Customer Reviews

100,000 + BABY NAMES:The Most Complete Baby Name Book

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

First, let me state the obvious: You will find many, many names in this book. Besides American and Christian names the book lists many ethnic names: African, Indian, Arabic, Chinese, Irish, Italian, etc.
I can't comment on the quality and accuracy of all the names, but being East Indian I do have a fair bit of knowledge regarding Indian names.
The problems with this book:
1. Many of the name meanings are wildly inaccurate.
2. Some boys names were incorrectly classified as a girls name and vice-versa.
3. Some Arabic names were incorrectly classified as Indian.
4. Quality: many Indian names listed in this book are archaic and woefully outdated-- the sort of name that conjures up images of someone in their 80s. The American equivalent would be names like Ebenezer or Nimrod. Those names were popular at some point in the 1880s, but how many parents would give that name to their child today =)
The bottom line: there are a wide variety of names to be found here, but if you're going to go with a name you are unfamiliar with be sure to check alternate sources for meanings, source attribution and gender-appropriateness.

Considering the size of the book I was disappointed in the lack of information and meanings given. They are mostly one word meanings, if there is a meaning at all. Mostly it seems like it wants to take you in a big circle of reference from one name to the next never quite giving you what you are looking for. It wasn't helpful for me. I found "The Babyname Wizard" book A LOT more informative and helpful.

This book is a waste of time. The author collected all names from around the world but did not bother to check their meaning, origin, etc. Many names are associated with ridiculous non-facts or false facts. Many others do not have their origin as stated. We know that for sure about polish names - we come from Poland; but we noticed the same thing with many other names as well. Very weak book. Do not buy it!

This book had some good points and some bad points. All of the lists at the beginning were cute and fun and even could be helpful for some. I agree with a previous post that the meanings of the names sometimes sent you to another name, then another and another without ever giving you a meaning. All of the bizaar names would probably be helpful for those looking for a "stand-out" name. Also, I think the way the author reached 100,000 plus names was by listing every different spelling of each name as a different name instead of listing it under parenthesis as most books do. It just creates a lot of names to go through before you can find the ones you like. Basically, I think this would be a pretty good book for someone looking for an unusual name, but otherwise, get something else.

I thought the book was great and had lots of interesting name ideas. It organzied names alphabetically but also in like-sounding names, names that were pairs, famous people's names, etc. The only thing I did not like was that the pronounciations were not provided. Other than that I thought the book had great ideas, was very organized, and I plan on passing it on to my pregnant friends.

If nothing else, this book is great fun -- all the names from different cultures and countries are fascinating (though I'm not sure I'd want to name a daughter "Osiris"), especially since every name has a short description of its origin and meaning next to it.

Lansky has clearly done his research -- there are lists of the most popular names from 1900 to 2004, and the big trends in baby-naming in the past few years so you can decide whether you want to go with or against the trends. Lansky has a few quick, easy articles about picking a name you and your baby will love -- it seems like so many people today forget to pick a name that will actually suit their child; a name that the child will want for the rest of their life -- and the impressions names make on people, as well as the legal aspect of naming (did you know that in the United States it is against the law to use numbers in names?).

It's a huge book, a great resource. I don't plan to have kids of my own for a few years yet, and I don't think I'll use a baby name book of any kind when I do, but I have a few friends who've purchased this book and really loved it -- and I enjoy reading it, too.

If you go in both the girls names and boys names some names such as Hannah are listed for both genders. Hannah a form of Johann?? I don't think so! Hannah is a girls name and it's Hebrew. The author did this throughout the book and it was rather annoying.

I we were looking for some unique names like Harbour for a girl (as similar to Harper) and I've seen it as a girls name a few times and it's not listed at all anywhere in the book. Elizabeth is even listed in the boys section.

At the top of each page there's a little system the author devised and it's kind of dumb because it's not used for every name. Used more for girls, used more for boys, used equally. Elizabeth is listed in the boys section (again pretty ignorant) and it's labeled used more for girls ok so why mr. Lansky is it listed in your boys section of your book? Makes no sense whatsoever.

Some of the meanings are wrong (ok alot)

Bruce Lansky used to produce good baby name books but this one is pathetic.

I am in the business of naming babies and characters and I use this book. It has lots of names from different origins. It is very informative. It gives you advice of differnt ways to come up with names. It gives the most popular baby names over several decades. It also gives the meaning of names.100,000 Plus Baby Names

I could go on and on but I think I have said plenty. If you are having a baby or naming characters such as I do, this is a great book.

As a soon-to-be grandmother this book encompassed everything a baby name book should be -what names mean, fun lists and trends and of course plenty of names!!

I recommend it highly!

This book is worth getting if you are looking for a wide variety of names and the impressions names can give people. There are also many interesting facts about more than odd names that people have used to name their children. For example a man with the last name wind named his 4 kids North, South, East and West.