Dutton
“hill”
97% boys · 3% girls
Find a name that fits your family.
Tell the Finder your traditions, the names of any brothers or sisters, and the people you’d like to honor. It explains every name it suggests.
Open the FinderLook up a name
Its meaning and origin, how its use has changed, and its cousins in other languages.
Try
One family’s search
A real example
- In memory of
- Great-grandpa Samuel
- Living
- Grandma Ruth
- Big sister
- Clara
- Tradition
- Ashkenazi
What it suggested
- SamuelCarries Great-grandpa Samuel’s name
- SamA form of Samuel, honoring Great-grandpa Samuel
- SammyA form of Samuel, honoring Great-grandpa Samuel
- ShmuelA form of Samuel, honoring Great-grandpa Samuel
Why we built this
Many name sites stop at about one hundred thousand.
The U.S. Social Security list is a wonderful record of American births: 105,000+ spellings since 1880. We started there, then gathered historical dictionaries, reference works and naming traditions from around the world.
Over 2.6 million names in all — about 25 times more, each linked to its spellings, nicknames and cousins in other languages.
Jerald is a form of Gerald. One German interpretation is “one who rules with the spear.”
Jerald is used as a form of Gerald.
- Origin
- English
- Peak year
- 1942
- Popularity
- 25 Rare
- Since 1880
Traditions
Naming is rarely just about a sound.
Families bring customs, faith and memory to the choice. The Finder is built to understand them — and to leave the final word with you.
Ashkenazi Jewish
Honoring those who came before
Many Ashkenazi families name a child for a relative who has died, and avoid the names of the living. Some carry only the first letter or sound forward, so a great-grandfather Samuel might inspire a Simon or a Sadie.
Honor relatives who have died, and set aside the names of the living. Try it in the Finder: Ashkenazi Jewish
Scottish
Grandparents in a set order
For generations many Scottish families named children in a fixed order, so a family’s names could be read like a tree: the grandparents first, then the parents.
Sons for the father’s father, the mother’s father, then the father; daughters for the mother’s mother, the father’s mother, then the mother. Try it in the Finder: Scottish
Akan (Ghana)
Named for the day you arrived
Every Akan child carries a day name for the weekday of their birth: a boy born on Saturday may be Kwame, a girl born on Friday, Afua. Other names mark birth order (Manu, Mensah, Nsia) and the circumstances of birth, like Atta for twins.
Every child carries the name of the weekday they were born. Try it in the Finder: Akan (Ghana)
Hindu
A sound chosen by the stars
At the Namakarana, many Hindu families look to the child’s birth star, the nakshatra where the moon stood at birth. Each of the 27 nakshatras has four quarters (padas), and each pada gives a syllable the name may begin with.
Begin with a syllable of the child’s nakshatra, as in the Namakarana. Try it in the Finder: Hindu
Greek
Grandparents first, and a name day
A first son is expected to carry his paternal grandfather’s name and a first daughter her paternal grandmother’s, with the maternal grandparents next. The name belongs to an Orthodox saint, whose feast becomes the child’s name day, often celebrated more than the birthday.
The paternal grandparents first, then the maternal. Try it in the Finder: Greek
Korean
Dollimja: the shared syllable
Korean siblings and cousins traditionally share one syllable of their given names, the dollimja, which alternates position from one generation to the next.
Siblings share one syllable, like a Korean dollimja or Chinese generation name. Try it in the Finder: Korean
Yoruba (Nigeria)
Names that arrive with the child
Oruko amutorunwa, names “brought from heaven,” are given by the way a child arrives: Taiwo and Kehinde for twins, Idowu for the child after twins, Ige for a baby born feet first, Dada for thick curly hair. Family names (oruko abiso) are given on the eighth day.
Oruko amutorunwa: names the manner of birth gives, like Taiwo and Kehinde for twins. Try it in the Finder: Yoruba (Nigeria)
Catholic
A saint for every child
Many Catholic families choose a saint’s name, sometimes the saint whose feast falls on the birthday, and celebrate that feast as a name day. Godparents’ names and Marian names (Maria as a first or middle name) are common threads.
Names carried by saints and biblical figures. Try it in the Finder: Catholic
Wander
Start from a feeling, a place, or an era.
- LightDawn, stars, flame and brightnessLuca, Eleanor, Lucy, Nora
- StrengthBravery, might and steadfastnessHenry, Wyatt, Charles, Madison
- PeaceCalm, rest and gentlenessNoah, Olivia, Axel, Adeline
- LoveBeloved, dear and cherishedDavid, Kayden, Dakota, Alana
- WisdomCounsel, knowledge and insightSophia, Sofia, Avery, Sophie
- JoyGladness, laughter and good fortuneAsher, Bennett, Isaac, Tatum
- GraceFavor, mercy and kindnessJack, John, Miles, Gianna
- NatureRivers, trees, flowers and seaOliver, Olivia, Hudson, Violet
Old English · Modern Modern Ailany
“woman who holds rank as high chief”
>99% girls
Arabic · Modern Adhara
>99% girls
Modern Chozyn
68% boys · 32% girls
Modern Wrenleigh
>99% girls
Modern Wrenlee
>99% girls
Modern Annya
>99% girls
Modern Chozen
87% boys · 13% girls
Modern Analeia
>99% girls
Modern Ailanny
>99% girls
Modern Wrenley
2% boys · 98% girls
Persian · Royal Amiri
“a prince” · “from the treetop”
65% boys · 35% girls
Greek · Royal Eleanor
“shining light”
>99% girls
English · Royal Nora
“a man from the north” · “shining light”
>99% girls
English · Nature Hazel
“from the hazel tree”
>99% girls
Hebrew · Virtue Josephine
“God will add” · “God shall add”
>99% girls
Celtic · Royal Arthur
“strong as a bear”
>99% boys
Germanic · Literary Alice
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Greek · Vintage revival Leon
“resembling a lion” · “having the strength of a lion”
>99% boys
Persian · Timeless Esther
“myrtle” · “resembling the myrtle leaf”
>99% girls
Literary Elsie
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Latin · Vintage revival June
June is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “one who is youthful; born during the month of June.”
3% boys · 97% girls
French · Vintage revival Genevieve
“of the race of women; the white wave”
>99% girls
Hebrew · Timeless Ruth
“compassion” · “a beloved companion”
>99% girls
The spectrum
Boy, girl, or both?
Here each name carries its balance of boys and girls in its color: blue for boys, rose for girls, and the blend between. These are real names, placed by U.S. births over the last ten years.
LiamNoahOliverTheodoreOliviaCharlotteHenryJamesSophiaEmmaAmeliaMateoMiaIsabellaDylanCarterAveryRowanLoganRileyParkerCameronAngelRiverCharlieEdenSawyerEmersonEmeryQuinnTatumJordanHaydenRoryAmariElliottSuttonScottieElliotOakleySageShilohRemiReeseDakotaBlakePeytonDallasEllisLennonMilanFinleyHavenPhoenixMorganWrenArielCaseyAriMurphyBriarSalemSterlingSpencerRemyAlexisEmoryArmaniLeightonAzariahJamieOcean
Around 50% boys: Charlie, Emerson, Tatum, Rory, Shiloh, Dakota
The Journal
Stories behind the names
- Data · 2 min readWhat a popularity score does, and doesn’t, tell youEvery profile shows a number from 0 to 100. Here’s how it’s made, why it’s on a curve, and why it never says whether a name is good.
- Traditions · 2 min readNamed for the moment: day names, birth order and the circumstances of birthIn many cultures, the day, the hour or the way a child arrives suggests a name. A tour of some of the world’s most beautiful naming systems.
- Traditions · 2 min readHonoring someone you loved, without repeating their nameYou don’t have to use a grandparent’s exact name to carry them forward. Families around the world honor relatives through a letter, a sound, a meaning or another language.
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