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
Alissa
Alissa is a Germanic variant of the name rooted in the Old High German Adalheidis, nobility and kind, which gave rise to Alice, Alicia, Alissa, and Alyssa. It peaked in 1998 with…
- Baby commentary
Bentlee
Bentlee is a creative respelling of Bentley — itself an Old English place-name meaning "meadow of bent grass" from beonet (bent grass) and leah (clearing). With 4,107 total SSA re…
- Baby commentary
Brynnlee
Brynnlee combines Brynn, the Welsh word for "hill", with the Lee suffix, creating a compound name with Welsh roots and an American sensibility. It peaked in 2021 with 1,841 total…
- Baby commentary
Davon
Davon is an American original — a creative fusion of David and Devon, or simply a phonetic variation that emerged from the rich naming creativity of African American communities i…
- Baby commentary
Dixie
Dixie peaked in 1938 and has 44,489 SSA records, a substantial mid-century American name that carries both Southern regional identity and the peppy energy of a Depression-era nick…
- Baby commentary
Elissa
Elissa is a Greek name, a variant of Elisa and ultimately of Elizabeth — that carried real momentum in the late 1970s, peaking in 1979. It sits close enough to Alyssa and Melissa…
- Baby commentary
Ellowyn
Ellowyn is a modern elaboration of the Welsh name Elwyn or Ellowen, from roots that may connect to the Welsh el (spirit, angel) or to the elm tree. With only 823 SSA records and a…
- Baby commentary
Gentry
Gentry is an Old French-origin name derived from the Middle English word gentrie — meaning "nobility" or "gentle birth," itself from Old French genterise . With 4,199 total SSA re…
- Baby commentary
Hailie
Hailie is the spelling that Eminem used for his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott Mathers, born 1995 — and that association has been the defining influence on the name's American usage.…
- Baby commentary
Henri
Henri is the French form of Henry — Germanic in origin, from Heimrich meaning "home ruler" or "ruler of the household" — and it brings a precise, Continental refinement that the s…
- Baby commentary
Holland
Holland is a place-name-as-given-name that has quietly been climbing for boys despite being more frequently used for girls. Dutch in origin — referring to the western coastal prov…
- Baby commentary
Honor
Honor is a virtue name with direct Latin roots — from honos/honoris , meaning respect, dignity, and integrity. With 1,385 total SSA records and a 2021 peak, Honor is primarily use…
- Baby commentary
Jaelyn
Jaelyn is a five-letter phonetic compound — Jae plus the -lyn suffix — that peaked in 2008 and has 14,101 SSA records. It's one of the more successful members of the Jae- naming c…
- Baby commentary
Jaelynn
Jaelynn is a creative compound of Jae — a variant spelling of Jay, which can be traced to Hebrew origins in Yael ("mountain goat" or "ibex") — and Lynn, from the Old English or We…
- Baby commentary
Jakobi
Jakobi is a creative respelling of Jacobi or Jacoby — Hebrew-rooted names derived from Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or, in later interpretations, "may God protect." With 2,546 tota…
- Baby commentary
Janie
Janie is a diminutive of Jane, itself from the Old French Jehanne, a feminine form of John, from the Hebrew Yochanan meaning "God is gracious." It peaked in 1947 and has 75,428 SS…
- Baby commentary
Keila
Keila is the Spanish phonetic rendering of the Hebrew name Kelila or Keilah, from the Hebrew root meaning "crown" or "laurel wreath." In the Bible, Keilah was a city in Judah. As…
- Baby commentary
Leora
Leora peaked in 1921 and has been quietly present in American naming ever since, never quite fashionable, never quite forgotten. It's a Hebrew name meaning "light" or "my light,"…
- Baby commentary
Lester
Lester is an Old English place-name — a contracted form of Leicester, the English city whose name derives from the Latin Legra Ceaster , "Roman fort on the Soar river." With 130,5…
- Baby commentary
Lillianna
Lillianna is an elaborate variant of Liliana — itself a combination of Lily (from the Latin lilium, the flower) and the -ana suffix that gives it a Latinate femininity. With 6,417…
How we work
Editorial policy →
Topic selection, verification, corrections.
How we gather data
Methodology →
Sources, processing pipeline, limitations.