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The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby Paperback – February 8, 2005

by Laura Wattenberg (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 213 ratings
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Yes, your baby’s perfect name is out there.
The trick is finding it.

The perfect baby name will speak to your heart, give your child a great start in life—and maybe even satisfy your relatives.  But you can't expect to just stumble on a name like that in an A to Z dictionary or on a trendy list.

That’s why you need The Baby Name Wizard. Created by a name-searching mom, it uses groundbreaking research and computer generated models to pinpoint each name’s image, examine its usage and popularity over the last 100 years, and suggest other promising ideas. A perfect guide to the modern world of names, The Baby Name Wizard will engage you from the first name you look up and keep you enchanted through your journey to the just-right name for your baby.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Three Rivers Press
  4. Publication date
    February 8, 2005
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0767917529
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0767917520
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Why are there four little Olivias on your block? What kind of names would sound good with a brother named Dylan? Is George too old-fashioned? Is Dakota too weird? And why is Brianna now a more popular name for girls than Mary, Karen, and Margaret—combined?

The Baby Name Wizard is the first expert guide to helping you understand every aspect of a baby's name, from its image and history to nicknames and variants, as well as popularity and usage trends. The book's unique structure lets you start with one name you like and end up with a list of ideas tailored to your tastes. Each name has an entertaining buyer's guide–style entry to answer the questions:

• How popular is it? Each name is accompanied by a popularity graph so you can see where the name ranks among all boys' or girls' names and track its use over the last century.
•What else might I like? Look up any name and get a list of others with a matching style, including suggestions for boys and girls—ideal for sibling naming.
• How do people use it? Explore promising nicknames, international variations, and alternate spellings for each name.
•Where does it fit in? Learn about a name's distinctive style, from "Antique Charm" and "Old Testament" to "Brisk and Breezy" and "Nickname-Proof."
• How about even more ideas? To find out more about a name's image, turn to a full styles section and get longer lists of suggestions to spark your imagination.

Fun to browse and full of surprises, yet fact-filled and well organized, The Baby Name Wizard is destined to enchant.

About the Author

LAURA WATTENBERG is a writer, researcher, and software designer who developed the name analysis software after becoming frustrated in her search for names for her two daughters. She lives outside of Boston.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Three Rivers Press; Reissue edition (February 8, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0767917529
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0767917520
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.04 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 213 ratings

About the author

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Laura Wattenberg

Laura Wattenberg

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LAURA WATTENBERG is a writer, researcher, and software designer who developed the name analysis software after becoming frustrated in her search for names for her two daughters. She lives in Winchester, Massachusetts.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
213 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book offers a huge variety of names with short descriptions that make them interesting and useful. They also say it's fun to use and easy to navigate through. Readers also appreciate the interesting information about popularity and related names. They find the content unique and helpful for expanding their list of names.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
Name selectionUsefulnessUsabilityContentOriginalityValue
74 customers mention "Name selection"59 positive15 negative

Customers find the book offers a huge variety of names, with a short paragraph for each that talks about the history and meaning of the name. They also appreciate the unique way of linking similar names and the history of the names.

"...This is just a fantastic names book overall, for name nerds and expecting parents alike." Read more

"...This book offers a huge variety of names with a short paragraph for each that talks about popularity trends, nicknames, usage in pop culture, etc...." Read more

"...The recommended sibling names is a great tool, too: try looking up an existing sibling's name for ideas, or start with possible new baby names to..." Read more

"...My favorite part is that is does have some lists that sort names by types...." Read more

31 customers mention "Usefulness"24 positive7 negative

Customers find the book interesting, useful, and entertaining. They appreciate the short descriptions, good advice, and the way the author provides advice. Readers also mention that the sibling names feature is handy and the author's comments are interesting, entertaining, and functional.

"...This was definitely far more interesting and fun to use than a traditional name book." Read more

"...I also loved the groupings of names into style families. The book is informative and fun to read. I highly recommend it...." Read more

"...and read about five baby name books, and this is by far the best, most functional, and easiest to use!..." Read more

"...to choose from, it is great, don't get my wrong, but it's not as thorough as some books with how many names it offers...." Read more

21 customers mention "Usability"15 positive6 negative

Customers find the book fun and easy to navigate through. They also mention that it has fun name lists.

"...This was definitely far more interesting and fun to use than a traditional name book." Read more

"...The author's comments are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly they absolutely ring true...." Read more

"...I find the Kindle version very cumbersome...." Read more

"...baby name books, and this is by far the best, most functional, and easiest to use!..." Read more

9 customers mention "Content"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's content interesting, with trend charts and historical trends. However, some readers don't find it helpful.

"...It has interesting information about popularity and related names, but the one thing I would have liked to see was the meaning of a name...." Read more

"...The bit about popularity is interesting, but we are more interested in the meaning and history of the names...." Read more

"...Not the best, but it has a ton of information in it with name rank, sibling names, and a little bit on what a person with that certin name is like...." Read more

"...This book provides unique background information on each name. I particularly use the sibling name suggestions for alternate names...." Read more

9 customers mention "Originality"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very unique, visually appealing, and interesting. They also say it helps expand their list of names.

"...It really is the most unique name book I've seen yet, explaining how names come in and out of fashion and why we like the names we like...." Read more

"...This book, on the other hand, is informative, interesting, AND entertaining...." Read more

"This book wasn't what I expected... but it was very neat... especially for sibling names and name classifications...." Read more

"...I thought it was very unique and helped expand my list of names in a cool way...." Read more

6 customers mention "Value"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well worth the buy, worth a read, and a good choice for basic and slightly unusual names.

"...Definitely worth the purchase." Read more

"...Zero complaints. Wonderful book." Read more

"...Worth a read nonetheless." Read more

"Well worth the buy..." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

Sdbic
5.0 out of 5 stars Hurrah - A Unique Baby Names Book!
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2012
Verified Purchase
As a name nerd, I discovered Laura Wattenburg's website, [...] several years ago, and made extensive use of the Baby Name Voyager tool, fascinated by the graphs of the popularity of names over the last 100 years. When I spotted the book on the shelf of Barnes & Noble, I knew instantly I had to have it. I've read and studied it several times already and am eagerly looking forward to an updated edition with the newest name trends.

What I love about Ms. Wattenburg's book is quoted right on page one of her book: "Knowing that the name Olivia comes from the Latin word for olive doesn't tell you whether there will be three other Olivias on your block." She has created a resource for names based on, in her own words, "fashions, history, and style," which is exactly what I think a name book should be in a society whose number one value is independence.

As the first book of its kind, it is obvious that Ms. Wattenburg has put loads of time and energy into her work. Just researching the popularity of thousands of names across 100 years of history and making visual aids from it is daunting to think about, but she has also looked deeply into the styles of names and endeavored to classify them into groups based on that. The groupings into styles is what I find most helpful of all, because it gives rhyme and reason to why I like the names Callista and Eli, but not Casey or Louie.

This is just a fantastic names book overall, for name nerds and expecting parents alike.
3 people found this helpful
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J. Lum
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting & Creative Name Exploring, but Doesn't have the Name Meanings
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is definitely a different approach to finding a baby name, such as Biblical names or by how the name sounds. It has interesting information about popularity and related names, but the one thing I would have liked to see was the meaning of a name. As a result, we had to buy another book that has the meanings so that we could cross-reference the names from this book with the actual meaning/origin.

We definitely found that we gravitated towards a few groups of names and were completely turned off by others, so I would say that this supplemented with a book that offers the meanings of names is all you need! This was definitely far more interesting and fun to use than a traditional name book.
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malinate
5.0 out of 5 stars A baby name book that is fun to read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2006
Verified Purchase
I love this book. So many baby books are just unending lists of names and "meanings." This book offers a huge variety of names with a short paragraph for each that talks about popularity trends, nicknames, usage in pop culture, etc. The author's comments are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly they absolutely ring true. My favorite part is the list of sibling names for each name. It is fascinating. It seemed like all of our favorite names showed up on each other's sibling name list. I also loved the groupings of names into style families. The book is informative and fun to read. I highly recommend it.

The publisher took full advantage of the "look inside" feature on Amazon. Being able to see the index is very helpful so you can see just how extensive the list of names is and you will know which names have the detailed "profile" (the ones in bold in the index).

This is by far the best baby name book I have ever seen!
17 people found this helpful
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elviswoman
3.0 out of 5 stars On the fence about this one...
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2006
Verified Purchase
Okay, so there are a MILLION baby name books out there. I went with this one because I thought it might give cool first/middle name combos or something. But really, it just gave a somewhat limited list of names along with their current popularity status and historical usage via graph. Then the book shows this list recycled by name-type categories (like "Timeless", or "Guys and Dolls", or "Greek"). So the variety i was hoping for wasn't really there. That was kind of dissapointing. On the up side, this book showed me that a name is not unique just because it comes into my mind during an "ah-HA" moment-a lot of names are being used to death due to this kind of thinking. Just look at Madison or Chase! So I did obtain a guideline of what not to name my baby unless I want him/her to be one of 6 kids with the same name in his/her kindergarten class. I found that to be useful information. If you are looking to make sure you don't choose something over-used, OR if you are trying to pick something overused so your kid can blame their credit on the other 6.19 million Brittany's, this really will help you make a great pick. But if you are looking for varied name ideas, you might want to go for one of those 75,000+ BABY NAMES books out there. Just my two cents.
69 people found this helpful
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allieoop
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely LOVE this book!
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2014
Verified Purchase
As a project manager, data analyst, and super geek who used to study linguistics, I'd always wondered if there was a way to organize names based on phonetics and letter/sound combinations. Once I saw this book I was in love at first sight -- not only does Laura use an algorithm to determine which names "go together", but there are also popularity graphs for names over the past century or so. That was invaluable to us because our family name is Johnson and we wanted less popular but still beautiful names for our girls, and this book was the one that helped us do that.

I've purchased and read about five baby name books, and this is by far the best, most functional, and easiest to use! The recommended sibling names is a great tool, too: try looking up an existing sibling's name for ideas, or start with possible new baby names to cross-reference or do it in reverse -- way cool! Doing this gave us a 'data set' of names that were all excellent choices, and which all had the same ring/feeling.
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Top reviews from other countries

cupcake222
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic resource!
Reviewed in Canada on November 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is great for those who are seriously struggling with baby names. I love the layout of it - names in the front, each with info on the popularity and suggested 'sibling names'. I like looking at names that I like, then looking at the sibling names to see if those are ones I hadn't thought of yet. The back has all names sorted into smart categories - not just ethnicities like some websites - but interesting categories like names that are 'brisk and breezy'.
I've recommended this book to friends and will continue to lend it out to my expecting friends!
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BabyMarvel
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2009
Verified Purchase
The Baby Name Wizard is a lot of things, what it isn't, is a book on names and their meanings.

As other reviews have mentioned, the Author concentrates on 'Style Families'.
Inside among the usual Biblical, English and Celtic categories, you'll find lists or Families such as:
The -ens (names ending in EN), 70's & 80's, Little Darlings, Long Gone, Nickname-Proof and New Classics

The book is neatly laid out, Girls and Boys names are both listed alphabetically in their sections and there is a Style Family index at the back.
I particularly like how author Laura Wattenberg has given sibling suggestions. This is helpful, and spookily accurate as well (several names that I like just so happen to be in the same name family).
The book is a US publication but don't let that put you off. You will need to look past the ratings and popularity graphs that the author provides but this is easy to do and you may also come across the odd spelling/variant that may differ.
All in all this is an excellent source book to have and even a shabby well-used copy such as mine is worth it's weight in gold.
Guaranteed to inspire!
3 people found this helpful
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D. W. Jenkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful
Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
This name books cool charts that show you the trending of each name is invaluable if you are searching for a unique name that will distinguish your child from the pack. Great info and definitely plsyed a role in forming our shortlist of baby names for our first child.
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Candid Clara
5.0 out of 5 stars Great name book!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2011
Verified Purchase
We bought this book in a bit of a panic two weeks before my due date, as we still hadn't settled on an option for a girls name. It is a genuinely fascinating book, containing far more than just a list of names. The names are divided into styles, with suggestions for sibling names within the same "style" bracket and there are some interesting write-ups about each name. I eventually had a son and we stuck with the name we had decided on before I bought the book, but our decision was definitely cemented by the description of his name in the book... "A classic name, bristling with gentlemanly vigor, has been surprisingly undiscovered in the recent turn-of-the-century revival.." - Of course, I'm not going to tell you what the name is... you'll have to buy the book for that!
One person found this helpful
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Annie
5.0 out of 5 stars The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name
Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
I really like this book and the fact that with every name it gives other name suggestions. Very well thought out and put together book. I have other name books but this one is by far my favourite :)
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