You like all of them, so nothing gets cut. Compare two names at a time and the list gets shorter without you having to reject anything.
Try it now
Eight example names. Find the one you keep coming back to.
Question 1 of 7 · Which do you prefer?
vs
No account, nothing is saved, and these options cannot be changed.
That was PickChill
The same thing you just did, with your own shortlist instead of ours.
- Put your own shortlist in, up to 32 names
- You never reject a name - you only say which one you prefer
- Come back and run it again when the list has changed
Why a shortlist stops getting shorter
A shortlist is hard for the opposite reason to most decisions. There is no bad option on it. You put every one of those names there because you liked it.
So cutting feels like a loss, and you do not do it. You read the list again, feel fond of all of them, and put it away. A month later the list is the same length.
Comparing two at a time never asks you to reject anything. It only asks which of these two you prefer, right now. That is a much smaller thing to say, and it is one you can say honestly about names you both like.
How to cut the list without rejecting a name
Put your shortlist in and answer one question at a time:
- Two names are shown side by side.
- You say which one you prefer.
- The one you did not pick steps aside and is not asked about again.
After a handful of answers one name is left. Nothing was scored, nothing was called bad, and every step was a small preference rather than a judgement.
One thing worth doing while you answer: say each name out loud. Say it the way you would call it across a room, and say it with your family name after it. A name can look right on a screen and sound wrong in a house.
How many questions it takes
7
questions to get from eight names to one. A name you did not pick is never asked about again.
28
questions if you compared every possible pair of eight names, which is what a full grid asks for.
The count grows slowly, so a longer shortlist is not much more work. Sixteen names take fifteen questions, and PickChill accepts up to 32.
When you cannot separate two names
This happens more with names than with anything else, because the difference is a feeling and not a fact. It does not mean the method failed. It usually means both names are genuinely good. That is good news, and it still leaves you with two.
Names also give you something almost no other decision does: time. You are not picking lunch, and nothing has to be settled today. So stop, keep both, and come back in a week without looking at the list in between.
One of two things will have happened. Either one of them has stayed with you and the other has faded, which is your answer and a more honest one than any amount of comparing would have given you. Or they are both still there - and then you really do have two names you would be happy with.
If it still will not separate, PickChill has a short optional helper. It asks a few questions about how each name makes you feel, one at a time, and it never decides for you - we hold no names and no opinion about any of them. Sometimes it tells you the two really are equal, and on this list that is a fine place to stop.
What it is good for, and what it is not
Good for: a shortlist you already have and cannot cut. It works the same way for a middle name, a pet name, a business name or a band name.
Not for: finding names in the first place. PickChill does not suggest names, and it knows nothing about their meaning, their history or how common they are. You bring the list. Get the names from wherever you like, then bring them here to cut them down.
It is also not a way to be told what to do. Every answer is yours. Nothing is scored, nothing is judged, and the app has no opinion about your names.
Questions
›Where do I get the names from?
Anywhere you like - a name book, a family tree, a list a friend sent you. PickChill does not suggest names and holds no name data. It takes the list you already have and helps you cut it down.
›How many names can I put in?
Up to 32. Sixteen names take fifteen questions, so a long shortlist is not much more work than a short one.
›What if the name that wins is not the one I expected?
That is worth paying attention to rather than fixing. A surprise here usually means you have been defending a name for a reason that is not preference. Sit with it for a day, then run it again.
›Can I run it again later?
Yes, as many times as you like. Names change how they feel over weeks, and the list is yours to run again whenever it has changed.
›Does it work for a middle name?
Yes. Nothing here is about babies in particular - it is a way to cut any list of names down to one. A middle name, a pet name or a business name all work the same way.