Does this name go with our surname?
You already know which first names you like. The hard part is saying one out loud in front of your surname and working out why it does or does not sit right. This runs the five checks that people actually notice - rhythm, the join between the two words, rhyme, initials and alliteration - and tells you what each one found and why it matters.
🔒 Your surname is never stored, logged or shared
The middle name is only used for the initials check. Nothing you type here is saved.
How this works, and what it can't do
Do you store our surname?
No. Nothing about your surname is saved, logged or shared - not the name, not a hash of it, not a count. Our name database holds first names only and this tool does not change that. The check runs on the server for the length of one request and the surname is discarded when the response is sent. That is also why the form submits over POST rather than putting your surname into the web address, where it would end up in server logs and in the address bar.
Where does the surname information come from?
From a published open dataset - Onomaverse Global Surname Frequency (CC BY 4.0), about 15,000 distinct surnames across 119 countries, which ships with this site as a reference table exactly like a dictionary would. It is not built from what visitors type here, and nothing you enter is added to it. Two honest limits: it is a compiled dataset rather than an official population register, so treat the percentages as indicative rather than exact; and it is much thinner outside Europe and the Americas - India has a few hundred surnames in it, Nepal none at all. If your surname is not there, the five checks above still work in full, because they read spelling and sound, not a list.
Why is there no compatibility score?
Because there is nothing to measure. There is no objective standard for whether a first name "goes with" a surname - it depends on your language, your family, your accent and your taste. A percentage would be a number we invented, and inventing numbers is exactly what this site refuses to do. So instead you get the individual checks by name, what each one found, and why it matters. You make the call.
How do you count syllables?
From spelling: we count vowel groups and then correct for the parts of English spelling that lie - a silent final "e" (Moore, Clarke), and an "-es" or "-ed" ending that adds no beat (Jones, Barnes). It is a good estimate and not a perfect one; names like Garcia and Nguyen will read low. Both the first name and the surname are measured the same way, which is what matters for a comparison, and if our count disagrees with your ear, your ear is right.
Will it catch every rhyme?
No, and we would rather say so. The rhyme check reads spelling patterns, so it catches Jane Payne and Aiden Hayden, but it can miss a rhyme that only exists in speech or in a particular accent. Every result ends the same way for that reason: say the whole name out loud, a few times, in a normal sentence.
Are matching initials a problem?
No - and we deliberately do not treat them as one. Peter Parker, Marilyn Monroe and Ronald Reagan are all alliterative on purpose. Matching initials make a name land harder and stay in the memory longer. Some families love that and some find it too much. We flag it only so that you notice it before you commit, not because it counts against the name.
How complete is the initials check?
Not very, and that is stated on every result. We compare against a short curated list of English initialisms. We cannot know the slang of every language a family speaks, so the tool always prints the initials plainly so that you can read them yourself in the languages that matter to you.