Names » General Resources

Behind the Name

The etymology and history of first names.

Equivalent Given Names

A useful list of first, a.k.a. given names, and their version as spelled in many different languages. This is a very comprehensive 114 page fully searchable pdf containing thousands of first names. Languages included are English, Czech, French, German, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, and more.

Family Naming Traditions

First Name Basis

To aid you in researching when all you know is the first name of a person. Focuses on unusual first names and women's first names when maiden names are unknown.

Genealogy Magazine - Beware of 18th-Century Middle Names

“Middle names are a modern innovation,” observed The Vermont Record and Farmer in 1873. “Not one person in a hundred in New England a century ago had more than two names. Now eighty-four percent of the persons under twenty have three or more names.”

Genealogy Standards: Names, Dates, and Places | Ancestry (YouTube)

Genealogy World - Nicknames: Some Common. Others Not!

Genealogy.com - Twigs & Trees with Rhonda: Naming Patterns May Hold a Clue

Article by Rhonda R. McClure.

Given Name Index (Wayback Machine)

Given Names

Listing of the ten most popular male and female given names from 1900 to 1977 in order of popularity. Derived from Michigan state driver's licenses.

Name (Wikipedia)

Names, Names and More Names Links

What they mean, where they came from, nicknames, naming patterns.

Namespedia - Names Meaning and Origins

A free names encyclopedia where visitors can search or contribute.

New York Public Library - Names Have Meaning: A Research Guide for Baby Names and Family Names

Personal Name

Definitions & world-wide naming customs from Wikpedia.

ProGenealogists - Coats of Arms, Family Crests, and Surname Origins

An article explaining some of the misconceptions surrounding these topics.
[The original link is broken. This link points to an archived copy on the Wayback Machine]

The USGenWeb Project - Information on Names

Top names of the 1880s

Shows the 200 most popular given names for male and female babies born during 1880 - 1889. From the United States Social Security Administration.

US Naming Laws by State

Learn everything you need to know about naming laws by state —including which names are illegal for birth certificates where you live.

Victorian Era Names - circa 1840's-1890's