Customer Reviews

Beyond Charles and Diana: An Anglophile's Guide to Baby Naming

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is for those with eccentric tastes who don't want something totally weird or made-up sounding. The English use some fabulous names; hopefully this book will inspire more Americans to follow suit.

The information I found in this book helped me tremendously in my search for names. With their usual wit and flair, Rosenkrantz and Satran present what you need to know about British names, the most stylish choices now, and important issues about class. Of course, if you've ever read any other books by them, you know they're into lists, and­­sure enough, there's plenty of lists here. I find English names almost perfect­­elegant, cool, calm, mysterious, but warm-hearted. Although some (like Emma, Isabella, and Justin) have been used to the point of critical mass in the US, most are astoundingly fresh yet at the same time familiar and usable today.

This book will help you find a distinctive name for your child that others will complement him or her on but will not make him/her feel like an outcast. Most of the time, the names on the "upperclass" list are classics or at least names that will not go out of style, whether they've ever been well-used or not; and the names on the "lowerclass" list are, while not making a person with that name a lowerclass person, generally choices that are dated, overly trendy, or not very well-thought-of. And just watch: as American parents get tired of the Wonderbready top picks that they're choosing today, they'll be turning to names like these to save the day.

Other than Beyond Jennifer and Jason, I think this is Rosenkrantz and Satran's best book, and is definitely worth shelling out the bucks for. Great job, guys!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book which my parents-in-law gave me in what I suspect is their latest salvo in the battle which erupted after my twins Farouk and Kylie's christening.

This book is exactly what it claims to be, no more and no less. If you are satisfied with the Erins and Tiffanys and Caitlins now popular in America, or their male counterparts the Justins and Dylans and Brandons, then this book should hold no interest. But I wish this book had been around when my three kids were named. I am now partial to calling a girl Fiona, Gillian, or perhaps Oriana or Tamsin (but certainly not Beryl, as my mother Iris almost named me). And for a boy I might go with Nigel, Dorian, Ian or Trevor (but also possibly Charles Keith, which was my father's name). This book does not give the meaning of any particular name, but it will tell you which are distinctly English or Scottish or Welsh (given that there is a separate book from these authors about Irish names). And it will tell you which names have an upper-class feel as opposed to a lower-class one, if that is of any concern. And which are royal and which are literary, etc. This is a paperback that you read with a highlighter, and it is fun to go back later and see what you marked. Choices, choices . . .