Building a baby name tool sounds simple until you realize how much cultural nuance goes into it. Here's what I learned building BabyNamePick.com.
The Data Challenge
Most baby name databases are heavily biased toward English and Western European names. I wanted to cover 46 different cultural origins — from British and French to Mongolian, Tibetan, and Basque.
The hardest part wasn't the code. It was the research. Each culture has different naming conventions:
- Korean names have specific hanja (Chinese character) meanings
- Arabic names often include honorifics
- Hawaiian names connect to nature and spirituality
- Basque names come from a language isolate with no known relatives
Tech Stack
- Next.js with static export
- Tailwind CSS for styling
- Vercel for hosting
- JSON data file with 1900+ names
SEO Strategy
For a content site, SEO is everything. Here's what worked:
1. Category Pages
Each of the 46 origins gets its own page. These target searches like "Irish baby names" or "Korean baby names for girls."
2. Individual Name Pages
Every name gets a dedicated page at /name/[slug]. This captures long-tail searches like "what does Amaia mean."
3. Letter Index
A-Z pages for people browsing by first letter.
4. Blog Content
Over 100 blog posts covering topics from names meaning star to three-syllable names.
What I'd Do Differently
- Start with more names — 500 wasn't enough. 1900+ feels right.
- Add pronunciation guides earlier — especially for non-English names
- Build the blog from day one — blog posts drive more organic traffic than category pages
Try It
If you're expecting or just love names, check out BabyNamePick.com. It's free, no signup required, and covers cultures most name sites ignore.
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