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The Best Baby Name Book in the Whole Wide World
More Names, More Up-To-Date, More Helpful And More Fun Than Any Other Baby Name Book!* over 13,001 boys' and girls' names, nicknames and variations * origins, meanings, and famous namesakes * the most popular names In the US. and around the world * advice from "Dear Abby" * 15 steps to selecting the right name for your baby * psychological stereotypes of popular names * how to change names and famous people who did * current baby naming trends * fascinating facts about names * how to make the best final decision on your baby's name!
121 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1979
About the author
Bruce Lansky
196 books51 followersI was born on June 1, 1941. My first home was an apartment in Manhattan's Upper West Side, a neighborhood that overlooked the George Washington Bridge. Soon after kindergarten, my family moved to Scarsdale, which seemed to be “in the country.” In high school, I broke my ankle when I went out for the lacrosse team, so I wrote a sports column for the school newspaper. I don't think I showed any particular talent for writing then.
I went to St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. I actually learned to read Greek (I didn't understand it, though). I transferred from St. John's to New York University, so I could study political science and economics. I graduated with a major in philosophy and a minor in English. My first job was a market researcher for a beer company in New Jersey. Over the next five years, I switched jobs several times: advertising copywriter, advertising account executive, and marketing manager at a candy company.
I married Vicki and we had a baby, Douglas. I wanted him to have a home surrounded by grass and trees and ball fields, so I accepted a job in Minnesota, and Doug got a baby sister, Dana. What rescued me from poverty was that my wife and some other mothers wrote a cookbook. We published it ourselves, and it was a huge hit. That's how I figured out that I wanted to be a publisher when I grew up. We built Meadowbrook Press, and I became an author of baby name books and humor books for adults.
Ten years ago, I wanted to put together a children's book of all the poems they loved best. To find these poems, I tested poems in elementary schools. As I was testing poems on children, I decided to write a few to see what the response would be. At first it wasn't that good, but as my writing improved, I added my poems to new books. To get them just right, I'd rewrite them over and over. I've now edited six poetry anthologies and filled three books with my own poems. Because I spent a lot of time reading and testing poems in classrooms, schools started inviting me to perform. I've now performed at hundreds of schools. My goal to put on the most entertaining, most educational, and most motivating assembly a school has ever had. My web site, http://www.gigglepoetry.com, helps kids discover the fun of reading and writing poetry.
Language arts are a very important part of what you learn in school. You can read great books that take you to far-away lands. You can write your own stories and make yourself the hero of exciting adventures. Even if it seems hard sometimes, don't give up. Keep practicing your reading and writing skills, and soon it will become easier. There are so many wonderful worlds to explore in books and poetry. Get your very own passport by learning to read and write the very best that you can.
I went to St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. I actually learned to read Greek (I didn't understand it, though). I transferred from St. John's to New York University, so I could study political science and economics. I graduated with a major in philosophy and a minor in English. My first job was a market researcher for a beer company in New Jersey. Over the next five years, I switched jobs several times: advertising copywriter, advertising account executive, and marketing manager at a candy company.
I married Vicki and we had a baby, Douglas. I wanted him to have a home surrounded by grass and trees and ball fields, so I accepted a job in Minnesota, and Doug got a baby sister, Dana. What rescued me from poverty was that my wife and some other mothers wrote a cookbook. We published it ourselves, and it was a huge hit. That's how I figured out that I wanted to be a publisher when I grew up. We built Meadowbrook Press, and I became an author of baby name books and humor books for adults.
Ten years ago, I wanted to put together a children's book of all the poems they loved best. To find these poems, I tested poems in elementary schools. As I was testing poems on children, I decided to write a few to see what the response would be. At first it wasn't that good, but as my writing improved, I added my poems to new books. To get them just right, I'd rewrite them over and over. I've now edited six poetry anthologies and filled three books with my own poems. Because I spent a lot of time reading and testing poems in classrooms, schools started inviting me to perform. I've now performed at hundreds of schools. My goal to put on the most entertaining, most educational, and most motivating assembly a school has ever had. My web site, http://www.gigglepoetry.com, helps kids discover the fun of reading and writing poetry.
Language arts are a very important part of what you learn in school. You can read great books that take you to far-away lands. You can write your own stories and make yourself the hero of exciting adventures. Even if it seems hard sometimes, don't give up. Keep practicing your reading and writing skills, and soon it will become easier. There are so many wonderful worlds to explore in books and poetry. Get your very own passport by learning to read and write the very best that you can.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 27, 2008
A 5-star rating for a baby name book? What ARE you thinking, woman? I know, I know.... It's just that I pored over this book for hours when I was a teenager. Why? I have absolutely no idea. I was just fascinated with all the names, and with the lists at the front of the book: celebrities' real names, funny-but-real names, stuff like that. (Doris Kappelhoff? Archibald Leach? No wonder they made the change!)
Teenaged girls spend an inordinate amount of time imagining what they'll name their future kids. It's true. Gotta pick the absolute, drop-dead-perfect name for all of them. We sit and imagine: the kids are completely gorgeous, so every name sounds great when attached to such beautiful faces! "My future kid is gonna be so gorgeous, she could make the name Gertrude become fashionable. But I would never do that to her...."
Teenaged girls spend an inordinate amount of time imagining what they'll name their future kids. It's true. Gotta pick the absolute, drop-dead-perfect name for all of them. We sit and imagine: the kids are completely gorgeous, so every name sounds great when attached to such beautiful faces! "My future kid is gonna be so gorgeous, she could make the name Gertrude become fashionable. But I would never do that to her...."
June 20, 2025
A long-term loan from my parents. This was their baby book before I was born. There are lots of good and interesting names (although good and interesting aren't necessarily the same thing). I questioned, or at least wanted to learn more about, some of the name origin statements. Dated celebrity references and some questionable language about "ethnic" and non-Caucasian/European names will make you raise your eyebrows.
April 26, 2026
Very informative book. I especially enjoyed the cool statistics and crazy name facts at the beginning (imagine being named J.B. Outhouse!), and the quirky stork illustrations. I only wish the author could have chosen a slightly less boastful title. "The Best Baby Name Book In The Whole World?" Was that really necessary?
Vocab word learned: "Pygmalion effect" - where high expectations from others lead to improved performance.
Personal rating: 4/5 stars.
Vocab word learned: "Pygmalion effect" - where high expectations from others lead to improved performance.
Personal rating: 4/5 stars.
January 5, 2019
See page 32
April 14, 2019
I didn't buy this book because I was having a baby when I was 12; no, I bought this book as a pre-adolescent who liked to follow my family members around the house naming them! I originally rated this a 5-star book, but changed my star count, attributing to the fact that I was nostalgia-biased.
Still, the days of following my nephew around saying "Your name is Maximillian, your name is Dalton. Oops, Gene barfed," makes me smile when I recall the laughs (and annoying admonitions to get lost).
I believe I've also used this book to name characters in my short stories, name models in old Sears catalogues, and research meanings/origins of names. I've tried other books over the years, but this is a classic worth getting again.
Still, the days of following my nephew around saying "Your name is Maximillian, your name is Dalton. Oops, Gene barfed," makes me smile when I recall the laughs (and annoying admonitions to get lost).
I believe I've also used this book to name characters in my short stories, name models in old Sears catalogues, and research meanings/origins of names. I've tried other books over the years, but this is a classic worth getting again.
April 16, 2008
Horrible. Very shoddily researched and the claim of "Best Book" is weak- it's based on numbers and when he counts multiple spellings, and very contrived spellings at that, as different names, it's no wonder he has such a high name count. The meanings are extremely inaccurate. I tested it's accuracy with a few easy ones like Alexander and Henry and such and it's around 60%. If other dictionaries can't get away with such poor accuracy, why should a name book?
April 18, 2009
I own this book, not because I have a whole passel of kids, at least not yet (fingers crossed). I bought it because: 1)I love names. I am a name geek. I like to look them up and ponder their original meanings. 2) I write and it's nice to find names that fit a character in a story I am writing.
This is a great book to have on hand for any of the above reasons.
This is a great book to have on hand for any of the above reasons.
February 2, 2016
I find the origin, meaning, and patterns of names interesting. I like this book because it is not just a dictionary of names. It gives advice on what to consider when picking a name. This was a short and fun read; only 140 pages. If you want more names, or more unique names, another bigger book might be better.
January 6, 2010
Large font, and a no-nonsense approach - just an alphabetical list of names, origin, meanings and the best part, numerous variations on the name. Although it was published a while back, I've used this name book now for the 3rd time.
October 26, 2010
The best thing about this book were the crazy stereotypes at the beginning of the book, which my fiance and I found to be absolutely hilarious and dated.
"Barbara- forceful, successful, fat but sexy"
"Thomas- large, soft, and cuddly"
"Barbara- forceful, successful, fat but sexy"
"Thomas- large, soft, and cuddly"
February 28, 2008
Still my favorite baby name book
February 17, 2009
We bought this book when we had our first child. I didn't know it was written by Bruce Lansky! Cool!
February 1, 2018
i read this everyday. its sad.
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September 12, 2016I definitely read this several times in middle school as part of my obsession with names.
January 4, 2015
An interesting way to learn about baby names.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews