How we score name pairings

Every name list on this site is ranked by a pairing score. The score does one narrow job: it rates how well a name sits next to the name you started from. It does not rate how good a name is on its own, and it is not a prediction of what you or your family will like.

Scoring model last updated October 2026.

What the score is

The score comes from a scoring model we wrote ourselves. Each candidate name earns or loses points for a handful of sound and style factors, listed below. The candidates are ranked by their points, and the best ones go on the page. The model is a set of everyday rules about how names sound together. It is not a scientific study, nobody has tested it against what parents actually choose, and a different set of rules would give a different order.

How the number on the page is shown

The first name on a list keeps its own score. The names below it are then shown a little lower each time, about 16 points over a list of 24, unless their own points were lower still. This makes the list read as a ranking, and it means no two neighbouring names show the same number. In practice, scores on the site run from about 45 to 97.

So read a score as a position and a fit rating on that page. A 70 on one name's page and a 70 on another's are not the same level of fit, and a list whose best score is in the 60s just means that no candidate was a standout for that name.

Middle names

Each candidate starts at 52 points.

• Change of length. A different syllable count from the first name adds 7 points, or 12 when the two names have four or more syllables between them. The same count on a first name of two or more syllables takes off 9. You want the rhythm to change.
• Where the two names join. If the first name ends on a vowel sound and the middle name starts on a consonant, +9. If the first name ends on a consonant and the middle name starts on a vowel, +6. A pair like "Liam Mason", where a consonant meets a consonant, earns neither bonus.
• Same first letter. −13.
• Shared style. When at least one style label is shared, +6 plus +3 for each shared label: one shared label adds 9 points, two add 12.
• Small extras. +4 if the middle name is in the US top 220 for 2025, and +4 for the same origin.

Sibling names

Each candidate starts at 50 points.

• Style. Two or more shared style labels +20, one shared label +10, none −7.
• How well-known. Names in the same popularity band +12, one band apart +3, further apart −(8 + 3 for each band of gap).
• Sound and letters. A rhyme −20, the same ending sound −15, the same first letter −8.
• Small extras. The same number of syllables +4, the same origin +5.

Twin names

Each candidate starts at 48 points, and the rules are stricter than for siblings.

• Style. Two or more shared labels +22, one +11, none −8.
• Rhyme. −28.
• First letter. A different first letter +8, the same −6. Twins are often listed by first initial and surname on forms.
• Length. The same number of syllables +10.
• How well-known. Within one popularity band +8, otherwise −(6 + 3 for each band of gap).
• Origin. The same origin +4.

From points to the number you see

Points are turned into the shown scale (roughly 40 + 0.72 × (points − 22)), kept between about 45 and 97, and then spread down the list as described above. A small fixed adjustment of up to 2 points, based on the letters of the two names, breaks ties so equal names do not always sort the same way. The same two names always get the same result.

What the score does not mean

• It is not a measure of how good, beautiful or right a name is.
• It is not scientifically tested, and it does not predict how happy anyone will be with a name.
• It does not know your surname, your family's traditions, your culture or your language, and it uses one common American English way of saying each name.
• A low score is not a warning. A same-letter or rhyming pair is something many families choose on purpose.
• It is for inspiration. Always say the full name aloud before you decide.

Style labels and popularity bands

Style labels such as classic, modern, nature or vintage are assigned by Mithila Labs. They are judgement calls and not every name has one yet. Every name that has its own page has at least one style label (the labels for names added in October 2026 are our own judgement calls and may be revised). Many of the other names in the finder have none, and a name with no style label counts as sharing no style, which lowers its score. Suggested names are drawn from names that have at least a style label, a meaning or an origin.

Popularity bands come from the US 2025 rankings: Top 10 (rank 1 to 10), Top 50 (11 to 50), Top 100 (51 to 100), Familiar (101 to 1,000), Uncommon (1,001 to 3,000) and Rare (3,001 and below).

Where the data comes from

Names, rankings and birth counts come from the US Social Security Administration's baby name data. We use the national files for 1880 to 2025. They cover US births with a Social Security number application, and include a name only when at least five babies of that sex got it in a year. Everything is about the United States: popularity here is US popularity, not a world ranking, and the lists cover roughly 800 popular US names. Other names in our data (about 10,000 in all) can be scored with the name finder, which uses automatic syllable and ending labels that have not been checked by hand.

Syllable counts, ending sounds, style labels, pronunciations, meanings and origins are not in the government files. Mithila Labs adds these labels, and some are generated automatically. They can contain errors and vary by pronunciation or language. Meaning notes are displayed only where we have recorded a reference; the note links to that reference and retains uncertainty where the etymology is disputed. Other meaning notes are withheld while they are reviewed. Missing meaning information does not lower a pairing score. NamePairings is not connected to or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

Found a mistake?

If a name is labelled wrongly or a number looks odd, tell us and we will check it. More about who makes the site is on the Mithila Labs page. You can also read why rhythm and syllables matter.