Baby Names / First Names 2025

Review by eFreeware

Baby Names / First Names 2025 is a naming app from CharliesNames UG, and it sits in the Parenting category on Google Play. The idea is simple enough to explain in one line: you swipe through first names, mark the ones you like, and if you are searching with a partner, the app shows you the names you both picked. Choosing a name is one of the few baby decisions that has no wrong answer and still manages to cause arguments, so a tool built specifically around that standoff makes sense.

The main reason to consider it is the combination of scale and filtering. The developer lists more than 15,000 first names with origin and meaning, drawn from over 40 countries, and you can narrow the pool by gender before you start swiping. That is a lot of ground to cover compared with a printed name book, and the partner matching turns the search into something two people can do at the same time rather than in sequence.

It is free to download, carries no ads, and offers in-app purchases. The app has been on Google Play since August 2016 and shows over a million installs with a 4.0 average from 3,953 ratings. That history matters less than the current state of the app, but it does suggest a product that has been through many rounds of refinement rather than a weekend project.

Swiping together, and why the match matters

The core loop is the part the developer leads with, and it is the part that decides whether this app works for you. You swipe through names, and each swipe is a small judgment: yes, no, maybe. The app then surfaces the names both partners liked, so the shortlist builds itself out of agreement instead of negotiation. Instead of one person reading a list aloud while the other vetoes, both people swipe independently and compare results afterward.

That structure solves a specific problem. Most couples do not disagree about whether a name is objectively good; they disagree about which of two hundred acceptable names is the right one, and the discussion goes in circles because neither person has a clear picture of the other's preferences. A mutual-match list replaces the circular conversation with a concrete set of names that already passed both filters.

Personalized suggestions layered on top of swiping are a reasonable way to keep the pool from feeling endless. If the suggestions land, you spend less time on names you would never pick; if they miss, the manual swipe and filter options are still there.

The supporting features that do the quiet work

Around the swiping, the app packs a set of tools that matter more than they first appear. You can filter by boy, girl, or unisex names, which is useful when you are keeping the gender a surprise or deliberately choosing something neutral. You can add your own favorite names to the pool, so family names or names you have already shortlisted elsewhere are not left out of the matching process.

The most practical addition is the ability to enter your last name and middle name and see how a first name sits alongside them. A name that sounds fine on its own can turn awkward once it meets a surname, and testing the combination before committing is a small feature with real consequences. It is the difference between liking a name in the abstract and liking it as your child's actual name.

The name pool is organized by country, with top lists from more than 40 nations spanning the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, much of Europe, several Latin American countries, and a number of African nations including Kenya, Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa. If your family has roots in more than one place, or you simply want something outside the usual domestic top ten, this is where the app earns its keep. The developer also states the app is GDPR-compliant, which is the kind of detail that matters more to some users than others.

What the free version gives you, and what Pro adds

The app is free to download and the developer states it is 100 percent ad-free, which is unusual for a free app in this category and a genuine point in its favor. There are in-app purchases, and a Pro version expands the filtering and search tools rather than gating the core experience.

Pro adds filters that let you work by first and last letter, exclude letters you dislike, and set a preferred name length. If you have a rule in mind, such as names that start with a particular letter or names that avoid a family initial, those filters turn a large pool into a workable one. Pro also lets you restart the name search from scratch, browse without interruption, and move your favorites between devices.

Pro is positioned as a way to support the project as much as a feature upgrade, and it is described as lasting for life. Whether the extra filters are worth paying for depends entirely on how specific your criteria are. If you have already decided you want a short name starting with a particular letter, the Pro filters may be worth considering.

What the app asks of you before it works

The partner matching only does its job if both people use the app. That is not a flaw so much as the nature of the feature, but it is worth being realistic about. If your partner will not install it, you are left with a solid solo browsing tool and a much less interesting matching feature. The app is built for two people searching together, and it works best when both are willing to swipe for a few minutes at a time.

The app also assumes you want to browse rather than read. There are 15,000 names with origin and meaning, and the meaning is there when you want it, but the primary interaction is swiping, not studying. If you prefer to sit down with a long annotated list and read it end to end, the format will feel like it is working against you. If you like the idea of making progress in short bursts, it fits naturally.

There is also a cost dimension to think through. The download is free and the app has no ads, so the barrier to trying it is low. The Pro filters are a convenience rather than a requirement for finding a name.

How I would actually use it

I would start by setting the gender filter and doing a first pass alone, without worrying about agreement, just to see what the pool looks like and to calibrate my own taste. That pass is cheap, and it makes the partner stage more productive because you arrive with a rough sense of what you like rather than starting cold. It also surfaces the names you would never have thought to search for, which is the main argument for browsing a large catalog instead of a shortlist.

Once both people are set up, I would treat the matching as a running process rather than a single session. Swipe in short bursts over a few days, check the mutual matches as they accumulate, and let the list of agreed names grow. The names that keep coming back to the top are the ones worth testing against your last name and middle name inside the app.

For families with a specific cultural background, I would go straight to the country lists and work within the relevant ones rather than swiping the whole pool. That is a faster route to names that fit the family, and it makes the origin and meaning information more useful because you are reading it in context. If your criteria are tight, the Pro letter and length filters slot in naturally at this stage.

Finally, I would not expect the first mutual match to be the answer. The value of this kind of app is in narrowing a large field to a handful of serious candidates, and the decision still belongs to you. What the app removes is the administrative friction, not the judgment.

A sensible tool for parents who cannot agree

Baby Names / First Names 2025 does one job and does it in a way that fits how couples actually argue about names. The swipe-and-match mechanic turns a circular discussion into a list of names you both already approved, and the 15,000-name pool with country lists gives you enough range to find something that is not on every other birth announcement. The Pro filters are there if you have specific rules in mind.

It suits expectant parents who want to search together, especially those with a multicultural family or a preference for names outside the domestic top ten. The 4.0 rating from nearly four thousand reviewers suggests a solid, if not universally loved, experience.

The caveats are straightforward. The partner feature needs a partner who will use it. The swiping format rewards browsing over reading. Whether the Pro filters are worth it depends on how particular your criteria are. None of those are reasons to avoid the app; they are reasons to know what you are getting.

If you are expecting a baby and the name conversation has stalled, this is a reasonable place to restart it. Download it, set your filters, and let the matches do the arguing for you.

What's new in version 2.0.59

- lots of new names - better usability - improved design - optimized name search and AI