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Patrick Hanks

A Dictionary of First Names Hardcover – January 1, 1992

by Patrick Hanks (Editor), Flavia Hodges (Editor)

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A Dictionary of First Names (Oxford Quick Reference)
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Here is the ultimate first name handbook, a delightfully informative, comprehensive survey of over 4,500 European and American names (with two appendices covering the most common Arabic and Indian names). The real charm and value of this reference lies in the wealth of fascinating additional
information the authors provide. Under the entry for "Audrey," for example, we learn of the sixth century saint of that name--who died from a neck tumor, divine punishment for her youthful delight in fine necklaces--from whom the word "tawdry" derives: it referred originally to the cheap jewelry
sold at fairs in her honor (St. Audrey eventually being compressed into "tawdry"). The authors reveal that the name "Colleen," a very popular name among Irish Americans, is in fact never given as a first name in Ireland; that the name "Wendy" didn't exist until J.M. Barrie invented it for Peter Pan;
that "Algernon" originally meant "moustached" and was a nickname among the predominantly clean-shaven Norman French; and that the "th" in our spelling of "Anthony" comes from an erroneous confusion with the Greek word for flower, anthos.
Perhaps more important, this dictionary is an authoritative reference. Indeed, no other handbook provides a fraction of the information found here. Typical entries provide the linguistic and ethnic root of a name. "Jennifer," for instance, is a Cornish form of "Guinevere," which in turn is
the French version of a Welsh name combining gwen, white, fair, smooth, and hwyfar, smooth, soft. Most entries also include the non-English form or cognate of a name. The name "Geronimo" is an Italian 0ognate of Jerome, whose Dutch cognate, "Jeroen," the authors point out, was the most popular male
name in Holland in 1981. In addition, entries include diminutives and pet forms.
A companion to the authors' A Dictionary of Surnames, this informative reference offers a goldmine of curious facts to delight browsers of every age as well as a wealth of inspiration for prospective parents. It is an ideal baby shower gift.

Print length

443 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Oxford University Press
Publication date

January 1, 1992
Dimensions

5.81 x 1.71 x 8.81 inches
ISBN-10

0192116517
ISBN-13

978-0192116512
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- A wonderful book that provides the origins of 7,000 names found in the English-speaking world, giving their history, usage trends, and explaining how they are used in other languages. In addition, each entry highlights influences that determine popularity. Supplements list names from the often difficult to find Arab world and the Indian subcontinent.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

About the Authors:
Patrick Hanks and Flavia Hodges are the coauthors of A Dictionary of Surnames.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press (January 1, 1992)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 443 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0192116517
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192116512
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.59 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.81 x 1.71 x 8.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,712,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,469 in Genealogy (Books)
- #73,569 in Parenting & Relationships (Books)

Customer Reviews:
38 ratings

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J. Lim

Forget the Kindle version-- get the hardcopy.

Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2012

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As a general-interest name geek, I've bought three different copies of this book: the 1992 hardback 1st edition (which I still have), the later paperback 2nd edition (which I gave to a friend), and now the Kindle version of the 2nd edition.

The original version of the book is an excellent reference work, with a nice sturdy binding, low-acid pages, and lots of information about each name's etymology, notable namesakes, and cognates in other languages. In general, I'd have to say that if you want a long-lasting useful copy, buy that one, which I would give a solid five stars on its own.

The updated versions have lots of interesting "ethnic name" appendices, but I found their usefulness somewhat limited-- specifically, the "Chinese" and "Japanese" names are only shown in romanized form, without the underlying hanzi/kanji that are crucial for unambiguously establishing the meanings. The popularity tables were updated and diversified to cover more English-speaking nations, which is nice for a historical overview but not essential. I'd have to downgrade the 2nd ed paperback to four stars because of the dubious "improvements" and the flimsier binding/paper, although afaik all of the original information from the 1st ed is still in there too.

IMHO the Kindle version is barely useable. The table of contents doesn't have an alphabetical breakdown of the main section. Cross-referenced name entries aren't hyperlinked to each other. And most annoyingly, all of the tables seem to've been imported as non-zoomable graphics, which means teeny tiny near-unreadable quasi-print that can't be resized with the normal display tools. So the Kindle 2nd ed gets only two stars from me.

9 people found this helpful

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Happy ReaderTop Contributor: Doctor Who

Great Reference and All-Round Interesting!

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2012

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I'm one of those nerds who loves reference books of all kinds, and the Oxford Dictionary of First Names is no exception. I purchased it with the eye towards getting ideas for ethnic names in storywriting. But then I kept perusing it just for fun.

This is the OXFORD dictionary, so the main dictionary is for English names, or rather, names used in countries where English is the main language. But that doesn't stop it from having tons of names I've never heard of. How about Abishag (Biblical derivation) or Dreda (a shortened form of Etheldreda, no wonder I've never heard of it).

But it also has appendices for specific ethnic/language/country names, which I'll list later.

I just ordered this book, and it's the 2006 2nd edition. [Added later: There is a newer edition available now.]
The book starts with two Introductions, one from the 1st edition, and a new one for the 2nd. I found these very interesting, with information on how first names have been created over the centuries.

The scholarship behind the names looks complete. There are times where it simply states, "derivation uncertain". For older names, especially, that's all they can do. Not all names "mean" something, but the Oxford Dictionary tells you as much as it can about when the name first appeared and where it is or may be derived. If you are looking for a more "fun" book of names, a "what shall I name my baby" type book, you may be disappointed with this. This is prepared more like a dictionary, a reference book.

To give you an idea of how it's put together, I'll take a common English name, "Henry" in the main dictionary, shown as a male name: "A perennially popular given name, of Continental Germanic origin, from haim 'home' + ric 'power, ruler'. It was an Old French name, adopted by the Normans and introduced by them to Britain. It has been borne by eight kings of England. Not until the 17th century did the form Henry (as opposed to Harry) become the standard vernacular form, mainly under the influence of the Latin form Henricus and French Henri."

The kings are mentioned because, as is noted in an introduction, use of a name greatly increased after a royal used it.

Next, the pet forms (affectionate nicknames) of Henry are listed: Hal, Hank, Harry. (If you look up "Harry" in the main dicitonary, it simply states "short form of Henry".)

After the pet forms, the cognates are listed. These are the variations of the name in different languages. For Henry, the first listed is "Irish: Anrai, Einri". Then there's the cognates for Scottish, Gaelic, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovenian, Finnish, Hungarian and Lithuanian. Whew!

Following the main dictionary, are 13 appendices of ethnic/country names. So if we go to the Appendix for Irish names, you will find entries for Anrai and Einri with the description, "Irish eqivilent of Henry. See main dictionary". In this way, names are cross-referenced. Really first rate.

Here's a list of the 13 appendices of ethnic/country names: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indian (country of), Irish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Scandinavian, Scottish, Spanish, Welsh.

Appendix 14 is a list of unisex names.

Appendices 15 - 20 are lists of the most popular names for the given year of 2003 or 2004 for specific countries: England & Wales, Scotland, Republic of Ireland, United States, Australia, New Zealand. These lists came from official government agencies, which are indicated.

Appendices 21 and 22 give a little more detail encompassing several years, for England & Wales and the United States. For example, in 1954, the most popular American male name, according to the Dept of Social Security, was Robert. Robert wasn't even in the top 10 in 2003.

I find this book fun to page through - always something interesting!

Happy Reader

12 people found this helpful

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The Tally Ho

Best Book of First Names I Have Found

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2017

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Best book of first names I have found. Plus there are appendixes in the back for Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indian, Japanese, Russian, Scandinavian, Scottish, Spanish, Welsh, and unisex names. In addition there are various sections on the most popular names for various countries. I actually use this book to come up with various names for characters, for which it is very useful.

One person found this helpful

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obubbles

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017

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Great and informational about names, popularity, and origins. Good for naming characters and brainstorming name ideas.

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Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2016

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Very good service - book in very good condition, exactly what I needed. Thanks

One person found this helpful

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Kathleen S.

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2015

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as expected

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Amazon Customer

Good for a name nerd

Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2015

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Has some delightfully obscure information! Good for a name nerd.

One person found this helpful

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D. Damico

Onomastic Dream Book

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2015

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Gave this as a gift to my girlfriend who loves Onomastic studies (names). She LOVED this book!

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Top reviews from other countries

A. Non

A great naming guide for parents and authors

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2016

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Other name guides assign an arbitrary one-word meaning, such as Rachel "pure", or Emma "whole". If they're feeling particularly generous, they might assign an origin: Hebrew, French, Germanic...These books are typically full of adorable pictures of pink-cheeked babies, baby bootees, and other baby paraphernalia, and are very clearly aimed at pregnant women and their partners.

The Oxford Dictionary of First Names is not a baby-naming book. It is a dictionary of names, usual and unusual, with a more complete guide to meanings and the potential origin (which often tells you when the name first originated), and offers similar alternatives. It also includes a list of genuine Irish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Scandinavian, Arabic, and other cultural names. You can also find out the most popular names in England and the United States between 1954 and 2004, which is very interesting.

This book could be used as a baby-naming book: certainly most baby-naming books don't have offerings as variable as Lily, Lark and Edeltraud.

But where it really comes into its own is as a guide for authors and would-be authors. If you are an author, or would-be author, you can use this dictionary to research a name you like for your character and see if it existed at the time your novel is set. It also tells you where certain names are especially popular, and gives you ideas for names that you may not have considered unisex.

No matter what your reason for needing names, the Oxford Dictionary for First Names is an interesting and informative read.

One person found this helpful

Cook

Average

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book isn’t great. I would have been really helpful if the non English names had pronunciation. I’m Scottish and might have picked a Gaelic name had I known how to say them. I get that there is limited space to write about each name but some of it is just lazy and I wasn’t really inspired when naming my baby. It’s not even good enough just to keep as a reference book. Charity shop!

Mary Ann

Good for Baby Naming and Names Geeks alike

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2011

Verified Purchase

Like one of the other reviewers, I need names books for writing and naming characters appropriately, but I confess to being a fully paid-up, card-holding names geek before, and would have found this intriguing.
Regarding baby naming - which is after all why most people want a book - I think I would have found it handy when expecting, too, but didn't come across it then.
My only complaint was that there isn't enough detail about the rising and falling popularity of many names, though as there are so many I appreciate that might have been difficult.
Very interesting and well-researched.

Jenny

Good book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 23, 2016

Verified Purchase

Lots of history behind most names. Not all names are in this book but there is enough to keep you going! Some quite unusual ones that I would never consider for a baby but has another review said, a writer would find this book useful and just for the interest of names it's a good buy.

Debby

Handy little book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

It doesn't always tell the meaning of a name, but I don't mind. I have found some fun, unusual and interesting names so far. I'm keeping it close by, as it's just interesting to pick up every now and again, even when I don't need to, to have a browse through.

One person found this helpful

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