The Museum of Names evolved out of a simple observation: everyone has a name, yet most of us seldom pause to consider just how much that name holds.

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In a moment when the world is hungry for connection, names offer a surprisingly powerful bridge. The Museum began as a place to gather and share everything names carry — insights and scholarship, curiosity and culture, memory and meaning. A space where people could explore names not just as words, but as touchstones of identity and belonging.

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Our mission is rooted in a belief that names are not small things. They are the building blocks of connection, vessels of heritage, and one of the most universal — and overlooked — tools for human understanding. By highlighting the depth and diversity of names and name stories, the Museum aims to spread love, spark conversation, and help build a more cohesive planet, one name at a time.

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Like most enduring ideas, this one began with a timeless question: “What’s in a name?” And unlike Shakespeare’s Juliet, we’ve found the answer is—everything. History, identity, emotion, culture. Legitimacy. Longing. Self-conception. Joy. The people we come from, the people we’re becoming, and the people we're not.

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Our founder and resident Namiac-in-Chief, Kaomi Taylor, calls this the everyday magic of names. This incredible tool of belonging and meaning accompanies every one of us, every day. How lucky is that?

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The Museum of Names is for fellow Namiacs—the name nerds, the culture lovers, the deep thinkers and onomophiles who know that even a single moment of name-centered attention can spark something powerful. It’s for anyone who’s ever wondered where their name came from — or where it might take them. For the curious, the sentimental, the scholarly, and the seekers. And really, it's for anyone with a name.

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We’re so glad you’re here. Welcome to the Museum of Names.

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"Names are more than what we’re called—

they’re how we call each other in."

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- Kaomi Joy Taylor, founder, Museum of Names