Methodology

How MyGall
builds each name page

A clear look at the sources, the editorial process, and the rules that keep MyGall content trustworthy. If a fact is on this site, this page explains where it came from.

Sources

The popularity rankings, charts, and births counts come from official records.

  • US Social Security Administration (SSA) - the primary source for US name popularity from 1880 to the present, including national rankings and birth counts.
  • UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) - England and Wales baby name statistics, used for cross-country comparisons.
  • Government statistical bureaus across Europe and the Americas, used selectively for context.

Etymology and meaning

Etymologies are cross-referenced from multiple authoritative onomastics sources, including academic name dictionaries, biblical and classical scholarship, and the long-running Behind the Name reference. When sources disagree, MyGall presents both interpretations rather than picking a winner.

Roots are traced as far back as the published scholarship allows, often to Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Semitic, or Proto-Germanic. Folk etymologies and uncertain claims are flagged as such.

Editorial rules

  • Third person, factual voice. No first-person opinions, no promotional language.
  • No fabricated statistics. Every number on the site can be traced back to a published record.
  • No AI-generated lists. Editorial pages are written and reviewed by humans.
  • Curly quotes, short hyphens, digits for numbers. A consistent typographic style across all pages.
  • Updates with sources. When SSA releases new annual records, the rankings update and the change is dated.

What MyGall does not do

  • No names that mean strong filler lists generated from a thesaurus.
  • No celebrity gossip, no guess the celebrity baby games.
  • No personality predictions, horoscopes, or numerology presented as fact. Where these exist on a name page, they are clearly labeled as cultural traditions, not science.
  • No fake reviews, no fake user voting, no inflated trend claims.

Corrections

Mistakes happen. If a date, etymology, or popularity figure on the site is wrong, please write in at contact with the source you have, and the page will be corrected and dated.

Updates schedule

US SSA records are released annually, typically in May. MyGall refreshes all rank fields and popularity charts within two weeks of each release. Editorial pages are revisited continuously as new scholarship surfaces.

Want to know more about the team or the editorial direction? See the about page.