I have been name obsessed since I was very young and someone brought a baby name book to our class. Since then, I’ve wanted a name book of my own.
The only thing is, it’s embarassing to ask! (I’m a teen girl, what if people think I’m expecting?)
I actually checked out Beyond [name_f]Ava[/name_f] and [name_u]Aiden[/name_u] from the library today, I guess that is as close as I can get.
So, young name lovers with baby name books, how did you manage to get one? Any advice? Was it hard to ask for one?
I think I got my first one when I was 12. It was The [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name Survey book. I was a little embarrassed to get it, especially since I was with my father, but we all ended up having a laugh at all the descriptions. After that, I started getting them myself when I’d go to the book store. By the time I was expecting (at 19) I already had four books. [name_m]Just[/name_m] remember that you’re just another customer. You’ll be quickly forgotten.
I bought my first baby names book when I was about 12/13 (so, roughly twenty years ago). I just randomly bought it when I was at [name_m]Wal[/name_m]-[name_u]Mart[/name_u] with my mom one day, no biggie. Honestly, cashiers could care less what you buy so don’t worry about it. If you feel embarrassed, buy a few other books at the same time so that there’s less concentration on the name book (Goodwill and Salvation [name_m]Army[/name_m] are great places for this as they have a ton of used books that are super cheap).
I’ve been checking them out of the library for years but finally bought some earlier this year. I bought them online. I got the [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name Bible, The [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name [name_m]Wizard[/name_m] 3rd edition, and 60,000 [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names. Since I bought them online no one asked questions and they were pretty cheap.
I have got ‘The Brilliant Book of [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Names’. I was shopping with a friend at the time and she thought I was joking but the truth was that the cost of the book was less than the library fine I had to pay because I had kept it too long. I personally love this book. It is my ‘spine’ baby name book because it has thousands of names with funny comments and trustworthy information. I have other books with themed lists and a ‘light travelling’ book for holidays but overall that was the best buy. You can trust [name_f]Pam[/name_f] and [name_f]Linda[/name_f], other authors not so much [I have found].
[name_m]Just[/name_m] do it! I was 15 when I got a kitten that needed a name. She was the first pet that I was going to name all by myself. I wanted to name her something distinguished like the lady that she was. (And not Pumpkin, like my mother kept suggesting – she wasn’t even orange!) Thus inspired my love of baby names. I checked out every single baby name book from the library while looking for a name for her, and I didn’t care. My love for names stuck with me long after I named the cat. The book I fell in love with (and renewed repeatedly for over a year) was [name_u]Baby[/name_u] Name [name_m]Wizard[/name_m]. I finally bought the book myself recently. It only took me ten years. Haha. When I was younger, I asked my parents to buy me baby name books here and there when we were at used bookstores or Good [name_m]Will[/name_m]. They thought my little hobby was a little funny, but they humored me. It’s not weird. From what I understand, you like to write. Almost all authors have a favorite baby name book that they keep among their writing resources.
I asked for my first name book when I was about 13, maybe. I actually REALLY wanted Beyond [name_f]Jennifer[/name_f] and [name_m]Jason[/name_m], [name_u]Madison[/name_u] and [name_u]Montana[/name_u]. I explained to my mom that I was interested in names while at the bookstore and wanted a book to read for fun. I was a little shaky, and definitely afraid people would get the wrong idea. My mom convinced me to get a name book that was more of a dictionary style. A couple months later, I bought BJJMM on my own. I’m more of a categories person.
I have about 20 name books now (I’m 28). My SO actually just got me a name book as an anniversary gift today I’m SUPER excited!
I will say, I kept my hobby mostly hidden until I was in my final year of university. Names are, unfortunately, seen as just “baby names” to most people… so it’s kind of a taboo hobby for teens. I was quite secretive in my teen years, posting online, printing off the SSA list in the middle of the night and highlighting my favourites, then hiding it in a special folder. I just thought people would think I was weird. As I got older, I got to look more academically at names, onomastics, and etymology. I majored in anthropology in university, which is a perfect way to talk passionately about names. It was only when I wrote an ethnography on names during my last year of undergrad that I really opened up about my hobby. And yada yada yada, my SO and I had exchanged favourite names within a month and a half of us starting to date- that’s how open I’ve become. Names are something to study, and something to enjoy researching. They definitely shouldn’t only be seen as something only parents-to-be are concerned with.
When I was around your age, just a couple years younger, I checked a baby name book out of the library. The librarian gave me a dirty look, but hey…at the end of her shift, she probably didn’t remember me. When I was around 15, I got a baby name book at a garage sale, and no one cared. We went camping that weekend, and I brought it with and was flipping through it the whole time. My mom was a bit weirded out but she got over it and would give me opinions on names, and I entertained her, my sisters and a friend by looking up the definitions and descriptions on their names/their favorite names. At 16, I got a baby name book at Walmart, but I used the self-check out line and that was that. I loved that book, and would still have it but it’s at my old house my family knows I like names because I was just honest and said “I’m not pregnant, but I really love names and finding out what they mean.” I also was interested in writing at the time, so I told them I wanted to find cool names for my characters.
I think you don’t really have to ask for one. [name_m]Just[/name_m] use birthday money or allowance. Garage sales or goodwill are great places to find these books cheap. If anyone says anything, just be honest. They may think it’s weird, but will likely just leave you alone lol
I’m SUPER excited!
my family knows I like names because I was just honest and said “I’m not pregnant, but I really love names and finding out what they mean.” I also was interested in writing at the time, so I told them I wanted to find cool names for my characters.