Long before I had kids, I’d been fascinated with names, their origins, and how people come up with them for their kids. When I was cleaning my bookshelves, I couldn’t believe how many books of names I had. These are not baby name books, but books about their histories and meanings.

When I meet people who have unusual or uncommon names, I often ask about it. Some were family names, some were a mix of two people’s names, some were made up… my kids and I were all named after relatives who passed. I was named after my dad’s grandfather, Max. So if I were of the male persuasion, you’d be calling me Max. My older two were named after my maternal grandparents.

Prepare yourself for a list of various name sites, not just baby names and their meanings. Rather than writing about one site, I provided a list and a short description of each.