The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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417	6	60,897	(4)	1
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Character Names The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook is a one-of-a-kind resource specifically designed with the writer in mind. Inside you'll find: 25,000+ first names and surnames, and their meanings, listed by origin Names and surnames from more than 45 countries A reverse lookup of names by meaning An alphabetical index of names An explanation of naming practices and historical context for each origin A list of the top ten most popular names in the United States every year from 1880-2003 Instruction on how to create believable names that fit your characters and your story This comprehensive guide also includes advice from a number of best-selling authors, including Elizabeth George, Alexander McCall Smith, Homer Hickam, Marian Keyes, Big Fish author Daniel Wallace, and others. You'll get the inside scoop on their naming methods, plus the stories behind the names of their most famous characters. So throw out your old telephone books and baby-naming guides--The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook meets all your naming needs!… (more)

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An excellent and comprehensive source for both writers and parents-to-be. The most helpful part for me is that it's broken down by nationality, so you can easily sort by the culture you're specifically researching. Also has each name's meaning and origin, which can be key. I suppose you can easily find this information on the Internet these days, but sometimes I don't want the distraction that brings or I just want to page through a physical book. (

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WritingMom | Jun 2, 2019 |

This book is extremely comprehensive and excellent for seasoned and aspiring writers. The listing by ‘cultures’ is extremely helpful for reference by what writers are actually writing about. It tells you where the names came from and their meanings making choosing a name all that much more fun and appealing.

AND you could also use it for potential baby names!

Also on http://lrjohnson13.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-writers-digest-character-naming.html (

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wolfangel87 | Nov 13, 2012 |

This is an excellent source for names and their meanings, although it is far from complete. Its particular strength is in providing names from different cultures or time periods, not to mention the sections in which other information about how naming works in a culture. Its biggest weakness is the lack of information on surnames--this book is good for given names only.

I would not use this as my single source for character naming, but then again, who would? But it's worthwhile as a primary source for first names presented by culture. (

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shabacus | Jun 7, 2012 |

Meh. Not worth it. The advice was really generic and the lists are not very extensive or very useful, in my opinion. If you want help naming your fictional characters you'd be better off looking at a few baby name books that talk about context as well as meaning (like Linda Rosencrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran's books) and, most importantly, using the internet. (

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meggyweg | Nov 9, 2011 |

The perfect source book for writers who need a quick name reference. Organized by nationality, you can find names from all around the world, from Armenian to Welsh. Wonderful! (

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kyronae | May 25, 2009 |

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2005-05-21

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Sherrilyn Kenyon

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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing Character Names The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook is a one-of-a-kind resource specifically designed with the writer in mind. Inside you'll find: 25,000+ first names and surnames, and their meanings, listed by origin Names and surnames from more than 45 countries A reverse lookup of names by meaning An alphabetical index of names An explanation of naming practices and historical context for each origin A list of the top ten most popular names in the United States every year from 1880-2003 Instruction on how to create believable names that fit your characters and your story This comprehensive guide also includes advice from a number of best-selling authors, including Elizabeth George, Alexander McCall Smith, Homer Hickam, Marian Keyes, Big Fish author Daniel Wallace, and others. You'll get the inside scoop on their naming methods, plus the stories behind the names of their most famous characters. So throw out your old telephone books and baby-naming guides--The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook meets all your naming needs!

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