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And there is a decent reverse lookup to find all names with a specific meaning in their source language, though the selection of meanings is limited. That grouping is useful when trying to build a cohesive feel for a segment of people in a story. The book also has a good cross-index in the back that lets you browse all of the names alphabetized. This is a great resource that does exactly what I expected. I personally don't care much what a name means in its source language. If you're looking for surnames, the treatment is light, but many first names are also surnames. It lists thousands of names with meanings. Names are grouped by cultural/ethnic background and gender, e.g., Scottish Female names, Scottish Male names, and so on with Maori, Latin, Chinese and many other cultures.
It is also good for making sure your character names match nationality. This is a good resource for coming up with good and different names for characters in your writing or even gaming.
Other than that, this is a very useful tool for any writer. I just wish that last section what a bit beefier, rather than putting the main emphasis on ethnic origin, but that's just me. 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 don't fall into that category, so the book didn't work for me. 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 returned it. 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".
It replaced my baby names book immediately. Mighty handy, says I.You will not be disappointed in this book for any reason. Of course name meanings and a bit of linguistics is included with each new section.
Why do you need another one. 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. Okay, so there's more writing book than you can shake your pen at.
(If you're going to get distracted, might as well be beneficial, right). Happy writing and buy with confidence. 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).
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