Rating: 
Summary: A good place to start
Review: An appealing book with an attractive lay-out and fairly comprehensive coverage of names from many cultural sources. Not always accurate as to the meaning and/or origin of names: readers wanting more depth might want to consult some of the other excellent books available. However, this is a good place to start and includes lots of interesting suggestions on how to go about selecting a name for the new family member.
Rating: 
Summary: TOO MANY NAMES!!
Review: Believe it or not, we found this book actually had too many names. It sounds bizarre but it's true.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't trust her foreign names!!
Review: I can't believe she has actually published this book without doing more research! Almost all the Japanese names listed there are useless - I would feel sorry for your child. If she is so inaccuarte with Japanese names, I wouldn't trust any of other foreign names listed there. The author should be more responsible if she was going to publish something. Do more research, please!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Name Book
Review: I found this book to be just about everything I was looking for in a name book. It gave a wide variety of names along with their meanings and origins. There were also lists included of things like what celebrities are naming their children, flower and animal names, etc. The book was well structured and easy to navigate which is a plus when going through it with my husband. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a thorough name book.
Rating:
Summary: Buyer beware!
Review: I'm a Japanese national, and as far as Japanese names are concerned, most of the author's picks in this book are seldom correct. And when they are correct, they are obscure. I saw a lot of crazy ones that cannot be names, and the meanings are often nonsensical. This makes me sucpicious about the credibility of other names from other cultures.
Rating:
Summary: Had some cool features I havent seen in other books
Review: It is up-to-date and offers name lists not found in many other books such as lists of angels' names, current celebrities' baby names and names of historical locations. The opinions given by the author (most of which are positive) are very lighthearted and are given with a sense of humor. It's an easier read than the books just listing definitions and names from A to Z. Definitely recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A down-to-earth, fun baby name book with great suggestions!
Review: It is up-to-date and offers name lists not found in many other books such as lists of angels' names, current celebrities' baby names and names of historical locations. The opinions given by the author (most of which are positive) are very lighthearted and are given with a sense of humor. It's an easier read than the books just listing definitions and names from A to Z. Definitely recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Expecting 2002
Review: My husband and I are expecting our first child soon and are looking for names. This book has a every name you can think of including some unusual names. We really like the book format and are still considering a few names, but this was a fun way to think up new names and consider them for our son. If you are looking for a name with a certain ethnic background this book has almost all the different cultures covered. Covered every name from A to Z. Just like the title says.
Rating:
Summary: The name of the book says it all!
Review: My wife and I were disappointed buying a baby naming book earlier, so we bought this book and another one at the same time. We didn't even need to look at the other book. This book has what you want if you're stuck with names. It has a comprehensive list of names, the most popular names for boys and girls for the last few years at least, presidential names, etc. I highly recommend this book to any and all.
Rating:
Summary: ...but do you really need EVERYTHING?
Review: This book is completely out of control.Any reader, or thumber-through, or this book, who will (of course) be looking for ideas on what to name an upcoming addition to her family, will be completely snowed under by the absurd profusion of exotic names contained in this book, and will end up wasting approximately 90% of the time spent poring over this waste of paper. The emphasis here is overwhelmingly on sheer quantity of information, rather than quality. I was not surprised to read from some of the other reviews here that the author has played fast-and-loose with meanings and authenticity of certain Japanese names, and this flaccidity-with-the-facts undoubtedly runs throughout the entire course of the book. As well, one might expect such a voluminous catalog of (to say the least) UNUSUAL names, to provide a pronunciation key for those parents-to-be who might actually take some of the suggestions seriously, but this book has no such help. As such, the information that is here, undoubtedly error-ridden to begin with, can be nothing more than an idle curiosity. Above all, the vast majority of names in here are just so outlandish that NO ONE would begin to consider them. Dead set on a girl's name that begins with the letters "Tz"? No fear: there are OVER A DOZEN of them in here (I swear I am not making this up). This book is a perfect example of the worst excesses of both reality-immune multiculturalism as well as the make-a-quick-buck-off-new-parents industry. Undoubtedly, Lisa Shaw never had in mind to put together a book that would actually help parents decide on a name for their child. Presumably, such a book exists, but this is decidedly not it.
| 
