By Kara Cavazos of The Art of Naming 　　The baby girls who were born in 1950 are now grandmothers. They will turn 65 this year! It is safe to say, though, that a lot of their first names may not be getting passed down to their grand-daughters at the same rate...

　　By Anna Otto, Waltzing More Than 　　Matilda 　　The most popular girls names of the 1940s were Margaret, Patricia, Judith, and Helen, but what were the least popular names? Here are ten names which were only chosen once in any year between 1944 and 1949 in South Australia, making them unique...

　　By Abby Sandel 　　Taylor Swift’s latest video is a who’s who of Hollywood stars, up-and-coming singers, and supermodels galore. 　　(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcIy9NiNbmo YouTube Bad Blood Taylor Swift) stars Taylor as a sort of James Bond/Wonder Woman/Katniss Everdeen warrior extraordinaire. After her fellow BFF-spy betrays her, she enrolls in assassin school and assembles...

　　If you were to go solely by the tabloids, you might think that every celebrity’s baby boy was given the name of a New York borough or a Disney character or was his parents’ quirky Scrabble-letter invention. 　　Au contraire. 　　There is a very  healthy segment of show biz parents who...

　　In the most recent list of Most Popular Boys ‘ Names, all five of the top five names came from the Good Book, accounting for well over 100,000 of the boy babies born in the US.  Obviously, many parents–whether for religious reasons or not–continue to be attracted to names with this strong...

　　When Henry was chosen as the #1 favorite boy’s name on the collective 5-star lists of the nameberry community, I was somewhat surprised and yet somewhat not.  Because in many ways Henry is the perfect boy’s name—as classic and historic as James and John and William –yet with a quirkier edge that makes it...

　　The great thing is that the pool of surnames is so large — and ever more diverse — that there are always more to discover. 　　Sure, they don’t all make good first names. I know families called Beer, Small and Bumstead, but I doubt any babies will get those as...

　　Gender neutral names are susceptible to the same shifts in popularity as traditionally gendered names, but these shifts can differ between the sexes. This makes it more interesting to examine the directions of unisex names, which fluctuate in girl-boy ratio from year to year. 　　Nameberry defines gender neutral names as...

　　Gender neutral names are extremely fashionable right now – but that can pose a problem to parents looking for a cool but uncommon unisex baby name. 　　Familiar favorites such as River (Number 105 for boys in 2022, and Number 150 for girls) and Charlie (Number 178 for boys, Number 123...

　　Which baby names will be on top in 2024? 　　If we're speaking literally, you can expect to see the same few names on the tippy-top of the charts — Olivia and Emma, Liam and Noah. But it's a lot more fun to look at the fastest-rising names — the choices rapidly...

　　Nature-related baby names are a huge trend across the board right now. But did you know that the climate actually influences the type of nature names American parents are choosing for their children? 　　A recent study published in the journal Evolutionary Human Sciences analyzed over a century of baby names...

　　What makes a name classic? 　　Anyone who has done a quick search for names has likely come across a variety of lists of "classic names". While some names, such as John, Michael, and Mary, make consistent appearances on these lists, the other names are more variable. 　　So what is a...

　　Ever since we started exploring and writing about baby names, Pam and I have been intrigued by the concept of sweet-spot names, those that fall in that perfect position of not being epidemically popular—so common that their distinctive images to be diluted—yet not extreme enough to raise eyebrows or cause...

　　We often cover rare and unique names — from creative modern inventions to unusual place and nature names. The names below are rare too, but with a difference. 　　You've almost certainly heard of them. (And so have your parents.) 　　Even if you don't know someone with them in real life,...

　　Jewish names are a diverse set, represented by Hebrew names, biblical names, Yiddish names, and gentile names that gained popularity among the American Jewish community. 　　A recent report by the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion's Jewish Language Project reveals the most popular Jewish names in the US. This...

　　When I was a waitress, we had a trick to help indecisive customers make up their minds about what they wanted to eat. 　　If it was the main course that had them stumped, we asked, “Meat or fish?” 　　And if it was dessert, the question was “Fruit or chocolate?” 　　Now,...

　　You never forget your first breakup. 　　Benjamin – Ben – had so many attractive qualities. Strong yet sensitive, timeless and classic, with an easy likeability and appeal. 　　I wasn’t the only one who fell fast for his charms. Everywhere I went, people gushed about how much they loved Ben. At...

　　Choosing names for hypothetical babies is always fun — why do you think I got into this business? — but when you’re actually expecting, the pressure is on. Suddenly you’re faced with the very big task of naming an actual human being, which (often) requires you to collaborate with your...