Emily Larson

As a writer, and an anthroponomastophile, I have read a lot of baby name books. While this one is not my favourite, it is of high enough quality that I have kept it for years and reference it. It has a fairly good article on considerations for naming and some cute lists of name choices. It has a large collection of names, meaning you will find a lot of those used in English Western culture. The flaw is a lack of pronounciation guide and/or nicknames (it does reference similar names, but same show more name in different ethnicities and nicknames is a different thing). If you are not trying to go in depth with background, and are willing to do cultural research for references and denomyns, like most parents naming a baby, this book is a good choice. If you are doing writer, historical or anthroponomastic research, this book is too simplistic to be more than a jumping-off point. show less

As a writer, and an anthroponomastophile, I have read a lot of baby name books. While this one is not my favourite, it is of high enough quality that I have kept it for years and reference it. It has a fairly good article on considerations for naming and some cute lists of name choices. It has a large collection of names, meaning you will find a lot of those used in English Western culture. The flaw is a lack of pronounciation guide and/or nicknames (it does reference similar names, but same show more name in different ethnicities and nicknames is a different thing). If you are not trying to go in depth with background, and are willing to do cultural research for references and denomyns, like most parents naming a baby, this book is a good choice. If you are doing writer, historical or anthroponomastic research, this book is too simplistic to be more than a jumping-off point. show less

I liked reading the trends - not because I want a "trendy" name but because I don't! It helped me to mark off some of the names she believes are "trending up"...

One of the best name books out there! Try this one first!