I wasn’t quite sure where to put this.
I’m looking to start a collection of baby name books (or books on names in general), and was wondering which ones are your favorites. Which would you recommend and which should I definitely NOT buy? [name]TIA[/name]!
I have over a hundred baby name books that I’ve collected for years. I use these books the most in my research.
The [name]Baby[/name] Name Bible by [name]Pam[/name] [name]Redmond[/name] Satran and [name]Linda[/name] Rosenkrantz
The [name]Baby[/name] Name [name]Wizard[/name] by [name]Laura[/name] Wattenberg
Bring Back [name]Beatrice[/name]! by [name]Jennifer[/name] [name]Griffith[/name]
The Melting Pot of [name]Baby[/name] Names by [name]Connie[/name] Lockhart Ellefson
Classic Biblical [name]Baby[/name] Names by [name]Judith[/name] Tropea
I have the writer’s digest book of character names, which is exhaustive in its listings. also have pam and linda’s books, although I’ve never been able to find their jewish baby name book. i also have the bring back beatrice book, which is a little silly, and several of bruce lansky’s books. the two I use the most are the WD book and the [name]Baby[/name] Name Bible.
I have half a dozen or so baby name books, including several of [name]Bruce[/name] Lansky’s. My favorite one is A World of [name]Baby[/name] Names, by [name]Teresa[/name] [name]Norman[/name]. It’s categorized by country (American Names, English Names, Spanish Names etc.) with a few other categories (Biblical Names, Mythological Names etc.) and contains an exhaustive index. It gives pronunciations, which I like, though they don’t always match real-life pronunciations :(, and it also gives a short explanation of the origins of most names rather than only giving the meaning.
My least favorite one is 20,001 Names for [name]Baby[/name], by [name]Carol[/name] McD. [name]Wallace[/name], only because the author sometimes makes snarky comments about the names. I opened the book at random and saw these examples: under [name]Royale[/name], “Something of a curiosity in the democratic United States”; and under [name]Ruth[/name], “The Old Testament Book of [name]Ruth[/name] is about the widowed Moabite woman who refuses to leave her Hebrew mother-in-law, [name]Naomi[/name], and says, ‘Whither thou goest, I will go.’ Her sentiments appealed greatly to Victorian poets.”
Good luck with your collection!
miloowen: [name]Hi[/name], I just checked and see that Beyond [name]Sarah[/name] & [name]Sam[/name], our Jewish name book, is available at abebooks for all of $3.79.
Any of [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name]'s name books (of course ;)) as well as [name]Laura[/name] Wattenberg’s [name]Baby[/name] Name [name]Wizard[/name]. I’m eagerly awaiting the third edition of that one, as mine’s in shambles, as usual. I wish they’d make them a little sturdier. 
Thanks for all the suggestions! This is so helpful.