The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book: 2,000 Names from the World's Great Literature

Rating:
Summary: More for literature buffs than parents to be
Review: This book is not a conventional baby name book - it lists names that are included in the Penguin Classics series of books. It does not include 20th Century classics though, which is a big let down. It is not a book you would probably use solely if you were trying to find a name for your child-to-be - many, if not the majority, of names are not really those you would consider - Minnehaha perhaps? And certain books seem to be mentioned a little too much - 'Orlando Furioso' must have a cast of thousands if the number of times it is mentioned in this book is anything to go by.

However, it is interesting, and it gives an insight into the importance of names as indicators in different periods of literature. It also refuses to concentrate on English language books - there are references to Ancient Greek, Scandinavian, Spanish, French, Russian and other non-English literature. If you are a scholar or fan of classic literature, you will probably find something of interest in this book. But if you are searching for an appropriate name for a baby, while it might throw up some you hadn't considered before, you should probably try somewhere else...