A Concise Dictionary of First Names

by Flavia Hodges and Patrick Hanks

Do you love your name? Do you hate your name? What does your name really mean? How do you choose the right name for someone?

Here is the ultimate first name handbook--a delightfully informative, comprehensive survey, from the traditional to the new and unconventional. With well over 6,000 entries, this is the most wide-ranging dictionary of first names available. Over 150 names--including Calista, Gaia, and Macy-are added to this new edition...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198662599
• ISBN13: 9780198662594
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Onomastic delight!

Most books on names are written by people with no qualifications other than they can collect lists and reprint them. Not so with this book! Although the authors are British, and there is a bit of bias towards names used in the U.K. it is well researched. They could have double-checked US sources a little more when commenting on its use as a US name. Yet, this only means that they wrote what they knew to be true rather than making wild uninformed guesses. For instance, they suspect that "Oprah" was a form of Orpah but without being completely sure they only list it as a supposition and attribute it's existance in the US to Oprah Winfrey. Their linguistically inspired guess was correct! Oprah has mentioned in an interview that her name was a typo of Orpah. Not having this obscure information, the authors did the responsible thing. In fact, they deferred to consultants for the appendices for cultures they were not familiar with.This book is great for students of onomastics, parents and authors.

An Excellent, Clear, Pithy Book

This is a wonderful book, lively and enthusiastic. Unlike other name guides, it focuses on the cultural and linguistic roots of the name, rather than the fluffily mystic (astrological and so forth.) In addition to the original meaning of the name and variations over time, it also lists prominent historical or mythological bearers of the name, such as saints, kings, or heroes. The appendices, with names and their original meanings from Russian, Arabic, French, German, and so forth, are an added bonus. If you like words, or just like to peek at the secret roots of everyday things, buy this book. Great fun.