Key Features:
Ideal reference source for linguists & family historians as well as parents choosing a child's name
- Includes linguistic, historical, and associated information on 7,000 first names
- Introduction explaining groups of names from around the world and naming practices in different cultures
- By the author of the highly popular Babies' Names (revised edition, OUP, 2000)
- Contains two supplements; Common Names in the Arab World and the Indian Subcontinent
Description:
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. Linguists and family historians will find this an invaluable reference source, while parents-to-be will be guided and inspired.
'the best available work on the subject' Verbatim
Competition:
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names by Pickering. Published 1999 £7.99. Comments: 5,000 first names, giving the meaning and origin of each. Lists the most popular girls' and boys' names from 1700 to the present day. Has 1,000 fewer entries than OUP's and is more expensive.
The Bloomsbury Dictionary of First Names by Cresswell. Published 1994 £4.99. Comments: 1,500 names from around the world, with origins, variations, and meanings. It has not been updated since 1994, but a new dictionary was published in 2001 in hardback.
The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of First Names by John Ayto. Published 1994 £3.99. Comments: 1,800 names from around the world. Also a list of well-known people with the same name. It has not been updated since 1994.
Collins' First Names. Published 1996 £7.99. Comments: 1,500 first names; includes the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim names most commonly used in Britain. More expensive; not as up-to-date. Far fewer entries.
Ideal reference source for linguists & family historians as well as parents choosing a child's name
- Includes linguistic, historical, and associated information on 7,000 first names
- Introduction explaining groups of names from around the world and naming practices in different cultures
- By the author of the highly popular Babies' Names (revised edition, OUP, 2000)
- Contains two supplements; Common Names in the Arab World and the Indian Subcontinent
Description:
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. Linguists and family historians will find this an invaluable reference source, while parents-to-be will be guided and inspired.
'the best available work on the subject' Verbatim
Competition:
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names by Pickering. Published 1999 £7.99. Comments: 5,000 first names, giving the meaning and origin of each. Lists the most popular girls' and boys' names from 1700 to the present day. Has 1,000 fewer entries than OUP's and is more expensive.
The Bloomsbury Dictionary of First Names by Cresswell. Published 1994 £4.99. Comments: 1,500 names from around the world, with origins, variations, and meanings. It has not been updated since 1994, but a new dictionary was published in 2001 in hardback.
The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of First Names by John Ayto. Published 1994 £3.99. Comments: 1,800 names from around the world. Also a list of well-known people with the same name. It has not been updated since 1994.
Collins' First Names. Published 1996 £7.99. Comments: 1,500 first names; includes the Hindu, Sikh and Muslim names most commonly used in Britain. More expensive; not as up-to-date. Far fewer entries.