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Summary
Summary
Do you love or hate your name? Do you know what it really means? How do you choose the right name for someone?We all have a first name, but how many of us really know its origin and history? This comprehensive dictionary provides a fascinating collection of linguistic, historical, and associated information about some 7,000 names, making it ideal reference for linguists and family historians, as well as an important source of information for parents choosing a name for a child.
Author Notes
Patrick Hanks has been a lexicographer and linguistic researcher for over twenty-five years. He was Chief Editor for Current English Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, and now works freelance. Flavia Hodges is a philologist, lexicographer, and publisher.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
YA-- A wonderful book that provides the origins of 7,000 names found in the English-speaking world, giving their history, usage trends, and explaining how they are used in other languages. In addition, each entry highlights influences that determine popularity. Supplements list names from the often difficult to find Arab world and the Indian subcontinent. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
From the compilers of A Dictionary of Surnames [RBB Jl 89] comes this collection of 4,500 European and American first names. Entries give the ethnic roots of names and their meanings, if any. Special effort is made to discuss American names (for example, Kathryn is a spelling peculiar to the U.S.), but the compilers err in stating that David is usually a Jewish name in this country. Many entries give fascinating histories for names. Bonnie, for instance, is not a Scottish name but seems to have been first used by Margaret Mitchell in Gone with the Wind. Entries also list nicknames and variants in other languages. John, for instance, is Sean in Irish, Ian in Scottish, Giovanni in Italian, and Ivan in Russian. Pronunciation is not given for names. It is unfortunate that the compilers use some technical linguistics terms (hypocoristic, calques) without defining them. A lengthy introduction discusses various kinds of names (royal, black, surnames as first names), and appendixes list common Arabic names and names from the Indian subcontinent. While this probably won't replace any of the "what to name your baby" books, since both male and female names are interfiled in one alphabet, it is fun to browse in and will also answer reference questions. ~--Sandy Whiteley
Choice Review
English lexicographers Hanks and Hodges have previously published The Oxford Minidictionary of First Names (1986) and A Dictionary of Surnames (CH, Jul'89). Both books have contributed greatly to onomastics. This volume continues the series. It contains 7,000 name entries preceded by a systematic introduction to the types of name, such as biblical, saints, modern, black, Italian, etc. Name entries show sex, etymology, various forms, important individuals associated with the name, and usage. Two supplements cover usually difficult areas: Arabic names, by Mona Baker; names from the Indian subcontinent, by Ramesh Krishnamurthy. In any project as ambitious as this, there are bound to be some omissions or errors; for instance, this reviewer would like to see some mention of names associated with the Baltic states. Nevertheless, this is an outstanding reference work. It deserves a place in every library. No other book has covered first names with such breadth and depth. -E. D. Lawson, SUNY College at Fredonia
Table of Contents
| Introduction |
| Bibliography |
| Dictionary of First Names |
| Supplement 1 Common Names in the Arab WorldMona Baker |
| Supplement 2 Common Names of the Indian SubcontinentRamesh Krishnamurthy |