Optimizer

Parents often choose a name that starts with the same letter as a sibling or other family member. This can lend some extra significance to a name. However, it may become a nuisance when initialing family belongings!

Some starting letters far out way the competition for popularity these days. In the top 100 names of the decade, “J” has been by far the most popular starting letter for boy’s names, followed by “A”, and then “C”.

Girls have less of a spread in their most popular beginning letters, but “A” tops the list, followed by “M” and “S”.

There is no doubt that there are some popular choices for letters to end a name with, and these differ greatly between boys and girls.

Most popular boys names tend to end with strong consonants (i.e. “n”, “r”, “t”, “d” “b”). Especially popular with boy’s names are “en” and “er” ending sounds.

Girl’s names seem to prefer softer vowel endings that have a more feminine sound, such as “y”, “ie”, and “a”.

Short names tend to have a more casual sound to them and have what many people feel is an advantage, because they cannot be shortened.

Long names can sound very dignified and more formal, and people often like them because they provide a person with two name alternatives—the full name and a less formal nickname. I.E. Kate and Kathryn.

It has been suggested that long first names suit short last names and visa versa.

Many people like 1 and 2 syllable names because they are difficult to shorten into a nickname. On the other hand, as many people prefer 3 or more syllables as these names seem to be more formal and complex.

You might want to consider a 1 syllable name if your surname has 3 or more syllables. Also, a name with several syllable goes nicely with a single syllable surname.

We have used the Social Security Administration of the United States list of “Popular Baby Names By the Decade—2000 through 2005” to define our various Popularity choices as follows;

Top 100—the top 100 names on the above list
Popular—names 101 to 500
Less Popular—names 501 to 1000
Unusual—names ranked over 1001 in popularity.

*Note: There are 8000 names in our database therefore over 80% of names will be "Unusual".

Traditional—Good, old-fashioned names that have been around for generations. Though many of them have been out of vogue for some time, it appears that a good number of them are starting to make a comeback.

Timeless—Traditional names that have remained popular year after year. You’ll find most of these names in the Top 100 or Popular category.

Modern/trendy—Utilizing today’s hottest trends, such as invention, creative spelling, unisex names, surnames, brand names, and inspirational names.

Exotic—Over 1000 names that have been hand-picked as our favorites from around the world. Mostly unfamiliar names from other ethnicities that sound romantic, appealing, and have special meanings or positive attributes.

Way Out—Names that are striking for their creativity, uniqueness and/or extremely unusual quality. This includes over 250 names that havn't made the American or International Top 1000 list since 1989.

Other—Great names that do not fit into the above categories but would make wonderful choices. Don't miss out on this category where you just may find your perfect baby name!

The more popular names tend to originate from our ancient European ancestors and can be found in the ethnicity categories of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French and Italian.

Somewhat less Popular names seem to have added other European ethnicities to their ranks, such as Spanish, Scandinavian, Norse, and Russian.

If you are looking for very unusual names, you should try some of the non-European ethnicity categories.

It's recommended that you try several searches indicating a number of different ethnicity preferences. You may be surprised that many names that are thought to be English or American have actually originated elsewhere i.e. Greek, Teutonic, or German.

Biblical—From the Old or New Testament, these names run the gamut from Top 100 to Unusual.

Buddist Zen—Inspirational names, usually describing positive personality traits. Given to people by Buddist monks. From

Mythology—Names from various mythological origins including Greek, Roman, Norse, Irish, and Scandinavian.

From Shakespeare—Names from William Shakespeare’s plays. Almost all are European.

Hebrew—A Semitic language spoken by people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. This category includes many (but not all) names that have religious affiliations.

Latin—An ancient language originally spoken in the geographical area surrounding Rome. This category includes many beautiful, Unusual names.

Muslim—Names that are significant in the Islamic faith. Most of these are Unusual.

Saints—Names of individuals who have achieved Sainthood. Includes many Irish, Latin, Italian, and English names.

Sanskrit—A classical language of India and Hinduism. This category includes many Unusual names.

Teutonic—A language originating from peoples of Northern Europe, including Germans, Celts, and Romans. This category includes many Unusual names.

Celebrity Babies—Includes the best of the unique, innovative, and great sounding names given by celebrities to their babies in recent years.

Feminine Associated—Undeniably feminine names both in sound and meaning. Include meanings such as powerful, beautiful, feminine, intelligent, and leader, that reflect positively on the female of today.

Masculine Associated—Firmly trenched in the male territory, these are names a guy will proudly carry. Include meanings that reflect manly qualities such as strength, defender/protector, and greatness. They are reliable, sturdy and often classical in nature.

Spiritual—Inspirational names that have uplifting meanings. These names reflect spirituality in both sound and meaning.

Place Name—The name of a town, country, river, etc… These are often unisex and are emerging as a naming trend. They are also popular as middle names. These names combine originality and may signify a locale that is important to parents or their ancestory.