Baby Names Site Review
Naming your baby can be one of the hardest and most stressful times during pregnancy. Whilst you will hear stories of people who think of a name very quickly or say that their son was always going to be called William, for most people it can mean hours of discussions, research and post-it notes!
Rather than discuss the various sources that are available (that can be another article), I will concentrate on one source of information, the Internet. The Internet provides a myriad of Web sites dedicated to baby names, many offering lists of popular names and providing the meaning of each name.
When people are searching in Google (or a similar search engine), they typically will only click on links from the first page. Therefore, I will review the top 5 search results when entering ‘baby names’ in Google. On the day of this article, the following sites were returned:
- www.babynames.com
- www.babynamesworld.com
- www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames
- www.babyhold.com
- www.thinkbabynames.com
These sites are each reviewed below. Our son’s name James was used to provide consistency across sites, such as with the meaning of names.
www.babynames.com
Whilst being the highest ranking site on Google, the design and layout is somewhat simple. It does not have the professional look that many other sites provide. There are quite a few adverts in the header and sidebars; however this can be forgiven if the content is worthwhile.
To assist in your research, you simply enter the name to search for or browse lists of boy and girl names. However, there is no intelligence in the searching, so typing Janes returns no results. It would have been nice to be provided with a list of similar names, something we have become accustomed to when searching in Google. There are also some fun lists, such as celebrity baby names. I enjoy looking through lists of baby names from celebrities, as some pick really obscure names. There are also lists such a ‘names from Lost’ (the TV program), ’soap opera names’, or ‘reality TV names’. I am not really sure what value these lists offer, unless you are a fan of the TV programs.
Entering James provided the following results:
- James is either a boy or a girls name
- James gets three stars (however, it does not define what the stars actually mean!)
- The meaning of the name James is Supplanter
- The origin of the name James is Hebrew
- Originally an English version of Jacob
You are then provided a list of attributes that you can assign to James and are able to rate the name (perhaps updating the star rating?). I am assuming that capturing this information will allow the Web site to provide a richer set of data in the future. You can save the name in a favorites list, particularly useful if you wish the return to the site later.
Strengths
- Comprehensive name lists
- Novelty lists can offer some light relief
- Ability to define a favorites list
Weaknesses
- Surprisingly poor design and layout
- Limited depth to searching
- No intelligent searching
Recommended
www.babynamesworld.com
The site offers a fresh design and layout, using a range of subtle pastel colors. The searching capabilities are more advanced than www.babynames.com, covering basic name searching and browsing, through to advanced search options such as being able to show names from certain countries or names that are no longer than a certain number of characters.
Searching for James returned a list of names starting with James (however, the advanced searching options can return names that contain the letters james or end in james.) If James is chosen, the following describes the name:
- James is a boys name
- The original meaning is Supplanter
- James is pronounced JAYMZ
- Variants include Jamie and Jameson
- James gets a three stars (however, it does not define what the stars actually mean!)
- In the UK James was the sixth most popular name for boys in 2006; it ranked 16th in the US in the same year
The site also includes the ability to keep a list of your favorite names. Discussion forums are also included and they seem to be relatively active. Features such as discussion forum show that a growing community is building around the site, rather than a more static site such as www.babynames.com.
Strengths
- Strong searching capabilities
- Detailed information for each name
- Message boards show a community is developing
Weaknesses
- Large adverts can be distracting
Strongly Recommended
www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames
The official US Social Security Web site provides access to a comprehensive historical database of baby names. The data is also used to power a number of other baby name Web sites, so some of the data may seem familiar. The site has a simple but functional design, and has the added bonus of zero adverts. There are numerous links to articles and sites provided by the US government. Rather than focus on name meaning and gimmickly lists, the site uses historical census data to provide accurate popularity listing and ranking for names.
Searching for James showed that it was the 16th most popular US name in 2006, and has been slightly increasing in popularity over the last few years.
Whilst not providing the richer functionality of other site, it does offer a clean and simple interface to the data.
Strengths
- Access to historical data
- No adverts
- Links to additional US Government articles and sites
Weaknesses
- Does not offer many features
** I have given this site 4 Stars even though it does not include the richer features offered by other sites. Whilst the other sites offer the same data, this site provides a fast, clean, and simple interface to the data. It is useful to use this site in combination with other sites and to navigate to the other links the site lists.
Strongly Recommended
www.babyhold.com
The very purple site offers similar searching capabilities as www.babynamesworld.com, with both simple and advanced searching options, allowing you to tailor your searching based upon detailed criteria.
Entering James returned three names, Fitz James, James (American), and James (Hebrew). However, related or similar names were not returned. Choosing James (American) displayed the following details:
- James is a boys name
- The meaning of James is Supplant. Replace. Variant of Jacob derived from the latin Jacomus
- The expression number is 3 (no indication of what this number means!)
- The SoulUrge Number is 6 (no indication of what this number means!)
- James has an Average Visitor Rating 3.74 (Out of 5)
- There have been 4 ratings
The site also includes information about pregnancy, with a number of thorough and well written articles that cover key areas of pregnancy. Interestingly, I found these pages to be of more value than the baby name features, and think that if this is an area the Web site concentrates on more, it could well allow the site to grow further. The site also includes a forum for pregnancy and baby names discussions, but there does not seem to be much recent activity. There is a news section that includes key baby name news from around the world.
Strengths
- Comprehensive searching capabilities
- Includes articles on pregnancy that are worth browsing
Weaknesses
- The purple theme is a bit, well, a purple
Strongly Recommended
www.thinkbabynames.com
The simple and clean design provides a number of ways of searching for baby names, from entering a name directly to browsing by first letter or by popularity lists.
Entering James returned a lot of detailed information, however it was not formatted very well for easy reading. Some of the details returned included:
The boy’s and girl’s name James \j(a)-mes\ is pronounced jayms. It is of English origin. Variant of Jacob (Hebrew) “he who supplants”. Biblical: one of the 12 apostles of Jesus, who possibly was also a cousin of Jesus. The King James Bible is named in reference to James I of England (16th-17th century). Spanish pronunciation of Jaime: (HYE-may), Scottish: (JAY-mee). See also Kimo and Santiago. Writer James Joyce; actors James Mason, James Caviezel, James Gandolfini, Jimmy Stewart; entertainer Jimmy Durante; US Presidents Hames Buchanan, James Garfield, James Madison, James Polk, Jimmy Carter.
The information returned appears more detailed than the other sites, and includes popularity rankings from countries including Canada, England and Australia. These are displayed as graphs showing the relative popularity. Related and similar names are also returned, each being linked to the respective name page.
Strengths
- Comprehensive data, including popularity rankings from other countries
- Fast navigation and response
- Minimal adverts for a cleaner interface
Weaknesses
- No other Web site features
- No community features
The comprehensive information provided by the site is let down by its poor layout. The site is worth visiting for the additional detail that it offers over the other sites. However, it does not seem to be a growing community, and does not include news, articles or discussion forums.
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