Coming up with a new name is tough work…

September 14, 2007 By

Rob Lagesse analyzed our choice of the name “Milan” for our new son.

Well, I think he nailed it. We spent more time on the name than most startups spend on their names. Patrick even playground tested it. Funny enough he said it failed. Most of his friends thought Milan sounded “too girly.”

Lots of people at Stanford said it was the first time they remember seeing a “Milan” come through there, though. One thing I wanted was a name that was unique, had a good story behind it, and easy to spell. Heck, I’ve learned a FEW lessons from Google in the past few years! :-)

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  • http://www.tamburix.com tamburix

    Hey Scoble,
    Milan is also very common male name in Serbia.

    http://www.behindthename.com/name/milan

  • maaike

    In the Netherlands Milan is number 10 in the top 20 of most popular boys names right now. It’s is not a typical Dutch name, though. Milan. I like it!

    Congratulations!

  • maaike

    In the Netherlands Milan is number 10 in the top 20 of most popular boys names right now. It’s is not a typical Dutch name, though. Milan. I like it!

    Congratulations!

  • http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=thedomesticdiva thedomesticdiva

    What an awesome name…I absolutely love it!!! Milan will be the boy the girls chase for sure!

  • http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=thedomesticdiva thedomesticdiva

    What an awesome name…I absolutely love it!!! Milan will be the boy the girls chase for sure!

  • http://www.lifesip.com/ G B SINGH

    Ha ha ha ha…google is really changing all our mindsets!

    Congratulations!!

  • http://www.lifesip.com G B SINGH

    Ha ha ha ha…google is really changing all our mindsets!

    Congratulations!!

  • http://wordpress.mu/ Truden

    A little late with my comment on the name :)

    Milan (Милан) in Bulgarian comes from the word “мил” (dear). It is not as popular in Bulgaria as it is in Serbia and Slovenia, but it is very masculine name.

    May God give him long and happy life.

  • http://wordpress.mu/ Truden

    A little late with my comment on the name :)

    Milan (Милан) in Bulgarian comes from the word “мил” (dear). It is not as popular in Bulgaria as it is in Serbia and Slovenia, but it is very masculine name.

    May God give him long and happy life.

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  • Edwina

    @21 I’m always perplexed by parents that feel the need to name their kids something unique and unusual.(Thanks, Mom!) It seems it’s rarely taken into account how that name will impact the child as it grows up. While Milan is a nice name for a city and may be popular in some European countries,according to Social Security records, Milan doesn’t make the top 1,000 popular baby names in the last 15 years. So, it will likely make for some interesting playground teasing as he gets older. I do hope it doesn’t turn out that way, but knowing kids…. (having my given first name being Edwina, I can speak from experience)

  • Edwina

    @21 I’m always perplexed by parents that feel the need to name their kids something unique and unusual.(Thanks, Mom!) It seems it’s rarely taken into account how that name will impact the child as it grows up. While Milan is a nice name for a city and may be popular in some European countries,according to Social Security records, Milan doesn’t make the top 1,000 popular baby names in the last 15 years. So, it will likely make for some interesting playground teasing as he gets older. I do hope it doesn’t turn out that way, but knowing kids…. (having my given first name being Edwina, I can speak from experience)

  • ThomasV

    The name you chose is indeed popular in some European countries. In fact, in Belgium it was the 7th most popular name for boys born in 2006. Since 2004, it was in the top 10. In case you should want to verify: http://www.statbel.fgov.be/figures/d22a_nl.asp?r=5 (in Dutch ;-)

  • ThomasV

    The name you chose is indeed popular in some European countries. In fact, in Belgium it was the 7th most popular name for boys born in 2006. Since 2004, it was in the top 10. In case you should want to verify: http://www.statbel.fgov.be/figures/d22a_nl.asp?r=5 (in Dutch ;-)

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  • http://www.guydavis.ca/ Guy Davis

    Congratulations Robert and Maryam! He looks great in the photos you’ve posted. Good choice on the name Milan as well.

    My wife and I are expecting our first child in April and I am also stressing about the best name. I built a Google Maps mashup with popular baby names data to help our decision. (http://www.babynamemap.com)

    We don’t want too popular a name like Emily or Jacob, but also don’t want a really rare one like Moon Unit. :)

    Here’s the name popularity for Milan in particular:
    http://www.babynamemap.com/map/search?gender=male&search_name=Milan

  • http://www.guydavis.ca Guy Davis

    Congratulations Robert and Maryam! He looks great in the photos you’ve posted. Good choice on the name Milan as well.

    My wife and I are expecting our first child in April and I am also stressing about the best name. I built a Google Maps mashup with popular baby names data to help our decision. (http://www.babynamemap.com)

    We don’t want too popular a name like Emily or Jacob, but also don’t want a really rare one like Moon Unit. :)

    Here’s the name popularity for Milan in particular:
    http://www.babynamemap.com/map/search?gender=male&search_name=Milan

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  • Dorann

    We named our son Milan in 1984. We are of Slovak descent (grandparents) and knew it was a popular Slavik name. We pronounce it with a long I, not like the Italian city or the Czechoslovakian way.
    I ‘ve always liked the name and the way it sounded and he has grown to like it , too!
    Please check Wikipedia and you can Google my Milan Dinga, too!

  • http://google Dorann

    We named our son Milan in 1984. We are of Slovak descent (grandparents) and knew it was a popular Slavik name. We pronounce it with a long I, not like the Italian city or the Czechoslovakian way.
    I ‘ve always liked the name and the way it sounded and he has grown to like it , too!
    Please check Wikipedia and you can Google my Milan Dinga, too!

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