A baby name app for couples who both get a say
Two people, one shortlist, no agreement yet. Put the names in below and draw one right here, or let bickr ask you both separately until a name comes back yes from each of you.
Your deck
A draw picks for you. In the app you both swipe the same names on your own phones, and the first name you both like is the one you agreed on.
Swipe names with your partnerNo download, no sign-up. It opens in your browser.
bickr is a free baby name app for couples: you both swipe the same names on your own phones, neither of you sees the other’s answers, and the first name you have both said yes to is the one that comes back matched, in the browser with no sign-up.
What the draw is for
A shortlist of five names that hasn’t moved in a fortnight isn’t a shortlist, it is a stalemate. Typing the names in and drawing one is a way to hear each of them on its own, out loud, instead of weighing all five against each other at once. It is the same draw as our wheel of names alternative, with the prompt reworded for two people and a shortlist. Nothing you type leaves your phone and nothing is saved.
How couples land on a name
The method that works for most people is a boring one. You each write your names down without seeing the other’s list, and only the names that turn up on both get discussed; everything else is dropped without an argument, because a name nobody has to defend is a name nobody has to attack. Give each other a veto and use it sparingly. Say the survivors with your surname, in the voice you would use across a playground. Then leave it a week. The ones that still sound right afterwards usually are. The longer version of that method, step by step, is on how to agree on a baby name.
Nobody talks anybody into it
That is the whole of what bickr does, with the writing-apart part done for you. Start a room, send your partner the link, and you both swipe the same deck of names on your own phones. Right for yes, left for no. Neither of you sees the other’s answers, so nothing turns into a negotiation. The moment a name has a yes from both of you, both phones say so, and that is the only name you ever have to talk about. Free, in the browser, nothing to install.
Side by side with the name apps
| Both partners install an app | Works from a shared link | No sign-up | Cost | Baby names only | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bickr | No | Yes | Yes | Free | No |
| A native baby name app | Yes | No | Varies | Free, with paid name sets | Yes |
| A web baby name app for couples | No | Yes | No | Free tier, then paid | Yes |
The last column is the one to weigh against the rest. A name app that does nothing else has more names in it than we do, and if what you want is to browse names by the thousand, one of those is the better evening. This is for the part after that, when there are eight names left and the two of you are being polite about them.
Questions people ask
- What is the best baby name app for couples?
- The one that asks each of you separately, because the moment a name is read aloud the other person is answering the delivery as much as the name. That is the whole design of bickr: you both swipe the same deck, neither sees the other’s answers, and only a name you both said yes to comes back. We are not going to rank anybody else’s app for you, but that is the question worth asking of any of them.
- Can my partner and I swipe on baby names together?
- Yes. One of you starts a room and sends the link or the six character code, and you both swipe the same names on your own phones, on the same couch or in different cities. A room holds two to eight people, so the two of you is simply the smallest version of it.
- Is it free, and do we have to sign up?
- It is free and there is no account to make. The draw on this page runs entirely in your browser, so the names you type never leave your phone and nothing is saved. The app opens in the browser too, and you add it to your home screen rather than installing anything.