What Name Resources Do You Wish For?

General Name Discussion
1

I know many here compile lists and conduct scads of research. What information or resources do you wish were available that aren’t?

For instance, I wish we could have a name map that looked like the presidential vote maps - breaking the popularity of a name down to dots at the neighborhood (or at least county) level.

Anyone else?

2

Better records of Canadian popularity rankings! And easier to find. Our lists only go to top 20-30 or so, though there are lists of how many babies were given a certain name each year. But the last stats I recall are from like 2010 or 2011…

Actually I wish for something comparable to the SSA list for every (major) country, for comparison’s sake.

3

I agree that a top 100 for every country would be super interesting, even if it was only every 5 years or so.

4

I wish there were people who got paid to compile name popularity charts for years before 1880. They wouldn’t be 100% accurate since a majority of Americans didn’t even have birth certificates until the 20s and 30s, but I think there’s enough data in census records and genealogical-type documents to be able to compile relatively accurate charts. Cemeteries would be great resources in order to include those little ones who never made it into any document.

I would also like to see better resources for names that aren’t from Western cultures. K. M. Sheard did a good job of including various cultures in her book, but I would love to see a comprehensive online database similar to what we have with Behind the Name. (Behind the Name has names from non-Western cultures, but the names don’t have detailed entries like the names from Western cultures.)

And I agree that the SSA breaking name popularity down by county would be fascinating.

5

An easy way to search for names by nickname, and vice versa!

6

I wish there were a way for someone to keep statistics about why names were chosen - at least, specifically, whether given names are chosen due to family ties. (I often wonder whether certain names might die out entirely were it not for the desire to pass them down/honor family).