Where do you find inspiration? [Boys]

Boy Names
1

My list is feeling a little stale, and even my last batch of favorites is feeling more stale than I wish it did. Where do you turn for inspiration, berries? Besides Nameberry?

Nameberry’s great, but I’ve found that my style doesn’t align with the perennially popular favorites on Nameberry: [name_f]Mabel[/name_f], [name_f]Susannah[/name_f], [name_u]Wren[/name_u], [name_f]Isla[/name_f], [name_m]Henry[/name_m], [name_m]Jasper[/name_m], [name_m]Callum[/name_m], [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m]. Sure, some do, like [name_f]Violet[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Audrey[/name_f], [name_f]Eleanor[/name_f], etc., but not most.

I’ve noticed when I’m not looking, I’m inspired by the things I love–my faith (not just Bible names–offbeat ones like [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] and [name_f]Aquila[/name_f] OR classics like [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], and [name_f]Hannah[/name_f], but also names of reformers, martyrs, missionaries, and church heroes, names with meanings that honor principles about my faith I love, like [name_f]Liliana[/name_f], [name_f]Vera[/name_f], [name_f]Evangeline[/name_f], [name_f]Arabella[/name_f], [name_f]Tessa[/name_f], word names that harken back to my faith–like [name_f]Grace[/name_f], [name_f]Lily[/name_f], [name_f]Verity[/name_f], etc.), my favorite works of literature ([name_u]Austen[/name_u], [name_m]Shakespeare[/name_m], [name_m]Hugo[/name_m], [name_m]Dumas[/name_m]!), my ancestry, [name_u]Brazil[/name_u] (a country that’s come to mean a lot to me over the past decade and a half!), classical music, people I love, really cute kids I meet in passing. Plus, sometimes names just surprise you (like my very favorite girls’ name, [name_f]Isabelle[/name_f], did about 10 years ago!).

But when I’m actively looking, knowing my particular style doesn’t align with any one name book, website, or community? It’s a lot harder. I find I look on behindthename.com a lot, but even that doesn’t always do the trick. Where do you turn for inspiration?

While you’re at it, if you want to suggest, I won’t stop you–the names in my sig are just names I’m playing with for now; other than [name_f]Claire[/name_f] [name_f]Tirzah[/name_f] and [name_f]Aquila[/name_f] [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], I’m not married to most of them.

Thanks, berries!

2

For me, I usually find inspiration on Instagram, pinterest and of course being in public places (example, overhearing a name at the mall).

Somethings if I’m reading blogs I check to see what they’ve named their children in the “about us” sections. I love seeing how people have certain naming styles or themes.

3

I like looking at old records—for example, some counties and historical organizations have marriage records from the 1800s. That’s a great source of all types of names—especially unusual word names (lots of good virtue names) and religious names, including some rarely used gems.

4

I’m a history teacher and a big reader in general, so I often find that coming across names in history or literature endears me to the name, especially if the person who had it was inspiring or interesting in some way. I think I tend to like more common names than many people on nameberry, but even with a name that’s common enough that I know many of them, you can still meet a new person or character who kind of makes you take a second look at it. For instance, I met an adorable baby [name_m]Daniel[/name_m] about a year ago that made me start looking at the name closer, although I’d always liked [name_u]Danny[/name_u], and now it’s on my list.

5

I find the same thing on Nameberry! It sounds like we like similar names and meaning is very important to us.
One site I like is called Appellation Mountain, she does lots of in depth studies of names her readers suggest and I find they are much more unique (without being weird) than other larger sites. She also gets inspiration from lots of different places and does a weekly round up that often links to other great sites. Good luck in your search!