Find a baby name with a story behind it
5,183 names with honest meanings, their roots in 40-odd languages, and 145 years of real US birth records, so you know whether a name is rising, fading or about to be everywhere.
This week's shortlist
Seven names that change every Monday, picked from well-documented names that are in use but not overused.
Every name has a life story
Names rise, peak and fade like fashions, and a few make a comeback a century later. Pick a name and drag across the chart to see how many US babies in every million received it each year since 1880.
What to notice: one of the sharpest spikes in the records: a rocket in the late 1940s, then a long slide.
Why your child probably won't share a name in class
In the 1950s a handful of names covered a huge share of babies. Today parents spread across thousands of names, so even the most popular choice is rarer than it looks.
1950: the ten most popular boy names went to 33.8% of boys, about 1 in 3.
Each tag is 2.5% of babies born that year; saffron tags got a top-10 name.
Source: US Social Security Administration national baby-name files, 1880–2024.
Luna and Selene both mean the Moon, a namesake that never looks the same two nights running; ahaboo has a narrated explainer on why it cycles through those phases.
Tools for the naming conversation
Questions expecting parents ask
How many names are on NameRealm?
NameRealm covers 5,183 names: every name given to at least 100 US babies in 2024 plus the 4,000 most-used names since 1880. Behind them sit more than 100,000 distinct names in the Social Security records, which we use for popularity counts.
Where do the meanings come from?
Meanings are the literal sense of each name's root words, drawn from standard etymological knowledge. Disputed or unknown origins are marked as uncertain rather than dressed up.
How does the daily name work?
Each day your browser picks one name from a pool of well-documented names that are in use but not in the top ranks. Everyone sees the same name on the same date.
Can I save names?
Yes. Tap the heart on any name to add it to your shortlist. It is stored only in this browser, and you can clear it at any time.