Baby-Namer! (software package) (Evaluation)
by David Sears

One day you'll probably have to bestow a special name on someone or something--possibly your newborn child. Since I'm a confirmed bachelor, though, babies don't much concern me. Even so, using StudyWare's Baby-Namer!, I did run across a number of choice monikers for my future cats, dogs, and short story characters.

Baby-Namer! puts more than 14,000 names at your fingertips, each complete with definitions, namesakes, and other related data. You'll need to limit your search to fewer than 14,000, of course, and to do that you merely check items off a menu. Want a unisex, unusual name meaning "intellect"? Baby-Namer! supplies several, with Channing the most notable. Ever wonder what your own name means? Ask Baby-Namer!. David means "beloved," and I found myself in the good company of a saint, a playwright (Mamet), and a pop star (Bowie).

Baby-Namer! offers some abbreviated online naming advice that din't sway me in any particular direction. The manual's tips on searching proved more useful, and the appendices offer the necessary explanations and descriptions of search categories. Clearly targeted at the expectant couple, Baby-Namer! should provide them with all the names a child will ever need.