A reference library of 12,046 girls' names. This page explains exactly how it was built, what we can stand behind, and what we can't — because you're using it to make a decision that matters.
This library was compiled by a small independent publisher with the assistance of AI language models, working from widely-published name reference material: standard etymological dictionaries, national naming records, and established scholarship on naming traditions. Every entry was reviewed before publication.
We want to be straightforward about what that does and does not mean.
Where the meaning of a name could not be established with confidence, the name was left out rather than guessed at. Hundreds of candidates were dropped for exactly this reason. What you see is what we were willing to stand behind.
Entries are not individually footnoted. If you need a citable etymology — for academic work, or for a name whose meaning carries real weight for your family — treat this site as a starting point and verify against a specialist dictionary for that language.
We hold verified United States ranking data for only 13 of the 12,046 names here — the SSA top 13. We previously carried ranks for many more, but on audit those figures could not be substantiated, so we removed them rather than publish a number we could not stand behind. We are rebuilding the full ranking from the SSA’s public records. Until then, most pages carry no US rank at all, and say so.
Most name sites won't tell you this part. We'd rather you knew it up front than discovered it later.
A library this size, covering more than a hundred naming traditions, will contain errors. If a name from your language or culture is described incorrectly, we would genuinely rather know. Corrections from native speakers and specialists carry more weight with us than anything else, and we will fix and re-publish.
Write to corrections@babynamesforgirls.org.