Rating: 
Summary: many names, questionable categorizations
Review: Coming from a swiss/german background I can't but add to the previous reviewer's comments. Apart from the anglo-saxon mainstream the book offers little insight. I've found at least one instance of each of the following errors: 1) names sometimes carry alternate spellings that sound very similar, but are variants of a different name 2) names that are obvious variants of each other are listed separately without cross-reference 3) the ethnic categories, as far as I could tell are often questionable and in some cases plain wrong 4) at least for my ethnic background, the selection of names seems rather odd, and many names only appear in short forms 5) meanings of greek/latin names are often inaccurate Bottomline: If you are looking for some inspiration, the book is ok. It carries a wide ethnic variety of names. However if you're interested in a particular area such as nordic names, you may be disappointed or even worse, misguided.
Rating: 
Summary: Did you know Yanni means the same thing as John?
Review: I like that there are so many different types of names in the book, but my favorite part are the tips and stories from parents about naming their babies. There are also fun tidbits of information--like 27 Ways to say John. The lists they have are also really handy--I wanted an Irish name, so I went straight to the list in the back of the book and saw all my options right there. Of course, I'm a big Parent Soup fan--and this book is worthy of their name!
Rating:
Summary: many names, questionable categorizations
Review: I was very excited to receive your book The Parent Soup Baby Name Finder but I find that I have to send it back. My husband and I have found several problems with it.My husband is a fluent Japanese speaker and he immediately flipped to the Japanese section. He was disturbed to find the name Yemyo listed as a Japanese name. It is not, or if it is then it is archaic or made up. He looked up several common Japanese names and found that you had Yasuo, Yasutaro, Yojiro, Yoshiaki, Yoshirobu etc. listed as Japanese with "unknown origin". These names are extremely common Japanese names. You could find them in any Japanese baby name book, or even ask a Japanese person what they mean. Yojiro, for example, means "fourth son". Then he saw that you had listed Yukio as "Hebrew/Japanese" origin. With a definition of "God will nourish". It is very possible that Yukio DOES mean that in Hebrew, (I don't speak it so I don't know) but it does not mean that it Japanese. Japanese and Hebrew have no common denominator. There aren't words in Japanese that mean the same thing in Hebrew. I haven't looked it up in a dictionary, but Yukio possibly means "Brave One". Perhaps a child with a Japanese/Hebrew parent combination named their child Yukio. This does not make the name Japanese/Hebrew. You have to understand that my husband and I are not holding ourselves up as name experts, or even language experts. If, however, a casual reading of just one section brings up this many (possible) errors it put the rest of the names in question. My concern is threefold: 1. The authors didn't seem to do much research to find definitions for common names that they didn't know. (Asking a Japanese aquaintance, posting to a Japanese Newsgroup or buying a Japanese baby name book etc.) 2. The authors MIGHT have (it is unclear) said that a name (like Yemyo) is a "Japanese" name because a Japanese parent named their child that. Having someone who is of Japanese (or Italian, or Jewish etc.) heritage make up a name does not make that name Japanese, Italian or Jewish, in my opinion. 3. The authors MIGHT have (it is unclear) not checked up on what a parent said the definition of a name is. If I tell you an unusual name, and then I tell you the definition of it, it is still YOUR responsibility to check the accuracy of the name before you publish a book. Obviously this is just my opinion. The names are interesting and unusual but I wish that I felt that I could "trust" it more. Jen
Rating:
Summary: Interesting/Unusual Names, but some incorrect information.
Review: I was very excited to receive your book The Parent Soup Baby Name Finder but I find that I have to send it back. My husband and I have found several problems with it. My husband is a fluent Japanese speaker and he immediately flipped to the Japanese section. He was disturbed to find the name Yemyo listed as a Japanese name. It is not, or if it is then it is archaic or made up. He looked up several common Japanese names and found that you had Yasuo, Yasutaro, Yojiro, Yoshiaki, Yoshirobu etc. listed as Japanese with "unknown origin". These names are extremely common Japanese names. You could find them in any Japanese baby name book, or even ask a Japanese person what they mean. Yojiro, for example, means "fourth son". Then he saw that you had listed Yukio as "Hebrew/Japanese" origin. With a definition of "God will nourish". It is very possible that Yukio DOES mean that in Hebrew, (I don't speak it so I don't know) but it does not mean that it Japanese. Japanese and Hebrew have no common denominator. There aren't words in Japanese that mean the same thing in Hebrew. I haven't looked it up in a dictionary, but Yukio possibly means "Brave One". Perhaps a child with a Japanese/Hebrew parent combination named their child Yukio. This does not make the name Japanese/Hebrew. You have to understand that my husband and I are not holding ourselves up as name experts, or even language experts. If, however, a casual reading of just one section brings up this many (possible) errors it put the rest of the names in question. My concern is threefold: 1. The authors didn't seem to do much research to find definitions for common names that they didn't know. (Asking a Japanese aquaintance, posting to a Japanese Newsgroup or buying a Japanese baby name book etc.) 2. The authors MIGHT have (it is unclear) said that a name (like Yemyo) is a "Japanese" name because a Japanese parent named their child that. Having someone who is of Japanese (or Italian, or Jewish etc.) heritage make up a name does not make that name Japanese, Italian or Jewish, in my opinion. 3. The authors MIGHT have (it is unclear) not checked up on what a parent said the definition of a name is. If I tell you an unusual name, and then I tell you the definition of it, it is still YOUR responsibility to check the accuracy of the name before you publish a book. Obviously this is just my opinion. The names are interesting and unusual but I wish that I felt that I could "trust" it more. Jen
Rating: 
Summary: Where the names came from
Review: I'd like to take a moment to explain where the names in the Parent Soup Baby Name Finder came from: Two eager about-to-be Dads wanted a high-tech way to search for baby names. So they went to the Library of Congress, picked 500 local papers from around the country, and wrote down every single name they found listed in the birth announcements there and created a computerized database of names. (Parent Soup discovered this database that they had created, and paid them to put it online in our extrememly popular interactive Baby Name Finder.) These are the names that are in this book. So every name in this book has actually been given to a baby in the U.S. Once they had the names, the dads moved backwards and categorized them according to ethnicity. Because this book started with actual names, then retro-fit them into ethnic categories, it may not be as ethnically-oriented as some baby name books. But if you are looking for a wide array of names that have been used by real parents across the country, you can't do better than to read this book. And what really makes the Parent Soup Baby Name Finder different from other books is the advice from other parents. Can't agree with your spouse? The parents of Parent Soup can help. This book is different from other baby name books, and I sincerely hope (and believe) that the book can help you find a baby name that you love.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Parent Soup!
Review: Parent Soup - you have done it! What a great "tool" to help with finding the perfect name! The category lists were a marvelous idea - everything from the standard lists (boy or girl names) to unisex names, ethnic names, and even how many syllables a name contains. My favorite parts of the book were the tips given by parents like me, who have been through it all - from how to handle giving your child a name that has been passed down in the family to which spelling to use for a certain name. These parents offer up their best advice to help you make the big name decision. We had so much fun with this book as a family! My children really enjoyed looking up the meanings of their names, and even talked about what they might name their own children someday. I got the chance to tell each of my children again why we had chosen their names, giving them a little more insight into who they are. I am giving a copy to an expecting friend as a shower gift. I think she and her husband will have a great time trying to find just the "right" name for their new baby. Thank you Parent Soup for putting this together with the help of your members!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Parent Soup!
Review: Parent Soup - you have done it! What a great "tool" to help with finding the perfect name! The category lists were a marvelous idea - everything from the standard lists (boy or girl names) to unisex names, ethnic names, and even how many syllables a name contains. My favorite parts of the book were the tips given by parents like me, who have been through it all - from how to handle giving your child a name that has been passed down in the family to which spelling to use for a certain name. These parents offer up their best advice to help you make the big name decision. We had so much fun with this book as a family! My children really enjoyed looking up the meanings of their names, and even talked about what they might name their own children someday. I got the chance to tell each of my children again why we had chosen their names, giving them a little more insight into who they are. I am giving a copy to an expecting friend as a shower gift. I think she and her husband will have a great time trying to find just the "right" name for their new baby. Thank you Parent Soup for putting this together with the help of your members!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Parent Soup!
Review: Parent Soup's Baby Name Finder is much more than lists of name possibilities. This book deals with the real issues that many parents face when considering names for their bundles of joy. Real parents from Parent Soup's online parenting community give tips on how to handle such issues as "dealing with flak from family and friends" and how to determine if you have a "keeper". The tips are not preachy; they only offer several opinions that all parents will want to consider. And those lists are fabulous! This book offers 42 lists in which to categorize names. If you want a Welsh name that has three syllables, you can find several here! You can even find out how your child's name ranks on a popularity scale. Did you know that Tatiana is one of the 50 most popular girls' names of the 90's? My children thoroughly enjoyed looking their names up and learning about the ethnic origin associated with those names. Some were thrilled to find out that they had popular names, while others thought it was cool that their names were more "unique". This book should be in every family's personal library. What a great resource for children when they have to do that inevitable report on the history of their names. And what a wondeful gift for soon-to-be parents. This book is just plain fun to read. It offers down-to-earth advice from "real" parents just like all of us.
Rating:
Summary: I Wish This Book Had Been Available To Me Long Ago!
Review: Parent Soup's Baby Name Finder is much more than lists of name possibilities. This book deals with the real issues that many parents face when considering names for their bundles of joy. Real parents from Parent Soup's online parenting community give tips on how to handle such issues as "dealing with flak from family and friends" and how to determine if you have a "keeper". The tips are not preachy; they only offer several opinions that all parents will want to consider. And those lists are fabulous! This book offers 42 lists in which to categorize names. If you want a Welsh name that has three syllables, you can find several here! You can even find out how your child's name ranks on a popularity scale. Did you know that Tatiana is one of the 50 most popular girls' names of the 90's? My children thoroughly enjoyed looking their names up and learning about the ethnic origin associated with those names. Some were thrilled to find out that they had popular names, while others thought it was cool that their names were more "unique". This book should be in every family's personal library. What a great resource for children when they have to do that inevitable report on the history of their names. And what a wondeful gift for soon-to-be parents. This book is just plain fun to read. It offers down-to-earth advice from "real" parents just like all of us.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: This was a wonderful book! I'm only 13, but I just love names and this is my favorite name book out of the 6 I own. Thanks for making it wonderful, Kate Hanley!
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