Born in Denmark. Built for parents everywhere.
Namelie was founded by Emil Agervig Starup and Kristoff Styrbæk, two friends from Denmark—a small Nordic country with a long tradition of making everyday life simpler through thoughtful, functional design.
A joyful decision had become a maze.
When Kristoff and his partner were expecting their first child, choosing a name should have been joyful. Instead, it became a maze of endless lists, predictable popularity charts, scattered favourites, and the surprisingly difficult task of finding a name they both truly loved.
Kristoff, an engineer trained in Product Development and Innovation, was convinced there had to be a better way. He shared the idea with his good friend Emil, a software and app developer, and over the next few months they built Navngiv—the Danish version of Namelie—around Denmark’s official list of approved first names.
There had to be a better way to find the one name both parents loved.
One practical thought. Two complementary minds.
Product thinking met software craft, and the first version took shape over a few focused months. The idea was simple: make discovering names feel visual, shared, and genuinely enjoyable.
A launch that briefly outran the servers.
They launched the app in the App Store and sent their story to the press. The response outran their expectations—and, briefly, their servers. Radio, television, and online media across Denmark picked up the story, and at the height of launch day, new users were joining faster than one per second.
They quickly got everything back on track. Navngiv went on to top its App Store category several times, and more than 100,000 people have now used the app, making millions of swipes together.
From one Danish family to families everywhere.
Now, Namelie is the next chapter. The world already has plenty of baby-name lists. Emil and Kristoff’s mission is to turn one of parenthood’s first big decisions from an overwhelming search into a shared moment of discovery—so parents everywhere can find a name they both genuinely love.
What began with one Danish family is now ready to help families everywhere.
Namelie is published by NORDIOS ApS—Emil and Kristoff’s independent creative venture, which they continue to build alongside their full-time careers.
Your favourite name might be one swipe away.
Discover names together, compare favourites, and make the search feel like the meaningful moment it should be.
Find your name with Namelie