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A Concise Dictionary of First Names

A Concise Dictionary of First Names
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List Price: $14.99
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Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Written By: Patrick Hanks,Flavia Hodges
Average Customer Rating: Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5Average rating of 4.0/5

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 929.4403
EAN: 9780198662594
ISBN: 0198662599
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 336
Publication Date: 2001-08-23
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA

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    Editorial Reviews: Do you love your name? Do you hate your name? What does your name really mean? How do you choose the right name for someone?
    Here is the ultimate first name handbook--a delightfully informative, comprehensive survey, from the traditional to the new and unconventional. With well over 6,000 entries, this is the most wide-ranging dictionary of first names available. Over 150 names--including Calista, Gaia, and Macy-are added to this new edition. In addition to a new introduction from the authors, the Third Edition also provides the answers to all of your questions on the meanings and histories of names, how they have risen or fallen in popularity, and who the famous bearers of the names are from history, fiction, and the screen. Detailed appendix material includes European, Arabic, and Indian names. The new edition also contains detailed coverage of Japanese and Chinese names.
    Completely revised and updated, this is the ultimate source for new parents and anyone interested in names or language.


    Spotlight customer reviews:
    Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
    Summary: Onomastic delight!
    Comment: Most books on names are written by people with no qualifications other than they can collect lists and reprint them. Not so with this book!

    Although the authors are British, and there is a bit of bias towards names used in the U.K. it is well researched. They could have double-checked US sources a little more when commenting on its use as a US name. Yet, this only means that they wrote what they knew to be true rather than making wild uninformed guesses. For instance, they suspect that "Oprah" was a form of Orpah but without being completely sure they only list it as a supposition and attribute it's existance in the US to Oprah Winfrey. Their linguistically inspired guess was correct! Oprah has mentioned in an interview that her name was a typo of Orpah. Not having this obscure information, the authors did the responsible thing.

    In fact, they deferred to consultants for the appendices for cultures they were not familiar with.

    This book is great for students of onomastics, parents and authors.


    Customer Rating: Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5Average rating of 4/5
    Summary: Good, but why use the reduced version?
    Comment: Hanks and Hodges are real scholars, who however communicate their information clearly and intelligibly. I cannot see any obvious need for a CONCISE version of their *Dictionary of First Names*, first published by Oxford University Press in 1990 and regularly reprinted. That book is only just over 400 pages, so by no means too long. It is the longer version which I personally regularly use for my research - mostly in Renaissance literature - and I have found it an excellent source of reference. Those looking for names for their children, too, or wanting information about their own names, will rarely be disappointed. You find out readily what a name means, what its derivation is, who have been famous bearers of it, etc. Wonderful for browsing, apart from anything else! I also often use David Pickering's *Penguin Dictionary of First Names*, which is similarly useful, but which Amazon does not appear to supply. (A matter of copyright restrictions?) - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)

    Customer Rating: Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5Average rating of 5/5
    Summary: An Excellent, Clear, Pithy Book
    Comment: This is a wonderful book, lively and enthusiastic. Unlike other name guides, it focuses on the cultural and linguistic roots of the name, rather than the fluffily mystic (astrological and so forth.) In addition to the original meaning of the name and variations over time, it also lists prominent historical or mythological bearers of the name, such as saints, kings, or heroes. The appendices, with names and their original meanings from Russian, Arabic, French, German, and so forth, are an added bonus. If you like words, or just like to peek at the secret roots of everyday things, buy this book. Great fun.

    Customer Rating: Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5Average rating of 1/5
    Summary: I don't like this book.
    Comment: I think this book should give more than one definition for the names. It should also give meanings from different languages



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