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
Kyra
Kyra peaked in 2005 and holds 37,947 SSA records — a Greek-rooted name that took the KY- opening and made it work without the phonetic confusion that sometimes plagues K-spellings…
- Baby commentary
Lacey
Lacey peaked in 1984 and holds 53,399 SSA records. An Old French surname name with a delicate sound that defined a certain kind of 1980s American femininity and now sits at rank 7…
- Baby commentary
Lara
Lara peaked in 1969 and holds 29,755 SSA records. A Latin-rooted name with Russian literary credentials and film music attached to it, sitting at rank 740. It's one of the most un…
- Baby commentary
Laurel
Laurel peaked in 1956 and holds 46,739 SSA records. A Latin nature name with classical roots that is finding new life as parents search for alternatives to the now-saturated Laura…
- Baby commentary
Lee
Lee has 233,256 SSA bearers, peaked in 1951, and ranks #714 today. It's one of those names that feels like it's always been there: unassuming, steady, gender-fluid before gender-f…
- Baby commentary
Marcel
Marcel peaked in 2022, ranks #753, and has 19,767 SSA bearers. It's the French form of Marcellus, a Roman family name with a martial origin,and it brings a specific kind of Gallic…
- Baby commentary
Michaela
Michaela peaked in 1997 and holds 53,303 SSA records. One of the most popular feminine forms of Michael, now at rank 743. It's a 1990s name with genuine biblical Hebrew roots and…
- Baby commentary
Miller
Miller is an occupational surname that has moved into first-name territory with surprising confidence — currently ranked 757 for girls, with 2,235 SSA records. It belongs to the s…
- Baby commentary
Misael
Misael peaked in 2006, ranks #723, and has 10,034 SSA bearers. It's the Spanish-language form of Mishael, a relatively obscure biblical name from the Book of Daniel,and its presen…
- Baby commentary
Nala
Nala peaked in 2019 and holds 5,815 SSA records. A Swahili name that most Americans know through The Lion King, it carries independent cultural meaning well beyond the film. At ra…
- Baby commentary
Noe
Noe peaked in 2007, sits at rank #768, and has 23,150 SSA records. It's the Spanish form of Noah — one of the most successful names of the 21st century — pronounced NOH-ay, two sy…
- Baby commentary
Nola
Nola is a name with multiple possible roots — Latin, Irish, and Scottish — which is part of its charm. It's short, warm, and carries a geographic energy through its most famous as…
- Baby commentary
Paulina
Paulina is the Latin feminine form of Paulinus, itself derived from Paulus — meaning small or humble in Latin. Ranked 781 with 19,790 SSA records and a peak in 2002, Paulina has a…
- Baby commentary
Pearl
Pearl peaked in 1918 and has 158,735 SSA records — a name that was enormously popular a century ago, fell out of fashion for most of the 20th century, and is now in a full and con…
- Baby commentary
Persephone
Persephone peaked in 2022 and holds 4,583 SSA records. A Greek mythological name that has crossed from "too intense" to "aspirational" in the space of a decade. At rank 737, it's…
- Baby commentary
Ramona
Ramona peaked in 1928 and has 70,496 SSA records — a genuinely old name with a specific mid-century American identity, currently ranked 772. It's the kind of name that lived throu…
- Baby commentary
Raylan
Raylan peaked in 2015, ranks #717, and has 6,540 SSA bearers. It's an American invention, no ancient etymology, no medieval saint,and almost certainly owes its existence to one sp…
- Baby commentary
Rivka
Rivka has 9,554 SSA records and peaked in 2024, making it one of the Hebrew names on an upward climb rather than a revival. It's gaining new parents, not just returning to a nosta…
- Baby commentary
Roger
Roger peaked in 1953, has 441,840 SSA bearers, and ranks #750 today. Along with Dennis, Larry, and Gary, it's one of the quintessential mid-20th century American male names: so th…
- Baby commentary
Royalty
Royalty peaked in 2019 and holds 6,871 SSA records — a word name in the aspirational tradition, sitting at rank 713. It's part of a naming movement that includes Majesty, Dynasty,…
How we work
Editorial policy →
Topic selection, verification, corrections.
How we gather data
Methodology →
Sources, processing pipeline, limitations.