I was just wondering how everyone else comes up with suggestions, for middles or sibsets or whatever. I always feel my suggestions are a little off, or I can’t come up with anything that hasn’t already been suggested. I always find that Berries always make wonderful suggestions, so basically I want to know what you do to come up with them, especially if the names are particularly your taste. [name_f]Do[/name_f] you use lists (from nameberry or elsewhere), use specific websites or just come up with them from the top of your head?
For example if someone was asking for names for a younger sister of [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] [name_m]Davis[/name_m] using the middle name [name_f]Mary[/name_f], what would you do to come up with suggestions? [name_f]Do[/name_f] you post all of the names that you think of or only the ones that feel right?
I’m definitely not the best suggestion-maker around here (I feel a bit intimidated sometimes, especially when I see lists of names I’ve never heard of!), but I tend to go based off of style and vibe. [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] is an understated classic, and wouldn’t be out of place in a 19th century novel, so I’d suggest other names that make me think of the same things e.g. [name_m]Alfred[/name_m] or [name_m]Rupert[/name_m].
If they have specific criteria, e.g. girls’ names that start with A, I’ll use the Nameberry super search to bring up a list of names that meet the criteria and pick ones from it that seem to fit the OP’s style.
If their style consists of fairly common/familiar names (Nameberry common/familiar, not necessarily real-world common/familiar) I can generally come up with lots of suggestions off the top of my head. I keep a list of unusual names I encounter, including their origins and meanings if I can find them, so sometimes use that.
Like @bonfireazalea, I’ve never been very confident in my suggestion skills (in fact, I usually don’t reply to threads asking for suggestions because I feel like the names I’d suggest wouldn’t be helpful). But when I do make suggestions I use a couple of sources.
nymbler.com- it takes names you’ve listed and generates names of a similar style or language. Sometimes their suggestions are a bit off. But overall it’s been very helpful.
Nameberry lists- If they have a specific style (like clunky or old man names) it’s easier to use lists. Supersearch is a good tool as well.
And other times I just come up with names off the top of my head. Which is probably why they don’t work so well. Oops.
I wondering if anyone else referenced lists like I do, now I know. =]
Sometimes I think of names straight off the top of my head but most of the time I use:
[name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] Name Finder (If someone is looking for something specific e.g 2 syllables, ends in e)
Nameberry Lists
British [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name Lists
I try to put myself in the OP’s mindset and style, rather than just suggesting names I would pick, but I still always suggest names that I find pleasing.
First, I usually go down my own personal lists and add anything that I think works. Then, depending on what the poster is looking for, I’ll use Nameberry Lists or Nameberry Super Search, and sometimes I also use Nymbler and Behind The Name.
I use the ‘people who like this name like’…at the bottom of the babynames pages. Sometimes, though not very often, I’ll suggest names that I think of off the top of my head; and if the person I’m suggesting names to wants something with a specific image or meaning, I use both babynames.com(which is good for really specific name searches) and nameberry.com’s name search pages to find something that holds similar meaning.
For me, it depends who’s asking. If it’s someone who is asking for a middle name to one of my favourite names, it’s likely I’ll have my own list of favourite up to get ideas from. If the poster is looking for a suggestion with names that aren’t one I personally like but want to try working with, then I usually think of a ‘vibe’ from the names already listed, and then write out a bunch of names I think match the ‘vibe’… and then mix-and-match until things start having the right feel. Popularity rankings can play a factor, or lend some clues, too. Personally, I also really think about the backgrounds of the names and where they’re used.
Like, with [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] [name_m]Davis[/name_m] and ____ [name_f]Mary[/name_f], my first thought for the girl’s first name was [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f], but when I break it down more, there are other things I’d like more than [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] in this case, to showcase how great [name_f]Mary[/name_f] can be, and to equal to the interest of [name_m]Davis[/name_m]. Not that [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f] isn’t nice
[name_f]Anastasia[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] (I really like this! It’s a great mix between feeling sturdy and classic, and also being familiar and friendly)
[name_f]Annabel[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_f]Eloise[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f]
[name_f]Tessa[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] ([name_f]Tess[/name_f] & [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] sound adorable together!)
I’ll be totally honest in saying, I do also just go through the alphabet sometimes and list off whatever sounds good in my head, haha.
I just go off the top of my head. When I ask for suggestions I want people’s personal opinions, not a generic list. I might be way off the mark but I’m giving them what I think sounds good. I’ve found that Nymbler and ‘If you like ___ you’ll like ____’ are almost always wrong for me. When I put my top names in Nymbler ([name_u]Shea[/name_u], [name_f]Jade[/name_f], [name_f]Lotus[/name_f] & [name_f]Tallulah[/name_f]), it suggests names like [name_f]Virginia[/name_f], [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], [name_m]Jackson[/name_m] & [name_m]Benjamin[/name_m]. What?! Someone wants to name their daughter [name_f]Lotus[/name_f] and you suggest [name_f]Virginia[/name_f] as a sibling name?!
I look at what the person likes/other children’s names to figure out their style. Someone with a [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] [name_m]Davis[/name_m] and wanting [name_f]Mary[/name_f] as a mn likely isn’t interested in [name_u]Artemis[/name_u] or [name_f]Nevaeh[/name_f]. I’d assume their taste was classics that are lower on the popularity scale but not weird/unheard of:
[name_f]Abigail[/name_f]
[name_f]Tabitha[/name_f]
[name_f]Estelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Rosalyn[/name_f]
[name_f]Clara[/name_f]
Although I have trouble seeing beyond my own naming style sometimes, I’ve always just suggested names that I’ve come up with on my own. Going forward, I’ll definitely be using some other resources…especially for posts that are outside of my personal tastes!
I use resources like Nameberry lists and Nymbler when I look for names myself, but usually not when giving suggestions since I know many others (perhaps the OP included) will have looked at them already. On the other hand, that often means if there have been tons of suggestions already I don’t have anything else and just don’t reply to that thread.
