Naming A Human Is Hard: Harness the Power of Technology

Since the beginning of time parents have had to figure out what to call their burping, wiggly little sons and daughters. Tradition has always been helpful. Some communities in Ghana honor close and respected members of the community with the task of naming their kid. Some families name kids after their parents, like for example, George Foreman. In Jewish tradition children are named after a relative who has passed away. Many traditional Chinese are given a "milk" name before they're born to trick evil spirits.

But what oh what is a modern parent of the new millennium to do to find that perfect name? Why, go to your friendly neighborhood internet of course. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are a few cool web sites that I will help you name your kid, or tell you about a name you've already chosen:

• Baby Name Wizard Voyager - Type in a name to see its popularity over time. Very, very cool.
• Baby Name Explorer - this thing makes my brain feel smeary in a way that reminds me of college. It shows you names based on other names. I just wish you could enter in a name to get started with.
• Nymbler - This site also shows you names based on other names, but you get to type in a starting place. It also has a lot more info on the background of different names.
• Baby Name Map - This site shows popular names by U.S. states, Australian states as well as a few random European and South American countries.
  
• Baby Name Wizard Name Mapper - This is by the same people that did the voyager. It shows population densities with different names in different places in the U.S. throughout time.
  

Have fun!