Customer Reviews

A Dictionary of Surnames

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Although the price of this book can be a little intimidating, it is well worth the money spent for anyone interested in how and why our surnames developed. The introductory pages give information on names in many different language groups, and tells what all the different endings on names mean in each of these languages. The style is not dry and academic as one would expect, but is comfortable reading for both the layman and the professional.

The dictionary itself lists over 70,000 names along with many variations in spelling, and also gives translations of the original name into English. (Ellis Island strikes again!) Following the dictionary is an alpabetical listing of varients, so that if you can't find the name you are looking for as a main listing, you will be able to find out where it has been hidden.

I have spent many, many hours just reading listings in this book for entertainment, as well as using it as a reference tool for finding peoples names in the onomastic business. This one is definately a "must own" for anyone interested in names.

An alphabetic compendium of the derivation of european names (with a separate section for arabic names). Without being a scholarly work it covers a wide field. Those seeking ancestral background for names not usually covered: basques, ashkenazi, eastern european in general, will find it invaluable. Perhaps too much space is given to english surnames for which a wide variety of sources already exist As an english language source for european names it is invaluable

"A Dictionary of Surnames" is that rare reference book that you can read like a novel. Such a remarkable work can only be called a labor of love. The editors, Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges, have packed into this book a degree of erudition that is as breathtaking as it is unobtrusive. All the most common surnames (last names) of Europe and America are given, insofar as is possible, a full etymology and a list of cognate names in the other European languages. Thus we find, for example, that the surname "Jacob," or its more common patronymic form "Jacobs," derives from the biblical Jacob, thought to mean "heel," from the tradition that Jacob was born grasping his twin brother Esau's heel. There are , as you might expect, cognates in nearly all the European languages: Italian "Giacobo," Polish "Kobierski," Dutch "Kobus,"Czech "Kubec," Hungarian "Kabos," as well as scores of diminutive, patronymic, and pejorative forms. Many of these are, naturally, quite transparent, but who would guess that the name "Botticelli" is an Italian diminutive of Jacob? A very thorough index makes locating these obscure variants an easy task. If you are at all curious as to how you or the people that you know got your names, you must have this book. I have had my copy for several years and was just checking to see if a second edition has come out. Alas, no--but this one's plenty to keep you busy for a while.

I found this book to be extremely helpful for researching the origins of surnames. Highly recommended!

My husband used to always wonder aloud where a name might have come from. Now that he has this book, I just tell him to look it up. He loves it. It was one of the best birthday presents I've given him.

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