Methodology

Every report explores a name's meaning and origin, pronunciation, international usability, spelling considerations, and researched context where available — then combines what can be measured into a single Matrix score.

The score is deterministic

The Matrix score is calculated from a fixed set of dimensions using rule-based logic — the same inputs always produce the same score. It is not a popularity vote, not a subjective editorial rating, and not generated by AI (see AI Usage for exactly where AI is and isn't involved).

Missing data isn't scored as zero

If we don't have evidence for part of a name's profile, that part is marked unassessed rather than counted against the name. An unassessed dimension does not pull the overall score down the way a genuinely weak result would.

Popularity is context, not a quality score

How common or rare a name is shown as separate, labeled context (“Market Evidence”) — it does not feed into the Matrix score itself. A rare name is not scored worse for being rare, and a common name is not scored better for being common.

First name vs. full name

A first-name-only report and a full-name report (with a surname) are genuinely separate evaluations — pronunciation, initials, and rhythm behave differently once a surname is added. If you check just a first name, full-name-specific fields are marked unassessed rather than filled in with an assumed or synthetic value.

Confidence is visible

Where evidence is thin, disputed, or comes from a lower-confidence source tier, the report says so in plain language rather than presenting every fact with the same level of certainty.

Updates

As we add sources or fix errors, individual name pages can change. We don't maintain a public changelog of every content update, but corrections are handled per our Corrections process.