is the tool for you. Put in the names you love (up to six) and Nymbler will suggest 15 names that you may like based on the names you listed. You can then add names to your “favorites” or “blocked names” and click “more names” for 15 more to load.
  3. Social Security Name Listings – By searching any decade, from the 1880s, you can find what names have been popular when. You may find some surprising inspirations (Florence, Lula, Ira, or Elmer from the 1880’s, anyone?). You can also search popularity by region (in 2016 it was Ava and William in Alabama and Liam and Olivia in New York).
  4. Baby Name Genie – If you’re just starting your naming journey … say you know the baby’s last name. Enter that and let the genie make a suggestion for a first and middle name. Or if you know the middle name and need suggestions for a first name … the genie can offer suggestions. If you find the name you love, you can “test drive” the name and see it written in sentences in various contexts (like: “Thanks for calling Brown Eyed Photography! This is Sarah Vaillancourt.” or “Sarah was at the Birth Circle last night.”)
  5. Nameberry – This one is a little clunky but I love the “lists” feature for inspiration and the beta “name hunter” is fun for getting ideas and also flexible enough for you to start with inspiration names (if you have them!).

What inspired your baby’s name?

What names are on your list right now?

 

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