A Concise Dictionary of First Names

Although the authors are British, and there is a bit of bias towards names used in the U.K. it is well researched. They could have double-checked US sources a little more when commenting on its use as a US name. Yet, this only means that they wrote what they knew to be true rather than making wild uninformed guesses. For instance, they suspect that "Oprah" was a form of Orpah but without being completely sure they only list it as a supposition and attribute it's existance in the US to Oprah Winfrey. Their linguistically inspired guess was correct! Oprah has mentioned in an interview that her name was a typo of Orpah. Not having this obscure information, the authors did the responsible thing.

In fact, they deferred to consultants for the appendices for cultures they were not familiar with.

This book is great for students of onomastics, parents and authors.


Good, but why use the reduced version?   September 26, 2001
Joost Daalder (South Australia)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

Hanks and Hodges are real scholars, who however communicate their information clearly and intelligibly. I cannot see any obvious need for a CONCISE version of their *Dictionary of First Names*, first published by Oxford University Press in 1990 and regularly reprinted. That book is only just over 400 pages, so by no means too long. It is the longer version which I personally regularly use for my research - mostly in Renaissance literature - and I have found it an excellent source of reference. Those looking for names for their children, too, or wanting information about their own names, will rarely be disappointed. You find out readily what a name means, what its derivation is, who have been famous bearers of it, etc. Wonderful for browsing, apart from anything else! I also often use David Pickering's *Penguin Dictionary of First Names*, which is similarly useful, but which Amazon does not appear to supply. (A matter of copyright restrictions?) - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (South Australia)


An Excellent, Clear, Pithy Book   April 21, 2000
9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is a wonderful book, lively and enthusiastic. Unlike other name guides, it focuses on the cultural and linguistic roots of the name, rather than the fluffily mystic (astrological and so forth.) In addition to the original meaning of the name and variations over time, it also lists prominent historical or mythological bearers of the name, such as saints, kings, or heroes. The appendices, with names and their original meanings from Russian, Arabic, French, German, and so forth, are an added bonus. If you like words, or just like to peek at the secret roots of everyday things, buy this book. Great fun.


I don't like this book.   September 11, 1997
2 out of 12 found this review helpful

I think this book should give more than one definition for the names. It should also give meanings from different languages