Terms of Use

The short version: FastNames is here to help you learn about names. Everything on it is for general information and curiosity, and we do our best to get it right. Here's the longer version.

About the numbers

Our popularity figures come from public records, mostly the Social Security Administration's baby name data and the U.S. Census Bureau's surname counts. Each page tells you which one it's using. Social Security leaves out any name given to fewer than five boys or five girls in a year, so rare names will show up less often than they really occur, or not at all. When we work something out from those numbers, like roughly how many people alive today share a name, that's an estimate, and we'll explain how we got it.

About meanings and origins

We research meanings from published references and cite them on each page. When experts disagree, or a popular meaning doesn't hold up, we'll tell you. Keep in mind that a name's meaning is about history and language. It says nothing about the person who has it.

About the people we mention

We list well-known people to show how a name has been used. Being on a page doesn't mean they're connected to FastNamesor endorse it in any way.

Some guides cover things like naming laws or changing your name. They summarize public sources and show when we last checked them, but they aren't legal advice. For your own situation, the court or agency handling it has the final word.

We work hard to keep everything accurate, but we can't promise there are no mistakes. If you find one, please let us know.