Hello, My Name Is...: The Remarkable Story of Personal Names

by Neil Burdess

Using examples from Anglo-Saxon kings to today's celebrities, this book charts the history and importance of personal names - given names, surnames, name titles, and professional names. Not long ago, one in two boys was named William, John, or Thomas. Today, only one in 20 have the three most popular names as parents aim to give their children distinctive names. There are still more surnames than given names, and a huge number of titles to add to our personal names. All have interesting histories, such as how "Mrs." once said nothing about a woman's age or marital status.

307 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2016

Reviews

[Mme Forte]

Some interesting tidbits that I didn't know. Also introduced me to the worldnames.publicprofiler.org domain, where you can map your family name. Sloppy editing, though, with redundancies and IT'S used for ITS. This shouldn't bother me, I know, but it does.

[Rachel Welton]

I am fascinated by names - their history, meaning, social effect - so this book was right up my street. Very readable and easy to digest.

[Lex]

A readable and interesting book, but the repetition drove me bonkers. The same anecdotes are repeated 2,3 or even 4 times throughout the book, sometimes in the exact same wording.