How to make a family name crossword, step by step

A family name crossword puts everyone's first name into one small grid, each name crossing another at a shared letter, so the whole family reads as one piece. You can lay one out by hand in about ten minutes with graph paper and a pencil. Here is the method we use in our workshop, a worked example, and what to do when a name refuses to fit.

What you need

• A list of the names, spelled exactly as they should appear.
• Graph paper (or a spreadsheet with square cells) and a pencil with an eraser.
• Ten minutes, and one person who knows every nickname in the family.

Decide early how each person appears: "Elizabeth" or "Liz", "Grandma" or "Nana", whether the dog is in. A crossword takes one word per name, so "Mary Ann" becomes "MaryAnn" or just "Mary".

Step 1: sort the names, longest first

Write the names in a column from longest to shortest. The longest name becomes the spine of the puzzle, because it offers the most letters for other names to cross. In a grandparent frame, "Grandma" or "Grandpa" is often the natural spine: every grandchild then hangs off the person the frame is for.

Step 2: place the spine across the middle

Write the longest name across the middle of the page, one letter per square. Leave plenty of room above and below; the grid grows in both directions.

Step 3: hang each name from a shared letter

Take the next name and look for a letter it shares with a name already on the page. Write it down (vertically) so the two names share that square. The next name after that goes across, crossing one of the vertical names, and so on: across, down, across.

• Where you can, cross near the middle of a name. Crossing at a first or last letter makes long arms that are harder to balance later.
• Never let two names touch side by side. Letters may only meet where the names cross. If two letters sit next to each other without forming a word, move one of the names.
• Keep the shape square-ish. Framed crosswords look best when the grid is about as tall as it is wide; alternate the directions to keep it that way.

A worked example

Seven names for a grandmother's frame: Grandma, Sophia, Mason, Ava, Ethan, Mia and Lucas. "Grandma" is the longest, so it goes across. Sophia comes down to end on the first A of Grandma; Ethan crosses Sophia at the H; Mason crosses Sophia at the O; Ava comes down through the A in Mason; Mia runs across the top to end on the first A of Ava; and Lucas comes down through the last A in Grandma. All seven names fit in a grid nine squares wide and eight high.

M	I	A
		V		S
	M	A	S	O	N
				P				L
		E	T	H	A	N		U
				I				C
		G	R	A	N	D	M	A
								S

Notice that no two names touch except where they cross, and that the short names (Ava, Mia) sit at the top where there is room for them.

When a name will not fit

• Try a different crossing letter. Most names share at least an A, E, I or N with someone; work through every shared letter before giving up.
• Change the spine. Starting from the second-longest name often opens up a better layout.
• Add the family name. A surname such as "Walker" or "Anderson" gives short first names new letters to cross.
• Use the form of the name the family actually says. "Will" may fit where "William" does not, and the frame will read more like your family anyway.
• Place long names first. Three-letter names fit almost anywhere, so save them for last.

Title and subtitle ideas

Most family crosswords carry a short title above the grid and a second line below it:

• "Our Family", with "Est. 2011" or your street name below
• "The Walkers", with "Family is where the heart is"
• "Grandma's Greatest Treasures", with every grandchild's name in the grid
• "Merry Christmas", with the year, for a frame that comes out every December

From paper to wall art

If you would rather not draw it yourself, we build the layout for you. Our family name crossword frames turn the names you type into laser-cut letter tiles, hand-placed so the words interlock, inside an 11 × 11 inch (28 × 28 cm) shadow-box frame with a white mat and a clear acrylic front. Longer names get slightly smaller tiles so the layout stays clean. You choose a Black, Walnut or White frame and one of five backgrounds, then type your title, subtitle and up to 5, 10 or 20 names, each a single word. If you want to see the layout first, ask for a free digital proof in the notes and we email it within a business day.

• Crossword family name frame for Mom
• Crossword family name frame for Grandma, with every grandchild's name
• Family name crossword frame for Christmas, which arrives wrapped and ready to give

Every frame is made to order in 1–3 business days, ships free with express delivery and arrives in about 3–4 business days.