Being a total name nerd and organisation freak I am curious to know how other berries do it.
[name]How[/name] do you keep your lists of names?
[name]Do[/name] you just have scraps of paper lying around the house?
A notebook filled with scribbles?
A comprehensive and orderly spreadsheet?
[name]Do[/name] you rely on name listing features on sites like nameberry or babynames[dot]com
[name]Do[/name] you have a private or public blog for all your name ponderings?
Or maybe some other way that I haven’t listed?
Please share how you organise and keep track of this naming chaos!
I have a little journal filled with names and combinations I love for both children and stories. I also have countless WordDocs of names as well! I’ve never quite gotten into the website features. I add a few here and there but I’ve never taken the time to get all of them in there. I don’t really record things I dislike - I know them when I see them - plus, my tastes change, so who knows? In a few years when I am actually having kids I may like the names I claim to “loathe” right now, haha!
lol, I don’t think I’m very organized. I figured my favorites would utterly be ripped to shreds by the time I actually get married, so I have started two ever-changing Word documents with every name I think I would honestly consider when it comes time to name a child with a future husband. They kind of got out of control, lol–together I think both documents reach 10 pages. I have a name list on babynames[dot]com but I rarely update it. It’s fairly up-to-date right now, though. I also have “short list” and “long list” Word documents that are fairly up-to-date, and since I’m in the middle of revamping my list I have a “Names that I’m Pondering for a While” Word document that is ever changing as new names come on my radar and I cross off ones I don’t love quite as much as my other favorites.
Honestly, though, my short list is short enough and I love the names enough (and I guess I have a great memory, lol), that I don’t often refer to any of them…
I don’t really keep track of names I like, dislike, or loathe, though, haha… it’s bad enough remembering all the ones I love–why would I want to remember the ones I hate? Usually it’s not too hard to forget them, anyway. I seem to have a thing against “N” names. [name]Naomi[/name], [name]Nevaeh[/name], and [name]Nathaniel[/name] in particular. [name]Even[/name] though [name]Nevaeh[/name] is not in the same class level as [name]Naomi[/name] and [name]Nathaniel[/name], I can’t help but group them together…
I made a list on here of names I like, and one on Behind the Name as well. It changes often. I don’t really “keep track” of the ones I don’t like. Basically if I don’t like it, it doesn’t go on my list. I do have a blog where sometimes I’ll rant about names I can’t stand or rave about names I love. I don’t update often and I’m 99% sure no one reads it but maybe if I start posting more I’ll share it
I have one excel spreadsheet with various tabs. I have the SSA list on one, one is for name games, one for names I’d actually use (top 20) and one for names I like (500+).
I just use the notepad on my computer. I made a list of all the names I liked and then left it for a while. When I looked at it again I began to take off names I decided I didn’t like any more. Then I made a second notepad of names that were really growing on me and that I would really consider as names for my kids. I was worried for a while that my “short list” quickly became my long list again but it seems to have cemented pretty well now at about 30 names (yes, 30 is my short list for now!) There’s been a few names eliminated from time to time based on me finally deciding it won’t work well on a person but I keep it on the original long list if it’s still a name I like.
I made a little powerpoint on my mac that kind of looks like a book, I call it my [name]Baby[/name] Name Book, and I have pages for each letter of the alphabet with the names I like under each letter. I also have a page for the combos that are set, and a couple of pages for experimenting with different combos.
I have almost 3000 names for each gender, all of them part of my collection of rare names (very few of them are in the top 500, and most don’t rank). I have a program called notepad++ which is a very simple text editing program with TABS! that open every time you open the program, and I keep my lists on there. [name]One[/name] for girls, one for boys, one for new names I have to sort into the lists I have already, one database of unisex names (but they’re also on the other two lists) one for girls names suitable on a Norwegian child, same for a boy and a list of word names. I keep all these tabs open at all times, and just add names when I find them. I also have a MemoPad thing that adds post-its to my screen where I keep track of specific categories (names for my book, gender-neutral names) and sibsets (5 of each gender).
I have a secret dream to get it all organised into spreadsheets with meaning, origin, source, nicknames, variants and such added, but at this point I have no idea where to start, nor is that an easy way to do things when you keep adding names.
I couldn’t live without the tab function in notepad++ however, it makes my life soooooo much easier. I also like that it’s such a simple program, it doesn’t take half a minute to load like Word tends to (especially with many pages).
I’m a little old-fashioned. I keep names in my private journal that I carry around. If I ever come across a name I like (even just a bit), I write it down. But if I don’t have my journal on hand, I keep it stored in my head x) until I can write it down.
I put all the names on a .rtf file with different sections for names I love, like, kind of like, growing on me, GPs, or ones I’m sure of using for various reasons. I have a separate file for combos which I just jot down whenever one comes to mind, but I have them grouped by first name.
I don’t bother keeping track of names I loathe; I know what I don’t like, so it seems like extra work on my part.
@dearest: I have notepad++ but never really used it much. I’m thinking of using the tabs function to my advantage!
I have a 5 subject notebook and the 3rd segment is used for naming. I have 2 lists at the very front, one for boys and one for girls where I write every name that stands out to me that I would even possibly consider for my future kids or characters. The rest of the section is really unorganized pages of combos and baby name games I’ve played on here that have been worth writing out.
Theres something about physically writing names out that feels better than cold type.
Well, when I first started, I had them organized by letter on lined paper. I then filed those into a binder. And then organized those by numerology.
Then I added in character naming sketches. So it’s a pretty cluttered binder atm. I don’t like it cause it’s unorganized though.
I also have a few doc/rtf files on my laptop with names sorted by type. Such as Italian, Greek.
I also have many notes on notepad in my iPod. I have Combos, Surnames, Middle names, My future children’s names, names I just like in general but wouldn’t use etc.
I need to get a more solid way of organizing them all though.
Thank you so much for all your replies It’s great to hear such varied responses.
I’m a bit of freak in that I have all the things I listed lol.
For names I hear when out and about I scribble on receipts or scraps of paper in my handbag.
I also have a notebook filled with names and combinations - I feel like I get a different perspective on names and combinations when I’m writing them out by hand.
I also keep a comprehensive spreadsheet with names, pronunciations, origins, meanings/associations, nicknames, a short list of current favourites, set name combinations, name combination ideas, approved & vetoed names (this is where I keep track of names that either of us are dead against and why) discussed with my husband and names I’m still pondering and haven’t added.
I also have lists on some sites but don’t really update them at all.
And I have a personal blog where I write about names for my own interest and enjoyment - I like that it focuses me in really researching about certain names that I like to find out more about them.
I also don’t remove any names from my lists as I never know when I might come to like them so my lists include names I mildly like, some I’m not sure about anymore, and others I love right now.
Word [name]Doc[/name]- which I add and subtract to then resave.
[name]Don[/name]'t bother noting ones I don’t like- they just don’t make the Word doc list.
I play with combos using alot of “copy/paste” LOL
Sometimes I will jot down an idea on paper if my PC is off, the add it later.
I have WordDocs filled w/ names and there’s my sig on nameberry (came-into-existence very recently…), and also random pieces of paper stuffed in my brainstorming notebooks…
