Product Description Writers give as much thought and consideration to naming characters as they would to naming a newborn child. This trusted writing resource takes the uncertainty out of the process with a brand new edition. It's packed full of features--both proven and new--with:
-More than 25,000 first and last names organized by meaning and ethnic origin -Invaluable instruction on naming strategies and creating original names -Lighthearted sidebars explaining famous character names from literature -A look at how best-selling novelists, like Elizabeth George, Marian Keyes and more, name their characters
Now all types of fiction writers can add more nuance and meaning to their work with the perfect names!
good resource November 16, 2008 This is a good resource for coming up with good and different names for characters in your writing or even gaming. It is also good for making sure your character names match nationality.
Thorough, But... July 26, 2008 This is indeed a very through reference aid, breaking names down by their ethnic origins. It also includes a year-by-year listing of popular baby names, an alphabetical index of all the names, as well as names listed by what their names mean. I just wish that last section what a bit beefier, rather than putting the main emphasis on ethnic origin, but that's just me. Other than that, this is a very useful tool for any writer.
Organization gets this its third star May 18, 2008 Almost all of the information in this book can be found on the internet. What sets this book apart is that the author has done the job of collecting and collating data for you, even creating a reverse index in the back of the book by "trait". There are a few extras, such as published writers telling you how they create names, but I found that information moderately helpful at best.
If you want to create names from the same pool of information that other writers are drawing from, and you're not uncomfortable with that, then this book should work for you. I don't fall into that category, so the book didn't work for me. I returned it.
What, another writing book? Like I need another... January 23, 2008 Okay, so there's more writing book than you can shake your pen at. Why do you need another one?
Actually, this book is really quite handy. It has names listed by country and origin, and it is exhaustive in its listings, both male and female and even the unexpected is covered such as Latin, Armenian, and even Scottish names (thank goodness, cause that's what I needed). Scattered throughout the book are highlighted sections with author interviews on how they decide on their character names, and these prove to be a reasonable and insightful break from research. (If you're going to get distracted, might as well be beneficial, right?) Of course name meanings and a bit of linguistics is included with each new section. Mighty handy, says I.
You will not be disappointed in this book for any reason. It replaced my baby names book immediately. Happy writing and buy with confidence.
Not Quite What I Expected December 23, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'd heard such good things about this book, that I could hardly wait to get it. Well I got it finally, and I'm sorry to say I'm a little disappointed.
I thought I was getting more than a baby name book. I was hoping it would delve into the psychology of names, why certain names evoke heroic characters and others always point out the sinister. I wanted to see examples from literature. I wanted it to be more in depth about the actual naming process.
There was a short opening at the beginning that speaks a little about those things. After that though, it is basically a baby name book. In fact, its a lot like the Melting Pot Book of Baby Names, which also divides names by country. Both books give a short introduction to naming practices and culture, though Melting Pot also speaks about immigration. The Sourcebook does give a small section on surnames, which is helpful but not exactly worth buying the book over.
In short, I was just expecting more out of this book. Its a little deceiving, in my opinion. As it should be really classified as a hardbound baby name book for authors.
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