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What can you learn about your name?

Celebrity Influence

Do you think it's a coincidence that the name Mila 27k showed up around 1998 when actress Mila Kunis received her first TV role and skyrocketed around 2010 just as she had her major breakout films? U

About Names

A name sticks with us from birth until death and although we often have no control over it, our names can define us. We can all thank our parents for our name.
You can search for your own name and pull out amazing information from the massive name database. With more than 5 million statistical records and historical references for popular baby names after 1880, this site is packed with eye-opening facts. Expand your search by traveling back in time to discover the meanings of more names, or appelations, for your coworkers, pets, friends, and family.

What Does My Name Mean?

Do you want to know the meaning behind your name? Onomastics or onomatology is the study of proper names of all kinds - including the origins of names. On the other hand, anthroponomastics or anthroponymy is a branch of onomastics. It's the study of "anthroponyms" which originates from the Greek words anthropos (meaning human) and onoma meaning (name). Combined together it means "the names of human beings". The meanings of over 21,000 names, including their origin, are included on this site.
Did you know that the word Mary is a Hebrew term for beautiful? Most names also have a traditional meaning.
Many parents, or any father or mother, can guarantee that choosing the right name for their child/children is neither an easy nor there is a fast rule to it. This is because there is not only a single factor to consider prior to naming a new baby. Thus, they include religion, popularity, namesakes, place of origin, spelling, rhythms/sounds, gender, stereotypes, etc.
As parents, you should consider first if the name for your newborn babies will be a burden for them as they are growing up. There are names that are foreign sounding, hard to spell or pronounce, different entirely from their original meanings, very accentuated, or simply would be a cause for teasing. Thus, it is much preferred to use names with cautions such that naming idiosyncrasies could possibly be avoided at the onset.
Still in some cases, parents keep their religious beliefs in giving names to their children. Some religious individuals traditionally opt for the names of saints such as the name Mary. Did you know that the word Mary is a Hebrew term for beautiful? Most names also have a traditional meaning. As another example, Jewish families have the common practice to name their babies after their deceased family loved ones, whose names are traditionally from the Bible.
Other Christian denominations usually give children names found either in the Old or New Testaments of the Bible. On the other hand, many Muslims prefer to use Islamic names. Of course, there are other world religions that also use the same naming conventions for their family members.

How Popular Is My Name?

Do you ever wonder how many Americans are using the same first name as you? You're in the right place if you are asking the question "how popular is my name?" or "how common is my name?"
This site also utilizes the statistical data from the Social Security Administration to show popular baby names. To date there are 5,838,786 records in the database. The oldest record dates back to 1880 and the newest in 2016. That's 137 years of data about popular names in 51 states of the USA.
Soon you'll discover what year your name first appeared in the historical database of Social Security Administration. The oldest record is from the year 1880 and the newest is from 2016. You'll also know on what state your name is popular.
Did you ever ask yourself: "How popular is my name?" The primary reason we use names for people is for distinguishing use from others. Still, with billions of people around the world, using a totally new name is not farfetched. Most parents from various countries still name their newborn kids on the bases of their cultural norms, traditions and religious beliefs. The names are usually the names of famous people from time immemorial. However, in the USA the typical practice is to use a preexisting name.
In most cases, parents name their children using very popular baby boy or baby girls' names. On either side, children with well-known or namesakes feel that they are sharing them with others most of the time whereas people with not-so popular names feel that it is uniquely theirs. It is a common belief, though, that children with very popular names find it easier to gain acceptance from other people, especially, peers.

Is The Name Popular Because Of Someone?

Many parents these days name their children after famous or popular celebrities' screen names, businessmen, etc. across the globe. Traditionally, that has not always been the case.
In some cases, parents keep their religious beliefs in giving names to their children. Some religious individuals traditionally opt for the names of saints such as the name Mary. As another example, Jewish families have the common practice to name their babies after their deceased family loved ones, whose names are traditionally from the Bible.
Other Christian denominations usually give children names found either in the Old or New Testaments of the Bible. On the other hand, many Muslims prefer to use Islamic names. Of course, there are other world religions that also use the same naming conventions for their family members.
Namesakes are often used by parents for their children with the addition of Junior (Jr.), II, III, IV, etc. It is usually the use of the father's first name for a child. In other instances, parents use additional given name(s) for their children so as to avoid confusion and because nowadays, there are billions of people and so a variant or additional given names are very much called for. So, it is advisable to name a child that would compliment a loved one and for the name's own merit.
Many people's names create stereotypes because other people have a general idea what the person looks like with that specific name. Most names denote personality or physical traits from a very famous name whether real or otherwise. For example, Adolph is often referred to the Nazi Fuehrer who is cruel, Judas from one of Jesus' disciples who betrayed him, David with the literal meaning of beloved, Abe for a person who is honest, Jennifer for someone having fair or white complexion, and the list continues. A name's image will usually have an effect on its owner's self-esteem and how other people might perceive him.

Where Is the Name Popular?

When you choose the names for your children, you should expect that in another country that you visit, your children's names may not be pronounced the same way as in your place of origin. For example, names like Jesus, Padilla, Genevieve, and other foreign names are often pronounce differently in other countries. Hence, young children will find it a burden to have their names spelt out for other foreign people to understand or even when these people may have mispronounced their names and they have to correct them most of the times. So, the question you keep asking yourself, how popular is my name may end up so popular in other countries you visit that you keep on looking back when it is mentioned.

Other Things to Consider

Avoid unconventional spellings as much as you possibly can because it may only confuse most people. Remember, typical spellings of names are the ones that most people will use when writing down a name. It is very annoying or irritating to have your name often misspelled. For instance, consider the names Cathey, Cathee, Cathie, Cathy, Catty, Kattie, Katthy, and so on.
Name rhymes or alliteration, such as Philipp Phillips, Paul Paulson or Tina Turner, is fine. However, rhymes may even come with agnomen and moniker such as Harold Hatfield, Wanda Fonda, Jack Black, Tess Thiz, may invite teasing. Naming puns, or other humorous play on names, may sound funny and even hilarious at times but people living a life with names with jokes attached is not a good thing. Many name experts recommend the use of uneven syllabication such as Kat Smith Patterson, Dwight David Eisenhower, May Alcott Stevenson, etc. Names with unequal number of syllables have a more pleasing effect than full names with a common number of syllables.
It is still not very common these days to find children's names appropriate for either male or female. However, there are parents who disregard the gender of their babies and opt instead for mono-gender (unisex) names (for example, Chris, Erin, Lee, Robin, Pat, and a lot more). Most individuals would thus argue that requiring a child to explain his or her gender by reason of his gender-neutral name is a bothersome or annoying.