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Yunhan
Yunhan

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How I Built a 1,600+ Name Database Covering 50 Origins (and What I Learned About Global Naming)

#nextjs #javascript #webdev #seo

I've been building BabyNamePick.com — a baby name database that now covers 1,600+ names from 50+ cultural origins. Here's what I learned along the way.

The Technical Setup

  • Framework: Next.js with static site generation
  • Data: Single JSON file (names.json) with structured entries
  • Pages: ~3,500 pre-rendered pages (name pages + category pages + blog posts)
  • Hosting: Vercel (free tier handles it fine)

Each name entry looks like:

{
  "name": "Seren",
  "meaning": "Star",
  "origin": "welsh",
  "gender": "girl",
  "styles": ["nature", "short"]
}
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Simple, flat, easy to query. No database needed.

What I Learned About Names

1. Every culture has nature names

Japanese has Sakura (cherry blossom). Welsh has Seren (star). Hawaiian has Kai (sea). Swahili has Baraka (blessing, from nature's abundance). Nature is the universal naming inspiration.

2. "Meaning" means different things

Western names often have etymological meanings that nobody thinks about ("Matthew" = "gift of God" but nobody names their kid Matthew for that reason). In Chinese, Japanese, and Korean naming traditions, the meaning is the primary consideration — parents choose specific characters for their meanings.

3. Pronunciation is the real barrier

The most beautiful names in the world won't get used if English speakers can't pronounce them. Names like Siobhán (shih-VAWN) or Nguyễn (roughly "win") have pronunciation gaps that limit adoption.

The names that cross borders — Mia, Leo, Kai, Luna — all use simple, universal phonemes.

4. Trends are surprisingly global

Nature names are trending everywhere. Short names are trending everywhere. Gender-neutral names are trending everywhere. The internet has made naming culture global in a way it never was before.

5. Some origins are underrepresented

Try finding a good list of Basque, Georgian, or Swahili baby names in English. It's hard. Most "international name" lists cover the same 10 origins. I made it a goal to include names from 50+ origins, including:

  • Polynesian (Moana, Aroha, Koa)
  • Basque (Aitor, Amaia, Iker)
  • Georgian (Giorgi, Tamara, Nino)
  • Catalan (Jordi, Montserrat, Arnau)
  • Mongolian (Batbayar, Oyunbileg)
  • Tibetan (Tenzin, Pema, Dorje)

The SEO Angle

Baby names is a competitive niche, but long-tail keywords are wide open:

  • "Welsh baby names" — much less competition than "baby names"
  • "Baby names meaning fire" — specific intent, easy to rank
  • "Czech baby names" — almost no English-language competition

Each origin page and meaning page targets a specific long-tail keyword. With 100+ blog posts and 50+ origin pages, the site casts a wide net.

What's Next

  • 2,000 names — still adding from underrepresented origins
  • FAQ schema — structured data for better search visibility
  • Name comparison tool — "Seren vs. Stella" type pages
  • Google Adsense — once traffic justifies it

The Stack

Layer Choice
Framework Next.js 14
Rendering Static (SSG)
Data JSON file
Hosting Vercel
SEO Sitemap + IndexNow + blog content
Analytics Google Search Console

Total cost: $0/month. The entire site runs on Vercel's free tier.

If you're building a content site, the lesson is: go deep on a niche, cover it thoroughly, and let static generation handle the scale. 3,500 pages from a single JSON file and some Next.js templates.

Check it out at babynamepick.com.

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