Unisex Names: The Most Popular Shared Names, Decade by Decade
Kim and Leslie in the 1950s, Taylor and Jordan in the 1990s, Parker and River today. We found the names most evenly shared between boys and girls.
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How Fantasy Names Work: The Sound Rules Behind Elves, Dwarves and Orcs
Why does Sylrion sound elvish and Grubbag sound like an orc? Fantasy names follow sound patterns you can learn and use. Here are the rules our generators are built on.
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The Most Common Last Names in the US, From the 2020 Census
Smith is still number one, with 2,369,644 people. Six of the top 13 are now Hispanic surnames. Here are the top 25 from the latest Census.
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How to Choose a Character Name That Fits When They Were Born
A 70-year-old called Aiden breaks the spell. We show the top names of every decade since the 1880s, and how to pick a name that feels right for your character’s age.
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Baby Names Have Never Been More Varied
In the 1880s, 41.3% of American boys got one of the ten most popular names. Today it is 7.8%. Here is how naming changed, decade by decade.
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Cat Names vs Dog Names: What Makes a Name Feel Like a Cat?
Luna is the top name for cats and near the top for dogs. But Kitty, Tigger, Boots and Mittens are almost only for cats. We compared 16,426 licensed cats with 362,000 dogs.
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Every Dog Breed Has Its Own Favourite Names
Shiba Inus get Japanese names, Huskies get Balto, Beagles get Bagel. We compared the names of 24 breeds with all dogs to find what makes each breed’s names unique.
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Luna Has Overtaken Bella as New York’s Top Dog Name
For most of the 2010s Bella and Max ruled New York’s dog licences. Since 2020, Luna has come first every single year.
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The Most Popular Dog Names, Counted From 362,000 Real Licences
We counted every licensed dog in New York City and Seattle. Bella, Luna and Max lead 362,380 dogs, and boys’ and girls’ names follow very different rules.
