The Penguin Pocket Dictionary of Babies' Names

by David Pickering

What's in a name? Rather more than you might at first suspect, for names are steeped in history and myth and have much to tell us about our past, our beliefs - even our personality traits. The Penguin Pocket Dictionary of Babies' Names takes a close look at 3500 names, explaining origins and meanings, showing how some have changed in popularity and use over time and providing all the diminutive and variant forms. Part of Penguin's major new series of reference titles ranging from Spanish and French dictionaries to books on spelling and quotations.

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2005

Reviews

[Stephanie Pieck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very approachable book and actually contains more names than the "Concise Dictionary" reviewed earlier. Feminine and masculine names are identified with f and m (or both if the name is given to girls and boys). The book also includes many Arabic and Indian names, as well as a few Native American ones. It provides pronunciations for many of the Welsh and Irish names and acknowledges the growing popularity of surnames as first names. At the back of the book is a comprehensive list of saints and their feast days, followed was top-ten rankings of boys' and girls' names for most of the English-speaking countries that include data from 1700 to 2004.
Intriguing information is included for many names, especially those whose origins can be traced to different sources that result in widely varied interpretations. For example:

"Rosalind (f) English name that had its origins in the Old German Roslindis, derived from hros ("horse") and either lind ("tender" or "soft") or linta ("lime"), in which case it means "horse shield made of lime wood". The Goths introduced the name to Spain, where it acquired a much more attractive new derivation from rosa andlinda, meaning "pretty rose". The name came to England with the Normans in the 11th century."

Parents looking for names with unusual meanings or associations will find plenty of choices in this book. Some examples:

“Aeronwy (f) Welsh name meaning "berry stream". The name refers to the River Aeron in Ceredigion.
“Ainsley (m/f) English name derived from a place name (common to Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire) based on the Old English an ("one") and leah ("clearing" or "wood") and meaning "lonely clearing" or "my meadow".
“Derwent (m) English name derived from a place name meaning "river that flows through oak woods".
“Hartley (m) English name derived from a place name (found in several counties of England) usually derived from the Old English heorot ("hart") and leah ("clearing"). Another derivation suggests it means "stony meadow".
“Jade (f) English name derived from that of the semi-precious stone. The name of the stone came originally from the Spanish piedra de ijada ("stone of the bowels"), which referred to the stone's supposed magical influence upon intestinal disorders. It was taken up by English-speakers towards the end of the 19th century.
“Lachlan (m) English version of the Scottish _Lachlann or Lochlann, which means "land of lochs" or "land of fjords" and was originally reserved for settlers from Norway. Another derivation suggests the name came from the Gaelic laochail ("warlike"). The name has retained its Scottish associations but is also popular in Australia and Canada.
“Laverne (f) English name that resulted from the addition of the prefix "La" to the established Verne (see Vernon). This was one of a series of names that appeared by a similar process in the middle of the 20th century, chiefly in the USA. The fact that there was an ancient Italian goddess of thieves called Laverna is almost certainly coincidental.
“Ngaio (f) New Zealand name (pronounced "nayo" or "nigh-o") derived from a Maori tree name (or, alternatively, meaning "clever"). The most famous bearer of the name to date has been the New Zealand crime novelist Dame Ngaio Marsh (1899—1982).
“Raleigh (m) English name derived from an Old English place name meaning "clearing with roe deer". The name evokes the memory of the celebrated English seafarer, writer and explorer Sir Walter Raleigh (c1552—1618).
“Swithin (m) English name derived from the Old English swith ("strong" or "mighty"). It dates back to before the Norman Conquest but is rare today. The most famous bearer of the name was St Swithin (or Swithun), the 9th-century bishop of Winchester whose feast day falls on 15 July: according to tradition, if it rains on St Swithin's Day then it will continue to rain for another 40 days.”

The word "pocket" in the title implies that this is a small book. That may be true, but it packs in a lot of information that will delight expectant parents as well as anyone curious about where names come from.