Names.org was originally started in 1998 as TheMeaningOfNames.org. In 2015, the site was acquired, rebranded as Names.org, and completely updated.

Since that time, the site has seen steady growth as well as steady improvements. We strive to combine as much useful information about a name as we can find and use a variety of data sources including data from the U.S. Census Burea, the Social Security Administration, Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, Wikipedia, Wiktionary, and more.

In addition to finding the origin and traditional meaning of a name, visitors can also see other potential sources of inspiration for names including celebrities with the same name or alternative dictionary definitions. Because names can rarely be classified as purely male or purely female, we also include a scale of how popular a name is for each gender. Anyone can see exactly when their name peaked in popularity and compare the popularity to others.