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Baby Name Elimination Game

Free baby name elimination game for couples: keep-or-cut through a pool of names, then head-to-head rounds until one name wins — with a 200-name starter list or your own shortlist. Runs privately in your browser.

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The List Isn't the Problem. Deciding Is.

Every expecting couple has the list — the notes-app scroll of maybes that only ever grows. The elimination game exists to shrink it. Keep-or-cut strips the list to names you actually feel something for (gut answers only, three seconds each), and the head-to-head bracket does what lists can't: it forces the honest comparisons. Nora or June — not in the abstract, right now, tap one. Twenty taps later there is a winner, and the argument you were dreading turned out to be a game.

Two Ways to Play It as a Couple

Play together — a name needs both of you to survive the veto round, then you alternate picks in the bracket and learn a lot from each other's choices. Or play separately: run the full game solo, compare winners, and if they differ, let the two finalists fight the grand final over dinner. Either way, paste your own shortlist or start from the 200-name pool below, filtered for a girl, a boy, or a surprise.

A Starter Pool With Substance

The built-in names below span timeless picks, vintage revivals, and modern favorites across a dozen origins — each with its meaning, because for many parents the meaning is the tiebreaker. Found the one? The sibling name matcher suggests future brothers-and-sisters names that share its style, and the secret santa generator will not help at all, but it is very good at holiday gift exchanges.

The 200-name starter pool, with origins and meanings

NameForOriginMeaningStyle era
OliviaGirlLatinolive treemodern
EmmaGirlGermanicwhole, universaltimeless
AmeliaGirlGermanicindustriousmodern
SophiaGirlGreekwisdomtimeless
CharlotteGirlFrenchfree womanclassic
IsabellaGirlHebrewdevoted to Godmodern
AvaGirlLatinbird, lifemodern
MiaGirlScandinavianmine, belovedmodern
LunaGirlLatinthe moonmodern
HarperGirlEnglishharp playermodern
EvelynGirlEnglishwished-for childvintage
EllaGirlGermaniclight, fairyclassic
ChloeGirlGreekyoung green shootmodern
GraceGirlLatingrace, favortimeless
LilyGirlEnglishlily flowerclassic
NoraGirlIrishhonor, lightvintage
HazelGirlEnglishhazel treevintage
VioletGirlLatinviolet flowervintage
AuroraGirlLatindawnmodern
IvyGirlEnglishivy plantmodern
ScarlettGirlEnglishscarlet redmodern
AriaGirlItalianair, melodymodern
PenelopeGirlGreekweavervintage
LaylaGirlArabicnightmodern
EllieGirlGreekshining lightmodern
ZoeGirlGreeklifetimeless
StellaGirlLatinstarvintage
NatalieGirlLatinborn on Christmasclassic
EmiliaGirlLatinrival, strivingmodern
EverlyGirlEnglishwild boar meadowmodern
LeahGirlHebrewweary, delicatetimeless
AubreyGirlGermanicelf rulermodern
WillowGirlEnglishwillow treemodern
AddisonGirlEnglishchild of Adammodern
LucyGirlLatinlightclassic
AudreyGirlEnglishnoble strengthvintage
BellaGirlItalianbeautifulmodern
ClaireGirlFrenchclear, brighttimeless
SkylarGirlDutchscholarmodern
SavannahGirlSpanishopen plainmodern
AnnaGirlHebrewgracetimeless
CarolineGirlFrenchfree womanclassic
GenevieveGirlFrenchwoman of the familyvintage
EmeryGirlGermanicindustrious rulermodern
SadieGirlHebrewprincessvintage
PiperGirlEnglishpipe playermodern
RubyGirlLatinred gemstonevintage
EvaGirlHebrewlifetimeless
NaomiGirlHebrewpleasantnesstimeless
AliceGirlGermanicnoblevintage
EleanorGirlFrenchshining lightvintage
MayaGirlSanskritillusion, dreammodern
IslaGirlScottishislandmodern
ElenaGirlGreekbright lighttimeless
QuinnGirlIrishdescendant of Connmodern
DelilahGirlHebrewdelicatemodern
JosephineGirlFrenchGod will addvintage
MargaretGirlGreekpearlvintage
RoseGirlLatinrose flowervintage
AdelineGirlFrenchnoblevintage
IrisGirlGreekrainbowvintage
DaisyGirlEnglishday's eye flowervintage
ClaraGirlLatinbright, clearvintage
FreyaGirlNorsenoble lady, goddess of lovemodern
AthenaGirlGreekgoddess of wisdommodern
MargotGirlFrenchpearlvintage
JuniperGirlLatinjuniper treemodern
WrenGirlEnglishsmall songbirdmodern
MaeveGirlIrishshe who intoxicatesmodern
FionaGirlScottishfair, whiteclassic
AstridGirlNorsedivinely beautifulmodern
IngridGirlNorsebeautiful, belovedvintage
MatildaGirlGermanicmighty in battlevintage
BeatriceGirlLatinshe who brings happinessvintage
FlorenceGirlLatinflourishingvintage
HarrietGirlGermanichome rulervintage
CoraGirlGreekmaidenvintage
EsmeGirlFrenchesteemed, lovedmodern
TheaGirlGreekgoddessmodern
NinaGirlSpanishlittle girlclassic
VeraGirlRussianfaithvintage
CamilleGirlFrenchyoung ceremonial attendantclassic
SofiaGirlGreekwisdommodern
ValentinaGirlLatinstrong, healthymodern
CamilaGirlLatinyoung ceremonial attendantmodern
GabrielaGirlHebrewGod is my strengthclassic
LuciaGirlLatinlighttimeless
AmaraGirlIgbogracemodern
ZaraGirlArabicblooming flowermodern
AminaGirlArabictrustworthytimeless
YaraGirlArabicsmall butterflymodern
PriyaGirlSanskritbelovedtimeless
MeiGirlChinesebeautifultimeless
HanaGirlJapaneseflowertimeless
SaoirseGirlIrishfreedommodern
NiamhGirlIrishbright, radiantclassic
GretaGirlGermanicpearlvintage
HeidiGirlGermanicnoble oneclassic
BonnieGirlScottishpretty, cheerfulvintage
LiamBoyIrishstrong-willed protectormodern
NoahBoyHebrewrest, comfortmodern
OliverBoyLatinolive treemodern
JamesBoyHebrewsupplantertimeless
ElijahBoyHebrewmy God is Yahwehmodern
WilliamBoyGermanicresolute protectortimeless
HenryBoyGermanichome rulerclassic
LucasBoyLatinbringer of lightmodern
BenjaminBoyHebrewson of the right handtimeless
TheodoreBoyGreekgift of Godvintage
JackBoyEnglishGod is graciousclassic
LeviBoyHebrewjoined, attachedmodern
AlexanderBoyGreekdefender of the peopletimeless
OwenBoyWelshyoung warrior, noblemodern
DanielBoyHebrewGod is my judgetimeless
SamuelBoyHebrewGod has heardtimeless
SebastianBoyGreekvenerablemodern
DavidBoyHebrewbelovedtimeless
JosephBoyHebrewGod will addtimeless
MatthewBoyHebrewgift of Godclassic
LukeBoyGreekfrom Lucania, lighttimeless
AsherBoyHebrewhappy, blessedmodern
LeoBoyLatinlionmodern
JulianBoyLatinyouthfulmodern
IsaacBoyHebrewhe will laughtimeless
EthanBoyHebrewstrong, enduringmodern
MichaelBoyHebrewwho is like God?timeless
GabrielBoyHebrewGod is my strengthtimeless
CalebBoyHebrewwholehearted, faithfulmodern
NathanBoyHebrewhe gaveclassic
AaronBoyHebrewhigh mountaintimeless
ThomasBoyAramaictwintimeless
CharlesBoyGermanicfree manclassic
ChristopherBoyGreekbearer of Christclassic
AndrewBoyGreekmanly, bravetimeless
JoshuaBoyHebrewGod is salvationclassic
NicholasBoyGreekvictory of the peopleclassic
RyanBoyIrishlittle kingclassic
AdamBoyHebrewearth, mantimeless
NathanielBoyHebrewgift of Godclassic
MilesBoyLatinsoldiermodern
WyattBoyEnglishbrave in warmodern
GraysonBoyEnglishson of the stewardmodern
EzraBoyHebrewhelpermodern
HudsonBoyEnglishson of Hughmodern
LincolnBoyEnglishlake colony townmodern
MaverickBoyAmericanindependent onemodern
EliasBoyHebrewmy God is Yahwehmodern
SilasBoyLatinof the forestmodern
FinnBoyIrishfair, whitemodern
RowanBoyIrishlittle red one, rowan treemodern
DeclanBoyIrishfull of goodnessmodern
EverettBoyEnglishbrave as a wild boarvintage
TheoBoyGreekgift of Godmodern
ArthurBoyCelticbearvintage
FrederickBoyGermanicpeaceful rulervintage
WalterBoyGermanicarmy rulervintage
OscarBoyIrishdeer friendvintage
FelixBoyLatinhappy, fortunatevintage
HugoBoyGermanicmind, intellectmodern
AugustBoyLatingreat, venerablevintage
EdmundBoyEnglishwealthy protectorvintage
AlbertBoyGermanicnoble, brightvintage
EzekielBoyHebrewGod strengthensmodern
EmmettBoyGermanicwhole, universalmodern
BeauBoyFrenchhandsomemodern
JasperBoyPersiantreasurermodern
AtlasBoyGreekto carry, titan of endurancemodern
ApolloBoyGreekgod of light and musicmodern
OrionBoyGreekhunter of the skymodern
KaiBoyHawaiianseamodern
MateoBoySpanishgift of Godmodern
SantiagoBoySpanishSaint Jamestimeless
DiegoBoySpanishsupplantertimeless
LucaBoyItalianbringer of lightmodern
MarcoBoyItalianwarlikeclassic
AliBoyArabicexalted, nobletimeless
OmarBoyArabicflourishing, long-livedtimeless
IdrisBoyArabicstudiousmodern
ArjunBoySanskritbright, shiningtimeless
RaviBoySanskritsuntimeless
KenjiBoyJapanesestrong and vigoroustimeless
HiroBoyJapanesegenerousmodern
SorenBoyDanishsternmodern
MagnusBoyLatingreatmodern
AxelBoyScandinavianfather of peacemodern
BjornBoyNorsebearclassic
AndersBoyScandinavianmanly, braveclassic
StefanBoyGreekcrownclassic
WillemBoyDutchresolute protectorclassic
SemBoyHebrewname, renownmodern
DaanBoyDutchGod is my judgemodern
BramBoyDutchfather of manyclassic
JorisBoyDutchfarmerclassic
CasperBoyPersiantreasurerclassic
RubenBoyHebrewbehold, a sontimeless
VincentBoyLatinconqueringclassic
RomanBoyLatincitizen of Romemodern
JudeBoyHebrewpraisedmodern
ElodieGirlFrenchforeign richesmodern
ColetteGirlFrenchpeople of victoryvintage
JulietteGirlFrenchyouthfulclassic
AmelieGirlFrenchindustriousmodern
ManonGirlFrenchbitter graceclassic
CelineGirlFrenchheavenlyclassic
OdetteGirlFrenchwealthyvintage
SylvieGirlFrenchfrom the forestvintage
GiuliaGirlItalianyouthfultimeless
ChiaraGirlItalianbright, cleartimeless
AlessiaGirlItaliandefendermodern
FrancescaGirlItalianfree oneclassic
RosaGirlItalianrosevintage
CarmenGirlSpanishgarden, songclassic
InesGirlSpanishpure, chasteclassic
PalomaGirlSpanishdovemodern
RosaliaGirlSpanishrosevintage
AlmaGirlSpanishsoulvintage
SakuraGirlJapanesecherry blossommodern
YukiGirlJapanesesnow, happinessmodern
AikoGirlJapanesebeloved childclassic
EmiGirlJapanesebeautiful blessingmodern
RinGirlJapanesedignifiedmodern
LinGirlChinesefine jade, foresttimeless
JiaGirlChinesegood, beautifulmodern
XiuGirlChineseelegantclassic
AnikaGirlSanskritgrace, brilliancemodern
AshaGirlSanskrithope, wishtimeless
DiyaGirlSanskritlamp, lightmodern
KavyaGirlSanskritpoetrymodern
LeelaGirlSanskritdivine playclassic
FatimaGirlArabiccaptivatingtimeless
NoorGirlArabiclightmodern
SalmaGirlArabicpeacefulclassic
SamiraGirlArabicevening companionclassic
AaliyahGirlArabicexaltedmodern
SigridGirlNorsebeautiful victoryvintage
SolveigGirlNorsestrong house, sun pathvintage
LivGirlNorselife, protectionmodern
SagaGirlNorsestoryteller, seeressmodern
ElinGirlScandinavianbright lightclassic
MajaGirlScandinaviansplendidmodern
LotteGirlDutchfree womanclassic
SanneGirlDutchlilymodern
FleurGirlDutchflowermodern
FemkeGirlDutchlittle peaceclassic
RoosGirlDutchroseclassic
KatarinaGirlSlavicpureclassic
MilaGirlSlavicgracious, dearmodern
NadiaGirlSlavichopeclassic
AnyaGirlRussiangracemodern
ZofiaGirlPolishwisdomvintage
AoifeGirlIrishbeautiful, radiantmodern
SiobhanGirlIrishGod is graciousclassic
ClodaghGirlIrishriver goddessclassic
EilidhGirlScottishradiant onemodern
CalliopeGirlGreekbeautiful voicemodern
DaphneGirlGreeklaurel treevintage
PhoebeGirlGreekbright, radiantclassic
XantheGirlGreekgolden hairedmodern
EtienneBoyFrenchcrownclassic
LaurentBoyFrenchfrom Laurentumclassic
OlivierBoyFrencholive treeclassic
RemyBoyFrenchoarsmanmodern
LucBoyFrenchlightclassic
MatteoBoyItaliangift of Godmodern
AlessandroBoyItaliandefender of the peopletimeless
GiovanniBoyItalianGod is gracioustimeless
EnzoBoyItalianhome rulermodern
DanteBoyItalianenduringmodern
RafaelBoySpanishGod has healedtimeless
AlejandroBoySpanishdefender of the peopletimeless
JavierBoySpanishnew houseclassic
CarlosBoySpanishfree manclassic
EmilioBoySpanishstrivingvintage
HarutoBoyJapanesesunlight, soaringmodern
RenBoyJapaneselotus, lovemodern
SotaBoyJapaneseswift, bigmodern
TakumiBoyJapaneseartisanmodern
WeiBoyChinesegreat, mightytimeless
JunBoyChinesetalented, handsometimeless
MingBoyChinesebrightclassic
RohanBoySanskritascendingmodern
DevBoySanskritgodlikemodern
KiranBoySanskritray of lighttimeless
AaravBoySanskritpeaceful soundmodern
VihaanBoySanskritdawnmodern
HassanBoyArabichandsome, goodtimeless
KarimBoyArabicgenerousclassic
TariqBoyArabicmorning starclassic
ZaydBoyArabicgrowth, abundancemodern
RayanBoyArabicgate of heavenmodern
LeifBoyNorseheir, descendantvintage
ErikBoyNorseeternal rulerclassic
GunnarBoyNorsebold warriorvintage
OdinBoyNorsefury, inspirationmodern
NilsBoyScandinavianvictory of the peopleclassic
EspenBoyScandinaviangod bearmodern
ThijsBoyDutchgift of Godmodern
GijsBoyDutchbright hostageclassic
FlorisBoyDutchfloweringclassic
JesseBoyDutchgiftmodern
SvenBoyDutchyoung warriorclassic
MilanBoySlavicgracious, dearmodern
IvanBoySlavicGod is gracioustimeless
NikolaiBoyRussianvictory of the peopleclassic
DmitriBoyRussianfollower of Demeterclassic
MarekBoyPolishwarlikeclassic
CianBoyIrishancientmodern
EoinBoyIrishGod is graciousclassic
TadhgBoyIrishpoet, philosopherclassic
LachlanBoyScottishfrom the land of lakesmodern
EwanBoyScottishyoung warriorclassic
AlistairBoyScottishdefender of the peoplevintage
NikosBoyGreekvictory of the peopleclassic
AdonisBoyGreeklord, extremely handsomemodern
LeonidasBoyGreeklion sonmodern
KwameBoyAkanborn on Saturdaytimeless
AmariBoyYorubastrength, buildermodern
ZuriGirlSwahilibeautifulmodern
NiaGirlSwahilipurposemodern
ImaniGirlSwahilifaithmodern

The exact pool the game deals from — 100 girls' and 100 boys' names. Use your own shortlist any time.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the elimination game work?

Two phases. First, keep-or-cut: names appear one at a time and you go with your gut — no debating yet. Then the survivors enter head-to-head rounds: two names side by side, tap the one you love more, until a single winner remains. The bracket forces the comparisons you’d otherwise avoid.

How do we play it as a couple?

The classic way: one keep-or-cut pass together (either of you can veto — a name needs two yeses to survive), then alternate who picks in the head-to-head rounds. Or run the whole game twice, once each, and compare your two winners — if they match, congratulations; if not, those two go head-to-head as the grand final.

Can we use our own name list?

Yes — paste your shortlist (four or more names) and the game uses exactly those instead of the starter pool. The starter pool draws from 200 curated names filtered by girl, boy, or both.

Why a bracket instead of just rating names?

Ratings ask an impossible question — "how much do I like Nora, absolutely?" — while a bracket asks an easy one: "Nora or June?" Forced pairwise choices surface real preferences fast, which is exactly why the format works for everything from tennis seeds to this.

Is our shortlist private?

Completely — the game runs in your browser and nothing you type is sent anywhere. Play on the couch, not in the cloud.

Baby name elimination game in the head-to-head round with two large name cards to choose between
The bracket asks the easy question: this name or that one? Tap your favorite until a single winner remains.