With twelve children in our family, my husband and I have had ample reason to consult baby name guides over the years. Here is a round-up of our favorites, both in print and online.
Name Your Baby by Lareina Rule (the author’s name means “the queen”) is a classic, first published in the 1970’s. It includes the origins, meanings, nicknames and namesakes for thousands of names. A very popular book for its time, Rule’s baby name guide sold over two million copies. The first half contains female names, the second male, and the intro is a delightful and clever read with many useful naming tips. It’s available on Kindle, but if you’d like to get your hands on a used paper copy, be sure to look for very good or better condition because you’ll reach for this one a lot! The bonus baby “personality horoscope” is, of course, all in fun, and an amusing relic from the 70’s.
Best Baby Name Book has been updated a couple of times, but I still enjoy Lanky’s original version for its humor and advice, along with thousands of baby names. It’s got a good mix of classic, popular and highly unusual and is available in an affordable and easy-to-read paperback format.
Baptismal and Confirmation Names first published in 1935 by Benziger Brothers, the original was hardbound in navy blue cloth with gold lettering (I have two copies of it and share it often with new mothers!). You can sometimes find vintage copies of this lovely old book on Ebay, but there’s also a softcover reprint available on Amazon. Author Edward F. Smith created this work because “It is the desire of the Church that at baptism and at confirmation her children receive the names of Saints.”
Whether you accomplish this through the first or middle name (or both) Smith’s book assists by listing alphabetically all known saints with their Latin and modern equivalents. It hasn’t been updated (obviously) but it’s chock full of beautiful names and variations you’ve probably never heard of. Our parish priest recommended this book to me; he consults it so that during a baptism in the traditional rite, he can look up the baby’s name in Latin. In the back you’ll also find a daily calendar of feasts and patron saints.
The Baby Name Wizard goes beyond your average baby name book with sibling recommendations, name categories, and even regional maps that track usage and popularity. It’s a novel and scientific way to look at choosing one of the most important aspects of your child’s life.
The International Baby Name Book offers ideas and inspiration based on different countries, cultures and languages. Included are detailed meanings and origins so that you can carefully choose a name with deep cultural significance. My personal favorites are the Nordic and Russian names!
Beyond the Books: Some Fun Baby Name Websites
Nameberry quickly gained a following at its onset for being a serious and thorough research hub for baby names. Plug in a name and you’ll be treated not only to the usual meanings, nicknames and origins, but full articles in many cases that give a fascinating history and anecdotal stories to really flesh out the name. Which is wonderful for parents who want a name that’s got a story behind it.
Just as an example, here’s what you get when you pull up Kyler, which is a pretty new name but has a great backstory and rich historical roots.
Bounty has a fun random name-generating tool; choose from girl, boy or gender-neutral if you don’t know the sex.
My advice is to avoid sites like The Bump and BabyCenter as they are full of ads and trackers.
Social Security Administration is an official website of the United States government, but it’s not as dry as other sites, offering baby name trends, historical rankings, and useful advice and tools for navigating the social security system.
Here are more of my blog posts on choosing great names!
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