How nametree works

Every family already has a naming style. You can hear it when the names are said together, even if nobody ever planned it. nametree's whole job is to read that style from the names you give it, show it back to you, and grow a tree of names that genuinely belong. Names live in families, not in lists. Everything below follows from that one idea.

The free app, step by step

Plant your names. Add the names already in your family: parents, kids, grandparents, anyone who counts. Or start with a few names you simply love. There are no wrong seeds. Add your last name too if you want every suggestion checked against how the full name sounds.

nametree reads them. It looks at what your names share: the roots they come from, the styles they lean toward, the eras they peaked in, their sound and shape together. Then it tells you what it noticed, in plain language. That's the part we care most about: every suggestion explains itself, like "shares its Hebrew roots with Elizabeth and Noa, and keeps your family's 3-letter signature." If a name is on your tree, you'll always know why.

Grow the tree. This is where it becomes yours. Love a suggestion? Add it to the tree and the whole tree regrows around it, finding names that fit the new shape. Not feeling a branch? Prune it. Have a name in mind we didn't suggest? Add it and see how it reads against your family. The more you grow, the more the tree becomes a portrait of what you're really looking for.

Keep it, share it, grow it together. Save names to your list with notes. Keep more than one tree going (one per scenario, or one per kid). Share your tree with your partner, the grandparents, or your group chat, and let them grow it with you. Naming is a family sport.

Two homes for a name, two different jobs. Tapping ＋ add to tree tells nametree "this is us": the name joins your family's style and every suggestion regrows around it. Tapping ♡ save puts the name on your list, your shortlist: nothing shifts, it just waits for the decision with your notes, and it stays with you across every tree you keep. A simple rule of thumb: browse with the tree, decide with the list.

What makes the matching different

Most name sites show everyone the same popularity lists, or ask you a hundred quiz questions about yourself. nametree reads something better: the names you already chose. They carry more truth about your taste than any quiz, because they're real decisions your family already made.

It reads your family, not a chart. Suggestions are matched to your names' shared roots, style, era, rhythm, and signatures, not to what's trending this year.
No black box. Every single suggestion comes with its reasons, in words. If we can't explain why a name fits, it doesn't get suggested. You should never have to trust us; you can just read the why.
Honest data. Popularity comes from more than a century of real records, drawn as real curves. Meanings are researched and honestly hedged: when a meaning is disputed, we say "traditionally"; when it's unknown, we say so. No invented meanings, ever.
Real traditions, with respect. Collections are curated as living naming cultures, from Nikkei-Brazilian to Korean-American, not keyword grab-bags. If a name belongs to a tradition, we can tell you why.

The Family Name Report (coming soon)

The free app gets you from "no idea" to "a shortlist we love." The report is for the last step: choosing. When your tree is down to a few finalists, the Family Name Report is a written, designed, keepsake-grade analysis of your actual shortlist. Think of it as the letter a wise friend who's known your family for years would write about your final names:

Your family's naming signature, written as a portrait.
Each finalist in depth: its real story and meaning across cultures, its popularity told as a story, how it sounds with your last name, and exactly why it fits your family.
The names side by side, scored on the things that matter, so "three names we love" can finally become a decision.
What we noticed, quietly: not a verdict, but the observation that helps you land.

A small one-time purchase, made from your own list at the moment you need it. No subscription, no account.

Getting the most out of nametree

Plant at least three names. The more seeds, the sharper the reading. Mixing generations (kids + grandparents) gives the richest portrait.
Add your last name. It unlocks the sound checks: flow, rhythm, and the ones to say out loud first.
Use the refine controls. Girl, boy, or both; popular or rare; short or long; lean into a heritage. The tree re-fits instantly.
Tap any blossom for the story behind a suggested name. Prune the ones that aren't you; the tree learns its shape from what you keep.
Test your own candidates. Type any name you're already considering and see how it reads against your family, honestly.
Keep multiple trees. One for each scenario. Switching is instant and nothing is lost.
Share early. A shared tree is the easiest way to get a partner or grandparent genuinely involved, and their additions make your tree smarter.
Go deep on any name. Every name links to its own page: meaning, history, popularity curve, similar names, and the traditions it belongs to.

And the promise underneath all of it: nametree is free, with no ads and no account. Your names are never sold and never tied to you. The tree you grow is yours.

Grow your family's name tree →