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The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between:
“From the casually curious to etymology junkies (or anyone who’s ever halted a conversation to search the internet for the origin of a word) this book will have something for everyone.” –– William C. Fox of the YouTube channel "Exploring History" #1 Best Seller in Popular Culture, Puzzles & Games, Curiosities & Wonders, Fun Facts, Questions & Answers, Trivia, and Slang & Word Lists From Patrick Foote and his popular YouTube channel "Name Explain", comes a book for trivia fans that explains the name meanings of a multitude of things. From toys and animals to countries and cities to planets in our solar system, learn the etymology of words in a fun and entertaining way. Explore the world of names. What is something that literally everything in existence has in common? It all has a name! With The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between , you can learn the origins of a multitude of names. Learn new things. Why is New York called New York? The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between has the answer for you. While author Patrick Foote doesn’t claim to know everything, he has garnered a lot of knowledge about language over the years and he’s excited to get to share it with you in The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between . Get a copy If you enjoyed books such as The Etymologicon , Timeless Trivia , or The Great Book of American Idioms , you’ll want to own The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between .
200 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2018
311 people are currently reading
283 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 9, 2018
Yikes!
I recently received this book as part of the "Trivia Champion" Humble Bundle, but I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this book.
The content is good enough, although as other reviewers have mentioned, some of the origins are quite commonly known. That isn't a problem in itself. My concern is the author's occasionally failing to distinguish a word's unknown origins from his own speculation, or the informed speculation of experts against his own attempts at humour.
The biggest problem with the book is the fact that it looks like it was never edited, or even run through a round of proof-reading. Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes abound, sometimes with the same word being spelled multiple ways within a single sentence. I at first thought that this book had been self-published, and the author was unfamiliar with the traditional publishing (or writing) process, but in his acknowledgments, the author specifically cites the publishing process, so some of the blame must lie with the publishers.
The content is interesting enough, and given the style, I can see why the author has a popular Youtube channel; although his presentation doesn't quite adapt well to the written page, he is enthusiastic, and appears genuinely interested in the topic. I give him two stars for enthusiasm, but the negatives of the book distract far too much from the content to rate higher.
I recently received this book as part of the "Trivia Champion" Humble Bundle, but I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this book.
The content is good enough, although as other reviewers have mentioned, some of the origins are quite commonly known. That isn't a problem in itself. My concern is the author's occasionally failing to distinguish a word's unknown origins from his own speculation, or the informed speculation of experts against his own attempts at humour.
The biggest problem with the book is the fact that it looks like it was never edited, or even run through a round of proof-reading. Spelling errors and grammatical mistakes abound, sometimes with the same word being spelled multiple ways within a single sentence. I at first thought that this book had been self-published, and the author was unfamiliar with the traditional publishing (or writing) process, but in his acknowledgments, the author specifically cites the publishing process, so some of the blame must lie with the publishers.
The content is interesting enough, and given the style, I can see why the author has a popular Youtube channel; although his presentation doesn't quite adapt well to the written page, he is enthusiastic, and appears genuinely interested in the topic. I give him two stars for enthusiasm, but the negatives of the book distract far too much from the content to rate higher.
May 21, 2025
I can sympathize with the various negative reviewers of this book. Overall, it does come across as a gimmicky, amateurish, just-cobble-a-bunch-of-shit-together kind of book. Much of the time, I felt like some of the stuff seemed so zany that I kind of didn't want to research myself and see if his was just one of the more far-fetched explanations. I wouldn't be surprised to find a lot of the word backgrounds are a lot more mundane if you simply ask Google. And that seems to be another gripe many readers had - that really all the information given in this book could be easily sought out by the reader themselves. But really that goes for many non-fictions.
And at least Patrick Foote did go ahead and do that, putting a bunch of presumably his favourite origin stories into one cohesive book. And many of them are very interesting, surprising and amusing. Granted, his own attempt to sprinkle the book with humour often falls flat. It's the real, "Let's talk about Uranus ... alright, settle down now" kind of low-level shit that really has passed its use-by date in my opinion.
But still, I must take the side of the defenders here. The book was not brilliant by any means. But I have decided I will give it four stars solely for the fact it made me laugh a couple of times, and I learned a bunch fascinating things. It's a short and easy book packed with etymological fun. Who could really hate that?
And at least Patrick Foote did go ahead and do that, putting a bunch of presumably his favourite origin stories into one cohesive book. And many of them are very interesting, surprising and amusing. Granted, his own attempt to sprinkle the book with humour often falls flat. It's the real, "Let's talk about Uranus ... alright, settle down now" kind of low-level shit that really has passed its use-by date in my opinion.
But still, I must take the side of the defenders here. The book was not brilliant by any means. But I have decided I will give it four stars solely for the fact it made me laugh a couple of times, and I learned a bunch fascinating things. It's a short and easy book packed with etymological fun. Who could really hate that?
September 26, 2018
I probably wasn’t the predicted target audience for this book.
I got this book through Humble Bundle, actually. This book is more focused towards younger readers that spend far more time on YouTube than I generally do, which is reflected on the kinds of facts that are included. Small facts that can, honestly, be found rather easily online. I didn’t really enjoy the ‘youtuber’ style of writing and humour, the cheap and easy jokes, and the nerdy tone of it, but, then again, I’m not the correct target audience for this kind of thing, I reckon.
There are a couple of typos and grammatical mistakes towards the end of the book, and what I presume is a rather distasteful joke towards trans people thrown there for good measure. It still has a couple of very interesting facts, but I wouldn’t recommend reading this book if you’re over sixteen years old, really.
I got this book through Humble Bundle, actually. This book is more focused towards younger readers that spend far more time on YouTube than I generally do, which is reflected on the kinds of facts that are included. Small facts that can, honestly, be found rather easily online. I didn’t really enjoy the ‘youtuber’ style of writing and humour, the cheap and easy jokes, and the nerdy tone of it, but, then again, I’m not the correct target audience for this kind of thing, I reckon.
There are a couple of typos and grammatical mistakes towards the end of the book, and what I presume is a rather distasteful joke towards trans people thrown there for good measure. It still has a couple of very interesting facts, but I wouldn’t recommend reading this book if you’re over sixteen years old, really.
February 3, 2020
It's an interesting little book on the origin of names for countries, cities, landmarks, animals, planets, etc. For example, "Budapest" is the combination of two cities that were united "Buda" and "Pest." The "bald" for "bald eagle" comes from Old English "balde" meaning white (ah, that explains a lot).
November 6, 2021
First of all, if you've come into contact with this book, go to the Name Explain YouTube channel.
I've read some other reviews on this site, and they have valid points. The book could use some extra editing with the mistakes in it. And it does seem like a random collection of... well everything that gets their name explained.
But unlike these other reviews, I value these flaws less high. The book is not that professionaly published, sure, but in some way that adds to the feel of the book. It's a light-hearted, goofy and interest-inspiring book. More meant I feel to just read random bits a time. And that's okay too. Not all books need to be high works of fiction, or groundbreaking scientific ideas. Some books are just fun, and this one sure is. The author is able to be his quirky self, and put his personality and humour in this book, which is clearly made with love. But maybe I like this because I'm already familiar with the author's personality via YouTube.
The one problem that I have with that, is that the author's personality comes across better on Youtube, and he seems to have some problem translating it into book. This book is pretty much a direct transcription of his speech style on YT. Maybe he needs to work on that a little. After all this is only his first published book.
I've read some other reviews on this site, and they have valid points. The book could use some extra editing with the mistakes in it. And it does seem like a random collection of... well everything that gets their name explained.
But unlike these other reviews, I value these flaws less high. The book is not that professionaly published, sure, but in some way that adds to the feel of the book. It's a light-hearted, goofy and interest-inspiring book. More meant I feel to just read random bits a time. And that's okay too. Not all books need to be high works of fiction, or groundbreaking scientific ideas. Some books are just fun, and this one sure is. The author is able to be his quirky self, and put his personality and humour in this book, which is clearly made with love. But maybe I like this because I'm already familiar with the author's personality via YouTube.
The one problem that I have with that, is that the author's personality comes across better on Youtube, and he seems to have some problem translating it into book. This book is pretty much a direct transcription of his speech style on YT. Maybe he needs to work on that a little. After all this is only his first published book.
November 30, 2018
Etymology is a fun -- or, at least, interesting -- area: The origin of words.
And yes, that's what this book is about: words and their meanings. Five (or six) sections, each with 10 words and their origins. Kinda.
There is one glaring problem with the book: Because etymology is somewhat boring ("hey, this word, came from this source, which is based on this word, which means this"), the author decided to put some fun in it, which is ok in a certain dose, but gets annoying when it is too much. And it is too much.
Also, there are some problems with the editing of the book. Wrong punctuation, words disconnected from the rest of the phrase... There is even an "there" which should be "their".
It is not a bad book per se, it's just the the colorful notes put too much color in it and it surely needs a very good revision.
And yes, that's what this book is about: words and their meanings. Five (or six) sections, each with 10 words and their origins. Kinda.
There is one glaring problem with the book: Because etymology is somewhat boring ("hey, this word, came from this source, which is based on this word, which means this"), the author decided to put some fun in it, which is ok in a certain dose, but gets annoying when it is too much. And it is too much.
Also, there are some problems with the editing of the book. Wrong punctuation, words disconnected from the rest of the phrase... There is even an "there" which should be "their".
It is not a bad book per se, it's just the the colorful notes put too much color in it and it surely needs a very good revision.
February 15, 2019
Name Explain is one of my favorite YouTube channels, Patrick is delightful and insightful. A lot of what you find in this book is a ton of fun; you really will learn about etymology, his favorite topic. However, that's where the positives end unfortunately. The book is written in an identical style as his YouTube scripts, which is fine for a web video, but isn't proper grammar. It was brutal to read. The spelling and other grammatical errors appeared multiple times on each page; how did an editor let this go? My advice: it's a decent start, I think he'll get better with his writing over time, but if you want to introduce yourself to Name Explain, start with the online channel. If your first exposure is the book, you will be confused and likely disappointed. It's a fun and quick read, but needs polish.
February 26, 2019
So, I was thinking about giving this three stars, rounded up from two and a half, however thinking about it, I couldn't do it. Not only were the grammar issues (as mentioned below) too numerous, I feel there were missed opportunities with some of the choices (or lack of choices) for words included.
(Disclaimer: I do not claim my grammar in this to be perfect, I do sometimes struggle with grammar, and I don't have an editor checking my review. Also I'm typing on my phone and we know how autocorrect loves to have fun).
The grammar (and factual) errors really brought this down a lot. Factually, teddy bears would have been made at the turn of the twentieth century (1900s) not the nineteenth century (1800s). But in addition to that factual error (perhaps others) this was littered with grammatical errors as well as a number of spelling errors. Honestly, if it had been a couple of mistakes I wouldn't have had such an issue with it, one or two mistakes can make it past even the best editing process, but it was as if this was not even proof-read or edited.
For my positives, I did like that the sections were broken into categories. I did feel sometimes that the choices for words were a bit pointless. There were a few words where the answer for "where did this word come from?" was "we don't really know" so I didn't see the point of including them.
(Disclaimer: I do not claim my grammar in this to be perfect, I do sometimes struggle with grammar, and I don't have an editor checking my review. Also I'm typing on my phone and we know how autocorrect loves to have fun).
The grammar (and factual) errors really brought this down a lot. Factually, teddy bears would have been made at the turn of the twentieth century (1900s) not the nineteenth century (1800s). But in addition to that factual error (perhaps others) this was littered with grammatical errors as well as a number of spelling errors. Honestly, if it had been a couple of mistakes I wouldn't have had such an issue with it, one or two mistakes can make it past even the best editing process, but it was as if this was not even proof-read or edited.
For my positives, I did like that the sections were broken into categories. I did feel sometimes that the choices for words were a bit pointless. There were a few words where the answer for "where did this word come from?" was "we don't really know" so I didn't see the point of including them.
August 7, 2019
Całkiem przyjemna książeczka. Autor opsuje w niej etymologię ponad setki słów, nazw własnych, nazw miast, krajów, roślin, zwierząt, imion. Całość jest napisana w dość interesujący sposób.
Co prawda książka napisana jest w języku angielskim i etymologia słów napisana dla angielskich słów czy nazw sporo możemy również wymieść z tej książki jeśli chodzi etymologię polskich odpowiedników. Imię męskie Patryk przecież czy w języku angielskim czy polskim ma takie same korzenie.
Podobnie jest z etymologią nazw państw jak na przykład Rosja.
Świetna lektura. Cieszę się że natrafiłem na nią. Mocno polecam dla miłośników języka angielskiego no i dla lingwistów. Książka uczy również pewnego rodzaju intuicji etymologicznej. Dzięki bogatym przykładom opisanym w tej książce można samemu próbować poznać korzenie słów czy nazw które nie zostały opisane w tej książce.
Co prawda książka napisana jest w języku angielskim i etymologia słów napisana dla angielskich słów czy nazw sporo możemy również wymieść z tej książki jeśli chodzi etymologię polskich odpowiedników. Imię męskie Patryk przecież czy w języku angielskim czy polskim ma takie same korzenie.
Podobnie jest z etymologią nazw państw jak na przykład Rosja.
Świetna lektura. Cieszę się że natrafiłem na nią. Mocno polecam dla miłośników języka angielskiego no i dla lingwistów. Książka uczy również pewnego rodzaju intuicji etymologicznej. Dzięki bogatym przykładom opisanym w tej książce można samemu próbować poznać korzenie słów czy nazw które nie zostały opisane w tej książce.
November 20, 2021
I thought this would be other than it is. I kept trying to find a justification for this book, but couldn't. I am not sure why I read the whole book. All the information is easily found on the internet. Maybe I read it only to finish the book and analyze why I did not like it. He wrote, "That was merely interesting padding to help hit the word count." (Disney, pg 148) He added a lot of padding, and the book rambled at times. I ended up skimming his "...interesting padding to help hit the word count" because most of it was not interesting. Not a big fan of any book that wasn't edited or proofed very well. His child-like humor could have been left out. If this is a history of how things are named, and had no naming history, why add it in the book and why add his personal thoughts on what it might be? Will not be buying any of his books.
March 9, 2020
I actually liked this book, and found it interesting and fun to read. I love etymology, so I guess this was perfect for me. Plus the author made it fun in a nerdy sort of way. The reason I didn’t give it more stars, was because I thought it wasn’t edited enough. There were just too many typos. In addition there were a few passages that I had to read multiple times, because I wasn’t sure what the point was, because the wording didn’t make sense. If it weren’t for the editing issues I would have given it a solid 4 stars.
January 28, 2025
Some of the etymologies are interesting, though I'm unconvinced about the accuracy of a few. More importantly though, this book doesn't seem to have a clear audience. It's marketed as a book for adults but in many places it's written in a way that makes me think it was written for children. Ends up reading in a somewhat condescending voice which I found quite offputting. Can't really recommend TBH, but maybe like I say I'm just not the target audience. The author is apparently a YouTuber so maybe it will appeal more to younger followers of his channel.
January 9, 2021
I would really like to give this 5 stars. I enjoy etymology and the author definitely puts his enthusiasm for it into his writing. It's delivered in a funny and accessible way.
But as other reviewers have alluded to, this book needs someone to proof read it and have it re-released. Once you start to notice the errors it becomes jarring and means I have to drop one star.
But as other reviewers have alluded to, this book needs someone to proof read it and have it re-released. Once you start to notice the errors it becomes jarring and means I have to drop one star.
February 8, 2021
OMG! The editing in this book?!? Lots, and I mean LOTS of weird mistakes. words left out, or wrong word (example one instead of on), and bad punctuation. Really distracting from the book. without all the mistakes, it was not a really bad read, though I did get tired of the author speaking directly to me the reader (which is odd because I am doing that).
April 18, 2020
Exploring How Things Got Named
This book is both informative and funny that I found very entertaining. It’s amazing how some things and places got their names. Definitely a book that you should read and share some of the facts with friends.
This book is both informative and funny that I found very entertaining. It’s amazing how some things and places got their names. Definitely a book that you should read and share some of the facts with friends.
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March 5, 2021I really enjoyed this book a lot of things I didn't know and was sad when it was over with. I would totally pick this up and read it again and I'd recommend this to anyone when you want to find out a bit of useless trivia to impress some friends with.
August 18, 2023
Name calling can be fun is sarcasm
I love words because I struggled to read as a kid. Understanding the origins of words and their meaning makes reading easier. It's just not a bunch of letters trying to sound out. It's a fun book to pick up when you get time.
I love words because I struggled to read as a kid. Understanding the origins of words and their meaning makes reading easier. It's just not a bunch of letters trying to sound out. It's a fun book to pick up when you get time.
October 5, 2018
I'm glad I got this as part of a Humble Bundle because it was certainly not worth even $1. LOTS of typos and frequent tortured grammar. It almost looks like it wasn't proof-read at all.
February 20, 2020
Neat little book! I think I'll start using some of the "original" words for some of these names and words, that should be fun...
"smart people know the answers, curious people ask the questions"
"smart people know the answers, curious people ask the questions"
February 29, 2020
Amusing, fun trivia about etymology
May 20, 2020
If you are new to the world of etymologies, this is a good book to start with.
July 5, 2020
Read this review and others at https://www.readingforsanity.com/2020...
December 26, 2020
I’ve followed this guy on YouTube for awhile & have been a fan of learning origins of words for awhile.
I happen to acquire this ebook via a Humble Bundle, and visually gobbled it up in three days.
I happen to acquire this ebook via a Humble Bundle, and visually gobbled it up in three days.
October 26, 2021
That's the most silly book I've read this year. A total waste of time.
November 4, 2021
I love etymology! Informative, interesting and a bit humorous. What's not to like? :)
December 8, 2021
Exceptional writing for a Brit.
April 20, 2022
A piece of propaganda filled with lies
April 16, 2023
I really found this delightful. I wasn’t sure about the author’s humor at first, but it grew on me. I’ll have to check out his YouTube channel sometime.
September 5, 2023
Fun for some random trivia, not too deep otherwise.
August 19, 2020
Fun little book full of interesting stories of the origin of words. Great for an etymology nerd like me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews