50 Sites Every Name Nerd Needs (Besides Nameberry!)
Name nerds, enthusiasts, lovers, researchers: whatever you call yourself, you are so welcome here.
But maybe you're looking for something beyond Nameberry?
Shock! Horror!
Only kidding. We don't exist in a vacuum, and we love being part of a community of people writing and talking and creating about names of all kinds, from the broadest trends to the highly specific.
You probably already know the biggies, like Behind the Name and US Social Security, and our friends such as Appellation Mountain, Nancy's Baby Names, and British Baby Names.
Here are more name sites, accounts and tools we think you'll love. Some are entertaining, some thought-provoking, some scholarly, and all are perfect spaces if you love all things onomastic.
Baby Name Advice and Ideas
Swistle: Baby Names
The queen of sound naming advice, and her marvelous community of readers, have been answering readers' dilemmas — and the occasional fun hypothetical question — for 15 years.
Appellation Mountain
...is so much more than name advice, but helping readers is at the heart of all Abby's work. Check out the Name Help column and weekly newsletters for baby naming questions and wisdom.
Sancta Nomina
Got to love a site that does one very specific thing, and does it really well. For Sancta Nomina, that's Catholic baby names, including some amazingly detailed name consultations.
Syzygy.blue
A blog with fascinating lists, musings, and (my favorite) interviews with parents on how they chose their children's names.
The Well-Informed Namer
A recently(ish)-updated blog with fun, detailed posts including deep dives into underused names, and interesting categories like isogram names.
Cool Tools, Charts, and Graphics
Popular names over time
Nancy’s Baby Names is a go-to for graphs of every baby name that’s ever ranked in the US data (among other things!)
And there are equivalents for England and Wales, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, and France. Do you know any more?
Flourish
Data visualization site that has been used to make some really fun tools and graphics with names, including New Jersey, New Zealand, and England from 1840-2013. It's got loads of potential if you want to make your own!
Pronunciation
Forvo is a go-to for authentic pronunciations, not only of names but all kinds of words, and can save much head-scratching and embarrassment about names you've only seen written down.
You can also post voice recordings in our forums — like these gorgeous lists of Spanish names spoken by reader Leafygreens — so if you feel inspired to share how you say names, we'd love to hear.
Maps
Got to love a good map. The Namerology ultimate map is the best interactive tool for the States. Others we love include the most popular names in every state (up to 2014), and the top gender-neutral names.
Guessing Names Based On What They Start With
Add your birth decade, start typing, and see how accurate it is — just one of many interesting name graphics from FlowingData.
What Would Your Name Be If You Were Born Today?
Tell it your name, and it'll tell you — popularity-wise — what the modern (2019) equivalent is.
Name Madness and Name Age Calculator
An addictive game and a fun data tool: both fun rabbit holes to fall down over at Namerology.
MixedName
Need a name that works in two languages? This is a good place to start, though you may need to double check how the name goes down in each culture.
Name Blender
Mostly for fun... but maybe for real? Enter two names you want to combine, and it will give you some smoosh ideas.
Podcasts
The Baby Names Podcast
Sisters Jennifer and Mallory of babynames.com discuss all things namey, from celebrity baby names to deep etymology dives.
The Name Mentor
Our sister in naming Alix (also the very first baby name account on Instagram) takes a calm, holistic look at names, and what they reflect about ourselves, our lives and relationships.
Baby Name Envy
Fun chats between British name consultant SJ Strum and her late sister Naomi, addressing listeners' baby name dramas and dilemmas.
No Shame In My Name
In each episode, a guest brings their name for discussion, opening up fascinating stories of the many meanings names can have. The guests come from a vast range of cultures, especially from West Africa.
Our editors have also guested on other podcasts — last year, Sophie was on The Zen(ish) Mommy chatting about name trends for 2023.
YouTube
Baby Name Sunday
Every week, a list packed with cool, unusual and creative inspiration, delivered with high energy!
SJ Strum
SJ (also the podcaster behind Baby Name Envy) shares stylish, inspiring name suggestions. We especially love the aesthetic lists like "Goth Glam" and "Main Character Energy".
Name Explain
Patrick does exactly what his channel name suggests, and much more, with a big dose of British humor. A must-watch if you love first names, last names, place names, or words generally.
Historical Names
FamilySearch Research Wiki
A huge collection of articles about naming practices in different time periods, and all around the world.
Modern Records
Records and documents are a great place to find real names, and there are plenty of free (or partly free) databases around, such as Ancestry.com’s Birth, Marriage and Death records and the Social Security Death Index. Newspaper announcements are a great source too — for example, the London Telegraph birth announcements are a treat for Britophiles.
The Strangest Names in American Political History
Another site that does one specific thing incredibly well. Andy finds American public figures with unusual names, and writes impeccably-researched biographies. It started over 12 years ago with Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, and is going strong hundreds of posts later, most recently with Leeman Brackett Wormhood.
Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (DMNES)
A vast, thoroughly-researched database working towards including “all given… names recorded in European sources written between 500 and 1600”.
Medieval Names Archive, and Society for Creative Anachronism
Hubs for name lists and resources from various countries and time periods.
Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae
Your go-to for obscure Irish saints’ names.
Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, and Celtic Personal Names of Roman Britain
Two databases that are more technical, but very authentic.
International Names
Some of our favorite currently active sites for names in languages other than English include:
Beliebte Vornamen (German)
Beyond Sakura and Hiroshi (Japanese)
Nomes e Mais Nomes (Portuguese)
Nordic Names (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands)
Name Research News
American Name Society
The go-to site for serious study of names of all kinds, and namey news from around the internet.
e-Onomastics
More international in focus, Evgeny keeps us up to date with all the latest in name studies around the world.
So many names, so much fascinating content. But there's always more that could be said, and many gaps to fill. For example, we'd love to hear more on-the-ground name stories from our friends in Canada and Australia. If you can recommend a great site, yours or someone else's, we'd love to hear from you.