How Baby Brackets Works

Comparing a long list of names all at once is the thing human brains are worst at. Twenty names means far too many combinations to hold in your head, so you end up re-reading the list, forgetting where you were, and defaulting to whichever name you happened to see most recently. Baby Brackets breaks that into the smallest possible question — this name, or that one? — and keeps score for you.

1. Add your names

Type names into the list on the home page, one per row. The list grows as you fill it, and it's saved in your browser, so closing the tab and coming back later won't lose your work. If you already keep a list in a spreadsheet, upload it as a CSV or Excel file instead.

You need at least two names to start, and no two can be identical. Beyond that, add as many as you genuinely want to consider — the shortlist you'd be happy to see on a birth certificate, not every name you've ever heard.

2. Put them in rough order

Drag the rows to rank them. This is not the final answer and it doesn't need to be precise; it's a starting hunch. Tournament mode uses that order to seed the bracket the way a sports tournament seeds its draw, so your two current favourites can't knock each other out in the first round.

If you'd rather not think about order at all, skip it. You can randomise the bracket on the preview screen instead.

3. Choose a game

Tournament Bracket is knockout: names face off, losers are eliminated, and one name is crowned. Rank Match compares every name against every other name and gives you a full ranked list. Name Dating compares nothing at all — it deals your names one at a time and asks only whether you like each one, which is the quickest way to get a long list down to the ones worth arguing about. Which you want depends on whether you need a single answer, a shortlist, or simply a smaller pile — we've written up the trade-off in detail.

4. Vote

Two names, side by side. Tap the one you prefer. Don't deliberate — the whole point is to capture your gut reaction before second-guessing sets in. If a particular pairing feels impossible, skip it and it will come back around later.

Name Dating works differently: one name at a time, and you swipe right to keep it, left to set it aside, or star the ones you love. Nothing is deleted by a left swipe — the name leaves the deck but stays on your list, and you can take it back at the end.

In Tournament mode you'll see the bracket fill in beneath the vote as you go. In Rank Match you'll see a running leaderboard, which is worth glancing at: names often climb the table well before you consciously realise you like them. Name Dating shows you nothing while you play, deliberately — a running tally would turn a quick yes-or-no into another decision.

5. Read the result

Tournament mode ends with a champion. Rank Match ends with every name ordered by how often you picked it, with a win count beside each so you can tell a decisive winner from a narrow one. Name Dating ends with a shortlist of everything you kept, the starred names on top — which you can then run through either of the other two.

Treat the result as information rather than instruction. If the winner lands and you feel relief, you have your answer. If it lands and you feel a flicker of disappointment, that flicker is the answer — it usually points at whichever name you were quietly hoping would win.

Playing together

Create a shared session and you'll get a link. Anyone with that link can add names from their own phone, and the list updates for everyone in real time. It's the easiest way to collect suggestions from family without a group chat turning into chaos.

There's no sign-up and no account. The link is the only key, so share it with people you actually want contributing.