Author
Jack Lin
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Based in Taipei, Taiwan
Jack is a software engineer based in Taipei, Taiwan. He built NamesPop because the naming tools he found online all felt the same: slow, ad-heavy, and better at gathering SEO keywords than answering a parent's actual question.
He spends most of his writing time on trend analysis, data provenance, and the question of how software changes the small family decisions that used to happen in living rooms. Lately he has been thinking about how algorithms shape naming itself — what it means when a top-100 list starts to feel like a recommendation engine.
He lives with a rabbit named Money, which is where most of his pet-naming opinions come from.
2,387
Total pieces
131
Articles
1,085
Baby commentary
1,171
Pet commentary
Jack Lin's contributions
- Baby commentary
Lyam
Lyam is an Irish-origin spelling variant of Liam — itself the Irish short form of William, the Germanic name meaning "resolute protector." With 1,879 SSA records and a 2024 peak,…
- Baby commentary
Lyle
Lyle is an Old French surname derived from l'isle — the island — that became a given name and accumulated 58,977 SSA records across its American run, peaking in 1922. Now at #1018…
- Baby commentary
Maelyn
Maelyn combines the Mae- prefix — with its connections to the month of May, to the Latin Maia , and to the classic nickname Mae — with the Celtic -lyn suffix that signals Welsh or…
- Baby commentary
Maelynn
Maelynn is a contemporary compound name built from Mae (a medieval English form of May or a nickname for Margaret) and the -lynn suffix that has been feminizing names since the mi…
- Baby commentary
Maple
Maple is having a genuine moment. With about 3,055 SSA records and a 2024 peak, it's the most current name in this batch — actively climbing right now. It belongs to the cottageco…
- Baby commentary
Mariano
Mariano is a name with deep Catholic roots and one of the greatest baseball careers in history attached to it. Ranked #1151 with a peak in 2022 and 9,881 total SSA uses, it is a n…
- Baby commentary
Mariel
Mariel is a Hebrew-rooted name that arrived in American popular culture through two very different channels — a Cuban port city and a member of the Hemingway dynasty. With 7,182 S…
- Baby commentary
Martina
Martina is the Latin feminine form of Martin — itself from the Roman god Mars, meaning "of Mars" or "warlike" — dressed in a three-syllable Italian-Spanish form that sounds both c…
- Baby commentary
Mattie
Mattie peaked in 1920 with 132,813 SSA records. This name has been riding out a century-long decline and is now positioned exactly where Nellie and Millie were before their remark…
- Baby commentary
Maylee
Maylee is a compound name pairing May (the month name, the spring goddess, the medieval English nickname for Mary) with the -lee feminizing suffix. It peaked in 2016 with 4,348 to…
- Baby commentary
Mekhi
Mekhi is a phonetic respelling of Micah or Michael — ultimately from the Hebrew Mikha'el , meaning "who is like God" — that emerged in African American naming culture as a way to…
- Baby commentary
Miah
Miah is Mia with a flourish — the same two clean syllables, the same Hebrew-Italian lineage, but with a spelling that adds a breath of individuality. It peaked in 2012 and carries…
- Baby commentary
Mireya
Mireya is a Spanish form of Mireille — the Provençal name that Frédéric Mistral immortalized in his 1859 epic poem. With 9,737 SSA records and a 1997 peak, it has been primarily a…
- Baby commentary
Mollie
Mollie is the traditional British and Irish spelling of Molly — the Hebrew-origin diminutive of Mary, meaning "sea of bitterness" or "beloved" depending on the etymology you follo…
- Baby commentary
Moriah
Moriah is a Hebrew place name with profound biblical significance — Mount Moriah is the location in the Hebrew Bible where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac, and where the…
- Baby commentary
Nael
Nael is an Arabic name meaning "achiever" or "one who gains and attains" — from the root nala (to attain, obtain, achieve) — that has a 2024 peak and just 1,194 SSA records, makin…
- Baby commentary
Nathaly
Nathaly is a Spanish-influenced spelling of Nathalie or Natalie — a Latin-origin name meaning "Christmas Day" or "birthday of the Lord" — given a Y ending that reflects Hispanic n…
- Baby commentary
Noble
Noble is an Old French virtue name meaning exactly what it says — from the Latin nobilis , "well-known" or "of high birth," which in the medieval French tradition came to mean mor…
- Baby commentary
Nova
Nova for boys is a genuinely interesting choice in 2024 — the name sits at #1177 in the boys' SSA data with a 2020 peak, at a time when it's simultaneously one of the hottest girl…
- Baby commentary
Paola
Paola is the Italian and Spanish feminine form of Paul — and it carries the easy elegance that comes with names that have been used continuously across centuries and continents. I…
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Methodology →
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