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Rating: 
Summary: A good, inspiring name book
Review: "It is through our names that we first place ourselves in the world" --Ralph Waldo Ellison
"If you are determined to give your baby son a name that is different and distinctive, consider this: Among his peers, six-month-old James Lewis Lipford may have the most uncommon first name of all." --no source given
I especially liked the quotes that are given at the beginning of each section! I think people of different ethnic groups having distinctive names makes things more interesting for everyone. Hearing African names throughout the day might get people to think about race, and examine their attitudes about those who are different rather than just assuming everyone is the same and comes from the same background. African personal names highlight that African Americans have a rich cultural history and legacy. This is important because cultural outlets like schools and the nightly news do not often discuss African culture. It is dissapointing that the newly created names don't include any explanation about their origin or information about others who have had them. A book that picked up where this one left off and did that is: The Complete Guide to African-American Baby Names by Linda Wolfe Keister. I also recommend that one. Overall this is a very good resource!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and proud!
Review: I was very disappointed to find that out of 11,001 names for African-American children, there weren't many I found that were African-American based. Though just about every name in the book was a name of at least one African-American, many had European roots. The names I found most interesting (under the new name section) had no meanings and naming my child with a name that has known meaning to me is very important.It's also a little outdated. Khalid Muhammad is listed as a national representative of the Nation of Islam and anyone who's up on current events knows that that fact is no longer true.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I was very disappointed to find that out of 11,001 names for African-American children, there weren't many I found that were African-American based. Though just about every name in the book was a name of at least one African-American, many had European roots. The names I found most interesting (under the new name section) had no meanings and naming my child with a name that has known meaning to me is very important. It's also a little outdated. Khalid Muhammad is listed as a national representative of the Nation of Islam and anyone who's up on current events knows that that fact is no longer true.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and proud!
Review: The names in this book were inspirational to me while my husband and I were looking for just the right name for our son. It was important to us to choose a name that would honor our son's ancestors and older brothers in the black community, but still be unique and true to him. This is a great resource for black parents and I will definitely use it again when our family grows!
Rating:
Summary: Celebrate our name history, in part.
Review: The reason I say in part to put EVERY name in the world (along with those that are created) would be an Alex Haley mini series. To the reviewer who was or is upset that many names were excluded, GET OVER IT! You write a book of African American names and lets see 1) How many names you can add, and 2) How long will it take you with all that information. My nephew "Sekou" was blessed by this book. Besides, Elza is a darling of a person.
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