All Aboard! — Spell out your child’s name in little train car letters! Wooden name trains are a fully functional toddler train toy and a one-of-a-kind personalized keepsake.
For a uniquely personalized gift any young railroad enthusiast will cherish for years to come — the wooden name train is an ideal choice.
But which one should you pick? And just how “personalized” does it get?
We’ll compare the top 3 wooden name train brands — plus 3 letter train alternatives train lovers will be delighted to discover.
Last call! The personalized train’s leaving the station.
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How To Personalize A Name Train Online (Trickier Than You Think!)
Here’s what you need to know about buying a personalized toddler name train online.
To spell out your toddler’s name you have to choose between two methods of checkout.
Some brands sell individual train letters. You’ll have to search out and add every letter of your child’s name to your cart — and remember to get the end-piece engine and caboose.
Some brands sell complete letter train sets by the number of letters. You have to find the product listing to match the number of letters in your child’s name and type out your child’s name into a personalization box. (Engine and caboose included.)
To make your life easier and save a ton of time, I recommend you go for a complete set.
Lucky for you — I’ll show you the top personalized wooden name trains, and link directly to their package deal with the same number of letters as your toddler’s name.
You’ll have a one-of-a-kind wooden “spell your kid’s name” train in no time.
Name Train Features To Look For
There are some interesting features you should know about before we look at the world’s best toddler name trains.
Magnetic. You’ll thank yourself for buying a wooden train set with magnetic connectors between the cars. It makes train play that much more versatile.
Through the smiles and giggles, your little one won’t know they’re learning to spell. Highly recommend getting a magnetic letter train.
Floor/Table Track. While cross-brand train toy compatibility remains unreliable — plenty of wooden name train makers offer matching wooden train tracks. Your child’s name looks so great on a train — sometimes it’s easy to forget it’s great to play with! A same-brand train track encourages your toddler to push and pull the train around — just like it was intended.
Maple Landmark offers toy train tracks in simple shapes for beginners — like a circle or oval — or you can buy track pieces individually to build out your set. These tracks are made specifically for Maple Landmark trains to level up your toddler’s letter train’s playtime.
Wall Mount. Name trains are an excellent gift for newborn babies — even when they’re too small to play with the train. In the meantime, a name train with wall mount is the perfect solution. It makes your name train into beautiful nursery decor until your child is ready to play with it.
Colors. One reason I’m in love with wooden toys is their beautiful colors and shapes. For your little one’s name — getting the right color is like the cherry on the top.
The most popular wooden letter trains come in an assorted rainbow color scheme. But there’s an entire world of bright and festive custom train colors to discover — pastel palette, USA flag colors, or unpainted (Natural Wood Color). Be sure to find your toddler’s favorite color in the mix!
Railroad Crossing — The review is in!
If you’ve got an (imaginary) train to catch and they’ve already called boarding for your coach…
Like the fast train of name train reviews — Here’s your one-way ticket to finding the best personalized wooden name train to spell your toddler’s name.
- (01) Maple Landmark NameTrain is my top pick for best quality, value, playability, and aesthetics — everything that matters.
- (02) Fat Brain Toys Spell-Your-Name Alphabet Railroad sells individual name train letters and has an overall good reputation.
- (03) KIDZCO Kids Wooden Toy Train Letters is an affordable personalized wooden train that’s easy to custom order online.
- (04) South Bend Woodworks makes the best-quality wooden name puzzles with train play pieces.
- (05) Melissa & Doug Wooden Toddler Stacking Train is a hybrid train toy and building blocks set.
- (06) Wondertoys Wooden Magnetic ABC Train Set makes spelling into a play activity.
Best Personalized Wooden Name Trains
(01) Maple Landmark NameTrain
Finally, show me the train toys!
Sorry for the delay, but there were some important letter train shopping tips you just needed to know!
Maple Landmark is my #1 top-rated personalized name train — best-in-class quality, value, and playability — plus the “Made-in-USA” label.
Maple Landmark is a family-run business from Vermont, U.S.A. offering high-quality handmade classic wooden toys, with personalized “NameTrains” as their signature best seller.
You just can’t find a better wooden letter train out there.
Maple Landmark offers complete sets for kids’ names between 3 and 10 letters. Here’s a direct link for each. (Thank me later!)
How many letters are in your child’s name?
- → 3 Letter NameTrain
- → 4 Letter NameTrain
- → 5 Letter NameTrain
- → 6 Letter NameTrain
- → 7 Letter NameTrain
- → 8 Letter NameTrain
- → 9 Letter NameTrain
- → 10 Letter NameTrain
You should know — those are available in pastel and natural unpainted wood, too.
Personalized with the letters of your toddler’s name, it’s a perfect pick for environmentally-conscious parents who love color! Plus — these are wooden magnetic train letters for ultimate playability!
Available in primary colors, pastel colors, or with clear finished wood — Maple Landmark’s signature NameTrain series will brighten up your day from engine to caboose!
Maple Landmark’s NameTrain is available on Etsy too — with easy online personalization.
For names longer up to 13 letters in length, try A Dose Of Pretty brand’s handmade wooden name train — available in rainbow or pastel.
(02) Fat Brain Toys Spell-Your-Name Alphabet Railroad
Fat Brain Toys comes in second place compared to Maple Landmark.
First, Fat Brain Toys — while all their toys are made in the USA — their production is outsourced. Maple Landmark on the other hand manufactures their name trains from start to finish in their own woodworking shop.
With Fat Brain Toys, you miss out on that story of American small-business ingenuity.
Second, the online shopping experience is kind of a headache. Like we explained before — Fat Brain Toys only sells individual letters — so you’ll have to search for then add-to-cart all the letters in your child’s name. (Don’t forget the engine and caboose end cars.)
For quality craftsmanship, ease of personalization, and an overall better toy — I still recommend Maple Landmark over Fat Brain Toys.
(03) KIDZCO Kids Wooden Toy Train Letters
Where Maple Landmark and Fat Brain Toys battle it out for the title of “best name brand name train” — KIDZCO is a budget-friendly alternative that costs less.
KIDZCO costs about 20% less than leading brand’s name trains (at the time of writing) — which for a toy that’s supposed to last a lifetime, I still think Maple Landmark is a better value.
One good thing — KIDZCO’s personalization is as easy as pie. By using the “Customize Now” button on Amazon, you can customize every option in under a minute!
Name Train Alternatives (For Kids Who Love Trains)
For toddlers who love trains — name trains are an essential keepsake.
But there are other train-tastic toys out there — sure to pique your little conductor’s interest. Toot Toot!
[A] Train-Theme Name Puzzle
While we’re talking about trains that you can personalize with a name — what about personalized name puzzles with train puzzle pieces?
South Bend Woodworks brand is my absolute top-recommended name puzzle maker — and they offer a few styles with train play pieces. Made in the USA — here’s another one to support small businesses.
Busy People brand’s wooden train name puzzle has rainbow letters as bright as could be — plus an engine in the front and caboose in the back.
Tyu Wedding Gift brand’s name puzzle is shaped like a train.
We wrote a full review of the best personalized wooden name puzzles — and you guessed it — South Bend Woodworks is at the top of the list.
[B] Push-Along Train Toys
Maybe you care about trains more than you do names. Push-and-pull trains are a classic toddler train toy.
Melissa & Doug brand’s 18-Piece Classic Wooden Toddler Stacking Train can be pushed as a train toy and stacking up like building blocks.
We wrote a full review on the best wooden train sets for toddlers — designed with simple chunky parts perfect for small hands.
With younger toddlers’ (1 to 2 years) safety in mind — that’s exactly the kind of train to get started with.
[C] A-to-Z Alphabet Train
From A to Z — here are all 26 letters lines up in a row.
2 to 4 years old is right about the time your toddler will start reading — just the basics, and Wondertoys brand’s wooden magnetic ABC train set makes spelling into a play activity.
Your train-loving toddler will organize letters to spell out words and enjoy hours of fun! Every train body is individual and connected by magnets, so it’s extra versatile for re-arranging.
The wheels are made of plastic — not as eco-friendly as the wooden train wheels we’ve looked at so far — but assured to slide and glide easily.
Don’t forget all the perks of toddlers interacting with letters — while playing with their wooden choo choo train, they’ll naturally learn how to rearrange words to spell out words — not just their own name.
Hint — “I LOVE U” has unique letters (no repeats), so it’s a word you can spell out using an alphabet set. And that’s just one example of a meaningful moment you can create.
From toddlers to early elementary-aged kids — alphabet letter trains create an educational environment to encourage spelling and reading.
Of course, Maple Landmark — the best name train brand in the land — offers their premium quality A-Z NameTrains Wooden Alphabet Train.
Alphabet trains — with the full 26 letters of the alphabet — are an engaging activity to boost their kid’s literacy.
We’re Loco for Locomotives!
Today, we went absolutely loco with toy locomotives.
A toddler name train makes a perfect gift for the little person in your life who loves all things railway-related.
But ordering one online — as we learned today — is not as trickier than you’d think. Buying a complete set with the same number of letters as your child’s name — that’s the best advice I can give.
It’ll save you tons of time and get you the top-quality personalized train your toddler deserves.
