Choosing your baby’s name is serious business. You want one that will be meaningful but not cheesy, unique but not weird, and cool but not a passing fad. No pressure, right?
Well, here are 2 of the best baby naming websites that were huge helps to us when we were choosing names for our kids. These sites provide insight into how names are perceived, famous (or infamous) people with the same name, and all the data you could hope for on name popularity.
Once you’re armed with these baby naming websites, you’ll have that perfect name picked in no time. But, one more BTDT tip from us: Go ahead and keep it a secret until your baby arrives, because there’s nothing worse than second guessing your perfect name choice.
Related: 10 of the best apps for new moms and parents
Baby Name Wizard
For true data nerds, Baby Name Wizard is bliss. There are more searchable charts and graphs showing the popularity of names over the last century than you could ever get through, even on those sleepless 9-months-pregnant nights. In addition to the expected info like name meaning and nickname options, they even share their reader’s opinions on how smart, friendly, strong, sophisticated, (and more) the name sounds.
My favorite feature, however, is their Name Matchmaker. Answer a few questions about your name preferences (including a few favorite names), and their algorithm will recommend other names you’ll love. It’s worked for me every time.
Related: A cool baby book app to keep you from annoying everyone on Facebook
Nameberry
I love the thoughtful analysis that you get for each name on Nameberry. They cover what makes the name special, what problems you might encounter with it, and how it’s risen or declined in popularity over the past week. (For example: the name Hillary, which means “happy,” is up 250% this week, thanks to the Democratic National Convention, no doubt.) And there are tons of forums where you can post your naming conundrums and get feedback from other parents.
Of course, they have lists with all the most popular names, newest names, and even celebrity baby names (in case you care about that). Also, great lists of names by type, like cool, classic, international, and even nature. Their cool Namehunter feature (above) lets you enter names for inspiration (I used my kids’ names) and it will recommend other names you might like, although I feel like Baby Name Wizard gets a little closer to matching my preferences correctly.
