The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book: 2,000 Names from the World's Great Literature [Paperback]

Grace Hamlin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 3, 2001

If you are like most expectant parents you are looking for that special name with special meaning. A name with a legacy, a name for the ages. What better place to look for a name for your child than in literature? "The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book" is divided into sections of boy names and girls names; entries list names alphabetically and include information on origin and meaning, as well as variations and, most important, literary namesakes. In the entry for Julia (Latin, "youthful"), for example, we meet Jane Austen's Julia Bertram of "Mansfield Park", two Trollope Julias of a "certain age", Wilkie Collins's strong-minded Lady Julia Verinder of "The Moonstone", as well as Juliana, a Yulia, a Julie -Strindberg's "Miss" - and Shakespeare's Juliet (who, of course, famously pondered, "What's in a name?"). Throughout the book are sidebars with mini essays about literary characters and naming trends, as well as pointed quotations from the books themselves. And there is an index of authors, if you want to name your son after Juliet's hotheaded cousin in "Romeo and Juliet" but can't remember his name.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book is a secondary resource at best. Hamlin has authored other baby-name books, but in this case she uses a pseudonym. Here she compiles a quirky assortment of names drawn only from "Penguin Classics" publications. The information, given both in the name entries and in sidebars on such subjects as "German names," is concise and entertaining and includes lengthy descriptions of references to literary characters of the given name. The problem lies in the selection. The author does not understate the case when she says, "Not all these names are actually usable for a child." With such ugly ducklings as Baiardo (a legendary horse), Iago, Hecuba, and Topsy, this book would serve best as a pet-name book. Vivian Reed, California State Univ., Long Beach
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

If you never seem to have enough books in your baby names collection, here's one to add. Parents who use it might select Logistilla (a sorceress in Orlando Furioso) for their daughter or Arveragus (a knight in The Canterbury Tales) for their son. Or they might just stick with Mary and Bill. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (July 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0141001526
• ISBN-13: 978-0141001524
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,113,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More for literature buffs than parents to be, November 19, 2003

By 

Megami (Darwin, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book: 2,000 Names from the World's Great Literature (Paperback)

This book is not a conventional baby name book - it lists names that are included in the Penguin Classics series of books. It does not include 20th Century classics though, which is a big let down. It is not a book you would probably use solely if you were trying to find a name for your child-to-be - many, if not the majority, of names are not really those you would consider - Minnehaha perhaps? And certain books seem to be mentioned a little too much - `Orlando Furioso' must have a cast of thousands if the number of times it is mentioned in this book is anything to go by.

However, it is interesting, and it gives an insight into the importance of names as indicators in different periods of literature. It also refuses to concentrate on English language books - there are references to Ancient Greek, Scandinavian, Spanish, French, Russian and other non-English literature. If you are a scholar or fan of classic literature, you will probably find something of interest in this book. But if you are searching for an appropriate name for a baby, while it might throw up some you hadn't considered before, you should probably try somewhere else...

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Top of the Top 25, August 8, 2005

By 

Watchgirl "watchgirl" (Oakville) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Penguin Classic Baby Name Book: 2,000 Names from the World's Great Literature (Paperback)

Great literature names , Great stories behind names But need more names. This book is really by CArol MCD Wallace. She has another book out The Penguin Classic Baby name book. Be careful that is a reprint of this book don't buy 2.