You shouldn't have to guess where a website gets its numbers. So here is the exact breakdown of the databases we use. No secrets.
Every popularity metric on this site starts with the U.S. government. The SSA tracks birth records. Once a year, they release the new raw data. As soon as that file goes public, we grab it and update every single trend line and peak year on Birthwaves. That is how the numbers stay accurate.
Finding out what a name means shouldn't require reading a Wikipedia page. We look at actual surname dictionaries and cultural history guides first. Then we push that raw info through a structured content pipeline. That specific process is what turns boring academic facts into the quick, 50-word summaries you see on our cards.
The national numbers only tell half the story. Every state has its own naming culture — and the SSA tracks that too. Their "Names by State" files break down birth registrations state by state, going back to 1910. That's over a century of regional data for all 50 states and Washington D.C. The same minimum applies here as elsewhere on the site: a name needs at least 5 births in that state in a given year to count. Anything below that and you're reading noise, not patterns. The short overview paragraphs on each state page go through the same automated drafting and editorial review process as all our other written content.
Look, nobody is claiming astrology is hard science. But a lot of people like searching for names tied to fire, water, or specific zodiac signs. So we added them. We just use standard historical charts to tag these names. It is literally just a filter to help you sort by mood.