Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about this website:

• Why have you not responded to my email?
• Why is my name not listed?
• Do I need to login?
• I registered for a user account, why was the email not sent to me?
• Why are my username and password not working?
• How do I comment on a name?
• Can you make those annoying ads go away?
• On the message boards, what does NT, RTFM, etc mean?
• Can I send you a list of names so you can put them on your website?
• How do I find a name that means ...?
• Why do you not have more names from this language?
• Why is this language not listed on your languages page?
• What sources did you use to construct this website?
• Can I copy the definition of my name to use in my homework report?
• How do I list your site in my references?
• Can I copy the contents of your website and put them on my website?
• Can you supply me with a list of names for my project?

There is a separate FAQ for questions specifically about names.

Due to volume and time constraints I cannot answer every piece of email I get. However I promise that every email I receive gets read.

Have you made sure that the name is not yet on the site? If it is not, it is probably because it is a rare name that I have not seen before. You can submit it from the submit-a-name page.

You can access all of the data on this site without logging in. However, there are some interactive features that require a login identity, including:

• leaving comments about names
• creating and responding to polls
• maintaining personal name lists
• sending and receiving private messages
• posting messages on the message boards (depending on your domain - some domains allow anonymous postings)

In addition, a login identity gives you the option to fill out your profile and upload a picture, and lets you track your contributions to the site. You can also turn off the banner advertisements that appear at the top of the page.

You can register for a login identity at the registration page.

Please contact me using the email address you used to register and I will activate your account. There are many possible reasons the original email did not reach you, including a typo when you entered your email address, and emailing filtering software.

1. Make sure you type your password exactly as you originally typed it. It is case-sensitive.
2. Make sure you have cookies enabled in your web browser.

To leave a comment on a name you must be logged in. After you are logged in, view the name you wish to comment on. Follow the link on the right side of the page that says "contribute information".

The banner advertisements help pay for this free site. However, if you wish to turn the ads off, you can create a login identity, edit your profile, and then check the "hide ads" checkbox. This will hide them as long as you are logged in.

NT stands for No Text. It means that the message is entirely within the subject line, and there is no point in reading the body of the message.

FN, LN and NN stand for first name, last name and nickname.

Other abbreviations you might see on the message boards are WDYT (what do you think?), NMS (not my style), CAF (create a family), DH/DW/DS/etc (dear husband, dear wife, dear son, etc) and BtN (Behind the Name, the title of this website).

For other common abbreviations see this Abbreviation Guide.

Yes, that would be much appreciated. If you are going to send me the names in an attached file please ensure that it is a plain text file. It is also very helpful if you include the genders of the names.

Keep in mind there is no guarantee that your names will be used on the site.

Using the advanced search page, enter the desired meaning into the uppermost search form, make sure only the box that says "search in meanings" is checked, and then press "Search".

Probably because there are very few reliable reference books about names from that language. I do not purposefully exclude names from any language!

That page only lists languages which are referred to by the name lists. If a language is not there it probably means there are no names from that language included on this website.

See the references page.

That is not a problem as long as it is only a few names. You do not need to ask permission for this.

If your teacher requires you to cite your sources you should use this:

Campbell, Michael D. "Behind the Name: the
   Etymology and History of First Names."
   2008. http://www.behindthename.com/
   (26 May, 2008).

(where 26 May, 2008 is the date you accessed the site)

No, sorry, that is not allowed. Please place a link to the site instead.

Contact me. Please give a brief description your project. I can only supply names and genders.

If you would like a to purchase a list of names, genders, usages, along with variants of each name, please go to the Nomino DATA website. Nomino DATA is licensed to resell data from my website. Sorry, you are not allowed to use this information to create a baby name website.