# Nameberry Review (2026): Paywall, App and 100k Names URL: https://bundleofjoy.app/review/nameberry-review Type: review Locale: en Published: 2026-10-13 Updated: 2026-10-14 --- > We audited Nameberry's site, membership page and app listings on 14 October 2026. Here is what costs money now, what the store ratings say, and who gets value. *Audited 14 October 2026* ## Nameberry Review (2026): The Paywall, the App and 100k Names What the biggest independent baby name site now charges for, what the swipe app delivers, and who should pay. ## Verdict **Score: 6.4/10** Nameberry is the deepest baby name library we checked, with 100,000+ names and 2,000+ curated lists, but since July 2026 its forums and best tools sit behind a $19.99 a year membership. The swipe app is the weak link at 2.6/5 on the App Store and 1.1/5 on Google Play. Worth it for research and trend data, less so for couples who mainly want to agree on a name. **Quick scores:** - Catalog depth: 9/10 - Free access: 5/10 - Value for money: 7/10 - App experience: 4/10 **Pros:** - 100,000+ names with origins, meanings and popularity data, plus 2,000+ curated lists, free to browse - Annual membership is $19.99, about $1.67 a month, with no ads and popularity forecasts - Naming Partners lets any number of people swipe separately and only shows shared likes **Cons:** - Forum posting now needs a membership or Elderberry status, which triggered a 98-post backlash thread - App ratings are weak: 2.6/5 on iOS (37 ratings) and 1.1/5 on Google Play (17 reviews) - Popularity maps cover 10,000 names, only about a tenth of the 100,000+ catalog - Monthly billing costs $49.91 over a first year, 2.5 times the annual plan *Call to action: Visit Nameberry* (Free to browse. Membership from $4.99 for three months.) > **Disclosure** — Disclosure: bundleofjoy publishes its own baby name tools, so we compete with Nameberry for the same parents. We have no affiliate agreement with Nameberry and earn nothing if you click through; the button goes to the official site. Every figure below comes from public pages and store listings we opened on 14 October 2026, and we name the source each time. ## How we reviewed it - **Version tested:** Website as of 14 Oct 2026; iOS app v0.2.0 (20 Sep 2026); Google Play listing updated 21 Sep 2026 - **Test period:** 2026-10-14 → 2026-10-14 **Test categories:** Pricing and paywall, Catalog size, App store ratings, Community and forum feedback, Reddit and parent-forum sentiment This is a desk audit done in one session on 14 October 2026, not a month of daily use. We did not buy a membership and we did not swipe through the app. We opened the live home, membership, app and list pages, read both store listings, the 6 July 2026 forum announcement and the founder's newsletter, and searched Reddit, BabyCenter and What to Expect for parent opinions. Measured numbers were counted on the page that day. Claimed numbers are Nameberry's own. Arithmetic is ours and labelled. ## Should you use Nameberry? **YES if you...** - Parents who want a deep origins, meanings and popularity reference they can browse for free - Name lovers who value two decades of editorial lists and trend forecasts - Couples ready to pay $4.99 once to swipe and match on a shared shortlist - Readers who would rather pay a small fee than see ads **NO if you...** - Anyone who expects the forums to stay open to free posting - Couples who want search, filters or custom names inside a swipe app - Parents who need popularity predictions for every one of the 100,000+ names - People who want an app that explains why it suggests each name ## What Nameberry costs in October 2026 ### Free account — $0 Ad-supported basics - Browse names, lists and guides - Read the forums - Basic site features ### Three-month membership — $4.99for 3 months Then $4.99 a month, cancel anytime - Popularity forecasts - Popularity maps for 10,000 names - Generate name ideas from any list - Forum posting - No ads ### Annual membership — $19.99/year *(Best value)* Same features, paid once - Everything in the three-month plan - About $1.67 a month - One-year gift version is $19.99 with no auto-renewal ### Swipe app — $4.99one time Store listing price - Unlimited favorites and Naming Partners - Free swipe limit raised from 50 to 1,000 in v0.2.0 - Separate from the website membership **ROI breakdown:** The annual plan works out at $1.67 a month. Staying on monthly billing for a year costs $49.91 ($4.99 for three months, then nine months at $4.99), which is 2.5 times the annual price. The app's $4.99 is a separate purchase. **Hidden costs & gotchas:** - The monthly plan renews at $4.99 a month after the first three months - The app is a separate $4.99 one-time purchase, not included in the membership - Popularity maps cover 10,000 names, not the full catalog - Forum posting needs a membership unless you hold Elderberry status ## What parents rate it on the app stores Customer ratings gathered from the platforms where Nameberry is actually listed. Trustpilot returned no Nameberry page, and we found no G2 or Capterra profile. *[Interactive widget — see the live page for the full experience]* *The membership page* ## Two plans, five features Both plans list the same five benefits. Only the billing differs, which keeps the decision simple. - $4.99 for three months, then $4.99 a month - $19.99 a year, labelled best value *A free list, measured* ## One list, 1,014 names, 49 pages We counted: 1,014 names across 49 pages at 60 per page. Browsing was not gated on the page we loaded. - Each entry carries origin, meaning and commentary - Sort by A to Z or by popularity ## What we measured and read - **Names in catalog (claimed):** 100,000 + names *(Nameberry home page headline stat)* - **Curated lists (claimed):** 2,000 + lists *(Nameberry home page)* - **Names in the nature list (measured):** 1,014 names over 49 pages *(Counted on nameberry.com/list/329, 60 per page)* - **Names with popularity maps:** 10,000 names *(Membership page; about 10% of the claimed catalog (our arithmetic))* - **Annual plan cost per month:** $1.67 *($19.99 divided by 12)* - **First-year cost on monthly billing:** $49.91 *($4.99 for 3 months, then 9 months at $4.99)* - **iOS app rating:** 2.6 /5 *(37 ratings, App Store listing)* - **Android app rating:** 1.1 /5 *(17 reviews, Google Play listing, 1K+ downloads)* - **Forum paywall thread:** 98 posts *(43 users, 3.0k views, 1.7k likes, started 6 July 2026)* > Open nameberry.com and read the headline numbers above the fold. The hero reads 100k+ names, 2,000+ curated lists, 20 years of name data and 128k community members. The header offers a Subscribe button next to Sign In. > Open the membership page and compare the two plans. Both plans list the same five benefits. $4.99 covers three months, then renews at $4.99 a month. The annual plan is $19.99 and carries the Best value label. > Open the nature names list and count the names and pages. 1,014 names over 49 pages, 60 per page, filterable by gender and sortable by popularity. Each name links to a full entry. > Open the app page and read what the swipe app promises. The page promises matches on names both partners like, learning recommendations, invites for family and a 20-year data backing. Both stores list in-app purchases. ## Pros and cons ### Pros - **Depth that a free database rarely matches** — 100,000+ names, 2,000+ lists and long editorial entries with origin, meaning and popularity context. The nature list alone ran to 1,014 names. - **A cheap, ad-free paid tier** — $19.99 a year is $1.67 a month, and it removes ads from a site that carried a lot of them. - **Naming Partners avoids the loudest-voice problem** — Each person swipes alone, so only shared likes surface. Invites are not capped, so grandparents can join without a vote. - **Popularity forecasts add something static lists lack** — The founder describes curves through 2040, which turns a ranking into a direction. ### Cons - **Forum access moved behind a paywall in July 2026** — The announcement thread drew 98 posts from 43 users. - **The app is rated 2.6/5 on iOS and 1.1/5 on Android** — Reviewers cite no search, no filters, obscure suggestions and loading bugs. Sample sizes are small, 37 and 17. - **Premium popularity maps cover only 10,000 names** — That is roughly a tenth of the claimed catalog, so most names have no map. - **Costs add up if you stay on monthly billing** — $49.91 in the first year against $19.99 for annual, plus $4.99 if you also want the app. - **No Trustpilot, G2 or Capterra presence to cross-check** — Independent ratings only exist for the app, so the website's quality rests on forum and Reddit opinion. ## Final verdict **Score: 6.4/10** Nameberry remains the first place we would send someone who wants to understand a name: where it comes from, how it is trending, what people say about it. The free site still does that job, and the $19.99 annual plan is a fair price for forecasts and an ad-free experience. What has changed is the contract with the community. Posting now costs money, and the app launched with weak ratings. Both are fixable, and the free swipe limit has already risen from 50 to 1,000. Our advice: use the free site for research, pay the annual fee only if the forecasts or forums matter to you, and treat the app as a young product. If your main goal is agreeing on a name with a partner, shortlist elsewhere first and check the finalists on Nameberry. **Dimensional scoring:** - **Catalog depth:** 9/10 — 100,000+ names, long entries - **Free access:** 5/10 — Browsing free, forums paywalled - **Value for money:** 7/10 — $1.67 a month on the annual plan - **App experience:** 4/10 — 2.6/5 iOS, 1.1/5 Android - **Community:** 6/10 — Large, but posting now gated - **Partner matching:** 6/10 — Good concept, thin controls - **Trend data:** 8/10 — Forecasts, limited to 10,000 maps *Call to action: Visit Nameberry* ## Common questions about Nameberry ### Is Nameberry free to use? Browsing names, lists and guides is free with ads. Forum posting, popularity forecasts, maps for 10,000 names and idea generation need a membership, which starts at $4.99 for three months. ### How much does a Nameberry membership cost? $4.99 for the first three months, then $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. Staying monthly for twelve months totals $49.91, so the annual plan is about 2.5 times cheaper. ### How many names does Nameberry have? The site says 100,000+ names and 2,000+ curated lists. We counted 1,014 names across 49 pages in its nature names list alone. ### Is the Nameberry app worth $4.99? Store ratings are low, 2.6/5 on iOS from 37 ratings and 1.1/5 on Google Play from 17 reviews. Reviewers want search and filters. The free swipe limit is now 1,000, so try it before paying. ### Why did Nameberry put its forums behind a paywall? In a 6 July 2026 post, the founder said AI means the site cannot survive on ads, and that the team had paid about $2,000 a month for forum ads out of pocket. ### Can couples use Nameberry to agree on a name? Yes. Naming Partners lets each person swipe on their own phone and shows only names you both like, with no cap on partners. ### What do Reddit users say about Nameberry? Opinions split. Some say it is good for finding a style but distrust its meanings and popularity indicators. Newer threads criticise the paywall and the loss of free access to lists. ## Update log - **2026-10-14** — Initial publication. Desk audit of the website, membership page, app listings and forum announcement. ## FAQ ### Is Nameberry free to use? Browsing names, lists and guides is free with ads. Forum posting, popularity forecasts, maps for 10,000 names and idea generation need a membership, which starts at $4.99 for three months. ### How much does a Nameberry membership cost? $4.99 for the first three months, then $4.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. Staying monthly for twelve months totals $49.91, so the annual plan is about 2.5 times cheaper. ### How many names does Nameberry have? The site says 100,000+ names and 2,000+ curated lists. We counted 1,014 names across 49 pages in its nature names list alone. ### Is the Nameberry app worth $4.99? Store ratings are low, 2.6/5 on iOS from 37 ratings and 1.1/5 on Google Play from 17 reviews. Reviewers want search and filters. The free swipe limit is now 1,000, so try it before paying. ### Why did Nameberry put its forums behind a paywall? In a 6 July 2026 post, the founder said AI means the site cannot survive on ads, and that the team had paid about $2,000 a month for forum ads out of pocket. ### Can couples use Nameberry to agree on a name? Yes. Naming Partners lets each person swipe on their own phone and shows only names you both like, with no cap on partners. ### What do Reddit users say about Nameberry? Opinions split. Some say it is good for finding a style but distrust its meanings and popularity indicators. Newer threads criticise the paywall and the loss of free access to lists.