The Greatest Baby Name Book Ever

Rating:
Summary: decent name-book
Review: As a collector of name-books, I wasn't that impressed. The type is hard to read and search through, with the names in bold print being distracting after a while. It's fairly complete in terms of content, and the introduction and trivia bits are standard but nicely done. However, it isn't the "greatest baby name book ever" and I wouldn't buy it if I was looking for just one or two as reference copies.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of names, but rather inaccurate
Review: As a writer of short stories I am always in need of character names which is why I bought this baby book. I find it has a huge amount of names -- from Ashley to Zara, Aaron to Zachary -- but some of the information is inaccurate and that bothers me. For instant, Elliott is not a very popular name as the author of this book would lead you to believe, and Blair is used much more often for girls than boys. So if you're looking for quantity you have it, but if you're looking for quality search elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: ok reference book
Review: First of all, I'm not having a child. I didn't buy this book to pick out baby names. As a writer, names are important, essential to the meaning of my work, so I knew I'd need to pick up a name dictionary eventually. It took me a while to figure out that I 'name dictionaries' are 'baby name books.' So I searched through the baby section at my local chain bookstore (which is nerveracking for a 25 year old single male with no children, no pregnant women, and no desire to have children) trying to pick one out. Most didn't quite give the information I was looking for. I only found two that filled my needs. This was the one I decided to go with. It's published recently (1998), covers many cultures, and has almost 700 pages of names. It's cross-referenced, gives a definition, some famous people with the name, variations on the name, origin of the name, and so on. I have found a few innacuracies, some major (Jubal, which means 'father of all' is said in this book to have an uncertain meaning possibly based on a musical instrument), some only minor. Still, it is a good reference for the general information needed. And I didn't find a better one when I was looking.

Rating:
Summary: It really is the greatest
Review: I bought this book after having read and loved 20,001 Names for Baby by the same author. Both books (they are quite similar) have many, many names, with fascinating information, including definitions and lists of nicknames and famous people who have those names, in a simple, easy-to-read alphabetical listing. (This book has a little more information, but the other book has the Girls' Section first, which is my preference.) I could sit and read this book for hours, it's so interesting. I think Wallace's baby name books are far, FAR better than any other baby name books out there. Of course, I don't have kids yet, so those of you who are trying to find actual baby names may not be as fascinated as I am with the history of names like Ethelbert and Adelaide. Still, I think prospective parents would do well to read this book and maybe find names they hadn't thought of, or more information about old favorites to help tip the balance. After all, this is one decision you will make that will influence your child for the rest of his or her life!

Rating:
Summary: It's good if you're looking for girl's names but boy's- no
Review: I got this book basically for the fun or it and to help me with coming up with charachter names for my stories. The girls' section is great but the boys'- no. The boys' section just lists many surnames that I don't think anyone would want o even consider for a name- Fisk, Fleetwood,Freeborn,Fulfright, Newcomb! I mean COME ON! If your looking for a girls' name this is a great book, for a boy, look somewhere else!

Rating:
Summary: maybe useful for writers,less useful for prospective parents
Review: This dictionary-style book contains is divided into two sections -- boys and girls; each section contains an alphabetical listing of names, along with the definition, origin, and variations of/nicknames for each name, as well as an occasional mention of famous people with that name. The boys' section is a little longer than the girls' section, but with over 300 pages of names in each section, there's plenty to work with. I found this book to be interesting, but not nearly as useful in selecting a baby name as many of the resources available online, particularly if you're looking for something a little more mainstream. If you're looking for unusual names or interesting ideas, you'll find them here. This book contains a very long listing of names, and plenty of information on each name, but it is not cross-referenced nearly as well as some of the other books out there, nor is it organized by topic or type of name.