How do you choose between baby names?
Paste your shortlist and run one Race. The winner is not the decision — your reaction to it is. If a name winning makes you want to run it again, you already had a favourite, and finding that out is worth more than another evening of reading the list aloud.
This is not a baby name generator. It does not invent names, rank them by popularity, or tell you what a name means. You already have the list — the two of you have been reading it out loud to each other for a month.
What it does is take the decision off the table for ten seconds. Paste the shortlist, run one race, and look at the winner. Half the time you will be delighted. The other half you will feel a small thud of disappointment, and that is the actual answer: you wanted the other one.
The disappointment test
The most useful thing a random pick does is expose a preference you could not argue for. Flip between two names you claim to like equally and watch which result makes you reach to run it again. That reaction is information you could not get by discussing it for another evening.
Nothing here is binding, nothing is saved unless you sign in and save it deliberately, and nobody is told.
Two finalists or ten
- Two names. A coin flip with the two names on the two sides. Faster, and the drama fits the moment.
- Three to thirty. A Race gives you a winner and a ranked runner-up list, so if the winner does not survive being said out loud, second place is right there.
- First and middle. Run it twice, or run it once and take first and second place.
Weighting it honestly
If one name is genuinely ahead but you want the others to have a shot, Weighted odds gives it more lottery balls. The ball counts appear in the standings, so you both know exactly how tilted the draw was — which is more honest than a shuffle where one person quietly wrote the list.
Other names this works for
Pets, teams, bands, boats, the new puppy, the group chat, and the sourdough starter. Any shortlist where the arguing has outlasted the usefulness of arguing.
How it works
Paste the shortlist
The names you have actually narrowed it to.
Run one race
A winner, and the full running order behind it.
Check your gut
Relief or disappointment — both of them tell you something.
Questions
Does this generate baby names?
No. It picks between names you already have. If you are still looking for candidates, a name book or a popularity list is the right tool — come back when you have a shortlist.
Is my list private?
Yes. Nothing you paste leaves your browser unless you sign in and deliberately save a list. There is no account needed to use it.
How many names can I put in?
Up to 12. Coin Flip is the two-name version.
Should we actually let a randomizer name our baby?
Probably not on its own. Use it to break a deadlock and to find out which result you were quietly hoping for — then make the call yourselves.