I’ve been a lover of names for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never really settled on how best to organize! Some things I’ve tried:
Keeping a list of just my top names at a time (i.e. names that I would actually consider naming a real live baby) and adding middle name combinations if they come to me
Keeping absolutely everything in one alphabetized list separated by gender, but this tends to get a little overwhelming
Separating names by style or category
Putting all the names on a document with a little blurb about each so I can remember what I like and don’t like about a particular name. This is easy to update and allows me to say, oh, it’s just a guilty pleasure or only for a middle name.
Anyway, how do y’all do it? I’d love to hear what works for you!
I have one list of my top 10 for boys and girls, with each name paired with a middle name. One another list, I keep track of my guilty pleasures. I’ve also had an additional list with other middles that I like.
I have a notebook that I write lists down in, and occasionally I’ll do a spreadsheet with origins, meanings and popularity rankings for recent years! It’s a bit tedious though so I haven’t done one in a while
@may.rose When a combination gets bumped from your top 10, do you stick it somewhere else? I always feel a little sad when it’s time for a name to go. [name_m]Just[/name_m] curious! I really like the idea of multiple lists for different things.
@leafsgirl44 I love a good spreadsheet. Sometimes it’s fun to nerd out! I think the notebook is such a great idea, because it allows you to look back on names that you liked at one point and maybe now don’t, almost like a little diary!
@hydrangea24 Exactly! I also have a file folder full of old lists - I haven’t been able to locate all of my old girls lists, but some of them date back about 10 years! It’s nice to kind of reflect on them sometimes! If you’d like, I’d be happy to PM you my spreadsheet when I’m finished the current one I have so you can see how I’ve set it up!
Each book idea I have I make a new folder (on my computer) and in that folder i make a document for writing, and a document for names. I make a boys list and a girls list that fit the style of my story in that document.
[name_f]My[/name_f] user card holds my favorite names that I plan to name my kids (if I have kids)
And my just favorite names in general, I had a document called my all time favorite names and I just made a girls and boys list and in no particular order wrote my few absolute favorite names. Sometimes I would go back to it and change it as my name tastes changed.
I have a ridiculous number of lists, but my main ones are:
[name_f]My[/name_f] favourites (with combos) in order of preference in my notes. [name_f]My[/name_f] boys and girls are separate.
Alphabetical lists (boys and girls separate) on listography. Both combos and just firsts. Same for GPs.
A crush list that changes all the time, but I usually forget to update (listography).
A ‘to add’ list, with names I’m considering adding to my main list (listography)
Also I have names I’ve removed from my list in an archived folder (listography again).
I did try making a database with more info, and my first ever name list included the origins and meanings of any names I liked or came across (not just favourites), but I was never any good at keeping up to date.
@[name_f]Myosotis[/name_f] I need to check out listography for sure! [name_u]Love[/name_u] all the different categories you have too. I agree that databases are fun, but so much work to keep up with!
@EJpuddlejumper It’s so fun to name characters because it’s so freeing. [name_m]Don[/name_m]’t have the same pressure of naming a living baby - although I’m sure there’s still pressure to get it right.
I also have a Listography account. It’s basically just a website where you can make lists of things. I really like it, it’s easy to access, free, extremely organized, plus you can color code it.
The lists I have are a boys name bank (all the boy names I like with their meanings) and a girls name bank (same as the boys). Then I have a list of my boy combos and a separate one with my girls combos (the combos that only have one middle name). I also have a short list that has my girls and boys combos with two middle names. Then I have some randoms lists including guilty pleasures, honors, combos I’m thinking of, sib sets, and possible middle names.
I make everything alphabetized, it just makes it easier to find a name, and it looks nicer.
Here’s the link if you want to take a look (listography: Emma Louise) and maybe give you some inspiration. [name_f]Hope[/name_f] this helps
@AdroitArtemis Thanks so much for sharing that link. You have officially convinced me to use Listography for my names!! So well organized! And the color coding. [name_f]My[/name_f] crazy organizational self is fawning right now.
I make collections of names in my notes app! I used to keep a big master list, alphabetized, but that got to be… just a lot. So now I curate them as if I were setting up a gallery and I wanted all of the pieces to convey a message or theme (and also because I am a huge nerd). [name_f]My[/name_f] mid-spring collection (called awakea (or midday)) for instance is (currently): [name_f]Tegwen[/name_f], Claya, Elalie, Eefje, [name_f]Liora[/name_f], [name_f]Valley[/name_f], Seeker, [name_u]Bo[/name_u], [name_u]Esca[/name_u], [name_m]Knute[/name_m], [name_m]Huck[/name_m], [name_u]Wylie[/name_u]. All of these names feel peaceful, cool-toned, adventurous, and seasprayed. All of my collections have between 6 and 15 names. And if I love a name that I don’t or can’t specifically place, it goes onto an alphabetized list that I edit literally all the time.
It sounds crazy, but I have a document I’ve been compiling since early highschool. It’s a google doc and I just have basically every combo I’ve ever thought was pretty haha… it’s heading on 50 pages, a name per line
I do all of these at once! And I keep them all organized with OneNote – super helpful. Sometimes I’ll add new pages with new lists and delete old ones. Or I might just edit some of the lists I already have. But, either way, I like to have multiple lists like these for organization’s sake.
I’ve never tried the blurb, though I do often put meanings & origins of the names in parentheses in my alphabetical lists. I also like to keep a list of discarded favorites, just in case I should ever fancy one or two of them again.
Honestly, for me, one of the best parts of being a name nerd is compiling lists. I love making lists and organizing in general, and I’ve been making name lists since childhood! They used to be on paper, though, of course, so I don’t have much left of those old lists besides my memory.
I have a long list of Girl’s Names and Boy’s Names with first and middles. I bold the ones I like a lot, and I bold and underline my favorites. I also have another list that I call my “story names.” Basically, they’re guilty pleasure names that I don’t think are useable in real life, but maybe in a story.
@lumosmaxima Wow, I love that - almost like a fashion collection! [name_f]Liora[/name_f], [name_u]Bo[/name_u], [name_m]Huck[/name_m], and [name_u]Wylie[/name_u] are all great names!
@dejectedpiglet 50 pages! That’s incredible. I think it’s so great to keep a record of it all.
@elanorelle I need to check out OneNote. Honestly not enjoying Word for this purpose. And yes! I think a lot of us name nerds are into lists and organization. I knew this group would have some great ideas for structure.
@IrinaNicolaStrong I like the differentiation with the bolding and underlining. Might have to steal that!
I love lists and wish I had everything neat and organised, but currently my names are either all in my signature or in my NB favorites list. I have a few very specific lists in NB, but they are for writing projects or other things that aren’t just my top names, as well as a few messy lists in the notes app. I think I want to keep an analog system with a real notebook (i love beautiful journals) with each page as a different list maybe? I really only have one list in my signature but I would love to be able to switch it out with themed lists like @leafsgirl44.
@skatercat honestly, my themed lists happen on a whim! I got a little bit disenchanted with the idea of making combos (they stress me out, lol!) so I figured a theme could make things a little bit easier for me! I try to change it up every week or so, but I’m not so great at coming up with themes I’ve had my friends pick from my list, S/O’s favourites, summery names, 80s names (with the top middle names from the decade too!) and now my florals!
I’m a very intuitive person, I think, and generally keep things in the back of my mind, so structure isn’t a strong point for me. . [name_f]Nor[/name_f] do I really feel the need for it. I know the names I like, even if they’re not on my list, so I really only have ONE list, which is usually around 20 names per gender. I think I’ve got around 25 for boys and 21 for girls right now, as I’m working through a few names and which I want to keep.
Occasionally, when I’m craving novelty on my list, I will create a huge master list of any names I would consider for either gender (the last one I made was 14 pages, lol), but I’m not very good at updating them when new names appear on my radar. So I don’t really count that.
I keep my list on a baby names.com list, which is easy to update, and I’m constantly trying to figure combos out and such. Many of the names stay the same, but some change over time. I figure I’ll never need more than 20 names per gender, anyway, so that’s a good number for me? I used to keep a top 10, but found myself consistently loving more than 10 names. So I’ve found 20 works well for me. It’s way more than I’ll ever use, but I feel like my top 20s represent my taste and my loves really well.
So I don’t really count that.