Namesake
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Every name has a story. Namesake tells it.
6,000 baby names, each with a story behind it. Swipe on your own, or with your partner.
Free on iPhone.
olive tree
Olive
Named for the olive tree, whose branch means peace; shuffle its five letters and they spell 'I love,' a sweet thing to find hiding in a name.
she who brings joy
Beatrix
Latin for 'she who brings joy;' one Beatrix painted a rabbit in a tiny blue jacket, the other swung a samurai sword through an entire kill list, and both, technically, brought joy.
wealth
Otis
Otis Redding crooned 'Dock of the Bay' with it, Otis elevators stamped it inside half the ones you've ridden, and Netflix's Sex Education handed it to a fumbling teen sex therapist.
One good name leads to the next.
Every card points you to more names in a few different ways.
- Similar
- Names that sound alike, based on the starting, middle and ending syllables.
- Actual people suggest
- Names that real parents put forward alongside it in online forums. The same feel, not the same sound.
Tap any of them to read its story, and keep following the trail until something clicks.
Lillian
Basically Lily with the hem let down: the longer, more formal version, which gives you a proper full name to shout up the stairs when she's in trouble.
Similar
Actual people suggest
Filter by anything. Every filter is free.
Gender, first letter, syllables, length, 15 styles and 17 origins. Stack as many as you like, and the deck only deals what fits.
No packs, no paywall, nothing to unlock.
- Lily
- Violet
- Ivy
- Willow
- Daisy
- Olive
- Summer
- Birdie
See where you really agree.
Each of you drags your favorites into your own top 10. When a name ranks high on both lists, it earns a badge (e.g. top 5, top 3, same #1) that helps you and your partner find common ground.
Matches
- MarloweYay.
- ClementineBoth top 3
- Iris
- Otis
Some names are written in the stars.
Add your due date and Namesake works out your baby's star sign. Names whose meanings suit that sign get mixed into your deck, marked with a little constellation.
Belief optional.
Leo
Latin for 'lion,' and also the star sign famous for needing an audience - which, for a newborn, is less a warning than a job description.
Also in the app:
- Popularity since 1880
- See how popular every name has been, year by year, from US Social Security records.
- The whole name
- Add your last name, a middle name and your other kids' names, and every card shows the full line, so you can hear how the whole name sounds together before you commit.
- Every name, searchable
- Looking for something rarer? Search more than 100,000 names given to US babies since 1880.
Real names. Not a random list.
Every name had to earn its place. No one-off inventions, and no glitches copied out of government records.
- 4,288
- names that made the US top 1,000 in at least one year since 1980
- 1,344
- rarer finds, given to real babies across several years, with no respellings
From thousands of names to just the one.
Swipe through names together, see where you match, and rank your way to a favorite.
Someone has to name this person. It's you.
Get NamesakeFree on iPhone.