Perfect Name for the Perfect Baby » (REV)

You've talked to everyone and your mind still isn't made up.
Your mother or mother-in-law has the perfect name — her own!
Your next door neighbors just named their baby what you were going to name your own child.
Relax! Help is on the way! You're sure to find a name that sings to you in this clever, up-to-date guide. Is your baby bound to be an angel like Arael? Or as great as Alexander? Organized by categories such as favorite names over the years, song titles, celebrities, angels, saints, flowers, and more, THE PERFECT NAME FOR THE PERFECT BABY gives advice and suggestions on:
* Names to consider if your last name is complicated or simple
* Names of European, Latin, African, or Asian origin
* Names from the Bible, mythology, and literature
* Names of your favorite soap opera characters, and what the celebrities have named their own children
* And much more With a complete alphabetical listing of thousands of names, THE PERFECT NAME FOR THE PERFECT BABY is a fun and comprehensive catalogue of great names — one of which is bound to fit your baby perfectly.

BookList

Wit and novelty all combine here to produce a delightful dictionary of first names. Uniquely organized, the first half of "The Perfect Name" presents first names in such categories as "Names from the Bible," "Names of Your Favorite Soap Stars," and "The Way the Wind Blows: Names of Hurricanes." The second half of the book consists of two extensive lists: one of girls' names and one of boys' The helpful introductory section on important considerations in the naming game discusses such questions as, Will a nickname really work? Should you use a unique spelling? Should you use "Junior"? Among the categories that follow, the reader finds a list of saints' names, their feast days, and substantial biographical statements. An interesting list of gemstones that can be used as first names includes family/origin, colors, and an interesting historical statement on the gem's traditional meaning. A surprising bit of information included in the names-of-hurricanes section is the history and practice of the National Weather Service in naming storms The Wilens confess to selectivity in this book. Indeed, in the section "Names of Fictional Characters," they note that they don't aim for comprehensiveness; they simply include names from their favorite books, plays, and movies and hope that the reader finds them helpful. With this in mind, it is not fair to compare "The Perfect Name" to such works as Alfred Kolatch's "New Name Dictionary" (Jonathan David, 1989) or Hanks and Hodges' "Dictionary of First Names" (Oxford, 1990). But such comparisons do reveal that "The Perfect Name" is much more fun. At the price, "The Perfect Name for the Perfect Baby" is money well spent in any public library collection. Once received, the decision to place it in the circulating or reference collection will be a tough one.