Customer Reviews

The Right Baby Name: The Scientific Guide to Naming Your Baby

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book was a real eye-opener to me. I was aware that picking a name for my child was not going to be an easy task but most of the issues dealt with in this book I wouldn't even have thought about. I mean, who would have known that the vowels in the name make a difference, for example?

The book is based on sound data but still an easy read with lots of examples to clarify what the author meant. The clear structure lets you jump right to the topics that you are after and there are "tutorial" boxes which help put the advice into practice.

The affiliated webpage [...]the last insecurities in decision making for a name. Nicely done, easy to use and very informative.

Will definitely get this for my friends' baby showers!

This is without a doubt the best baby name book that my wife and I have read. It summarizes centuries of research in an easy to read 100 pg book.

If you are hungry for more research, the author has also started his own website where you can do further research on names that you might like, including finding out if your name of choice has become a recent fad.

The book has intrigued me - there is more to a name than meets the eye, and certainly more than I imagined. I originally bought this book because I thought it is a quick read with a bit over 100 pages but it [...] right in. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a "left brain" approach to finding the right name. The author must be obsessed with naming his baby because of all the research he has done. I haven't found anything that comes close to it.

The book explains all the background on names very well but doesn't have too many examples - I will try out their service as well which they sell as a gift card (The Right Baby Name Gift Card). It is a bit pricey but then you name your baby only once.

The book requires the corresponding website, which is no longer online. The book is virtually useless without this website.

I am not typically writing reviews but I think some of the older posts don't do this product justice - I liked it and found it really useful in my decision making process.

There are a few reviews that complain about missing features on the website: I've both read the book and looked at the website and ALL THE FEATURES mentioned in the book are there. Maybe they've added them in 2-3 months since the other reviews were written; however that may be, I could find them easily (even though some required me to go through a - lengthy - registration process).

I liked this book because it was a true eye-opener in many aspects. I would never have thought about memorability of a name, for example, or how I should think about avoiding fads.

I also liked the reports that are available on the website, but unfortunately you get only 1 free one.

I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have strong family traditions that guide the name, because it helps you think about a lot of thinks that you just wouldn't come up with on your own. However, don't buy it as a "baby name list" book, because there are only a few hundred names in this book compared with the literally thousands in some other ones, which are also much cheaper. For a pure list book, I recommend Best Baby Name Book In The Whole World which you can pick up for only $5.

When I first read the subtitle "scientific guide" I was a bit taken aback - how can someone try to bring cold science into something as emotional and cuddly as picking a name? I was afraid I'd get a boring treaty with little practical application.

Turns out, I was wrong. I couldn't put the book down until I had finished it (it's a quick read, which helps). I think the author strikes a good balance between scientific facts and examples how to use them in your "name hunt". For anyone with left-brain tendencies, this is a welcome change from all the other baby books (I own a few).

What I think could be better: more charts in the back of the book (I had to go the website for nearly all of my name ideas), more information on family traditions and their impact (I liked the chapter about "Junior"), better discount at the website for buyers of this book.

Overall though, 2 thumbs up.

I purchased 4 baby names book, and this one did not contain any actual names to choose from but rather the theory behind choosing them. I would have been happy with this except that in order to get any reports or suggestions based on the theory, you have to purchase a membership on the authors website for $[...]. And the real problem was that website was terrible. The name suggestions generated based on a list of some my existing favorites were completely off. For example, I listed the names Electra, Luna, Kiera, and Elle. Yet, it gave me these names as "recommendations" that I would like: Mary, Nicole, Louise, May. Not even close! They need to improve their site, and without the site, the book isn't that valuable. Oh, here's another tip. You can read most of the contents of the book from the website [...]

It seems to me this product is to get you to apply online for a subscription to research baby names. I wasn't impressed with it at all though the design and marketing of the book is quite nice. I would NOT recommend.

I love the theory behind this book AND there is some very useful information to be learned from these name reports. The low rating is based solely on the fact that the website (where you get the info) is rarely functional. Pretty much every time I use it it stops responding to my name requests which causes me to hit the button again. The next day I find I've used up some of the 100 reports they give you on duplicate name reports. Customer service does win points for crediting my reports back to me, but the service is slower than they promise. Today I signed on and for some reason cannot find the page where I would get a new name report. It's missing. I paid for my nine month membership... I think I should be able to use the site!

Yes - I actually said must-"read" because in contrast to most other books, this one actually has something to tell you, instead of just listing thousands of names (which you can get for free on the web, just Google "baby names").