Updated for 2016! The Social Security Administration releases their baby name data every year in May and this book is newly updated with the latest stats. I've also included the top ten baby names from countries around the world.
The first thing you’ll notice about this book is the way it is organized. My book is not alphabetical by first letter. This made it harder for me to put together, but I do believe it will be much easier for expecting parents to read through. The names are alphabetized by their ending sounds. For example, the boy names Casey and Pacey are next to each other. There are over 3,000 names here, but my lists are not padded with alternate spellings of the same name, i.e.: Rachel and Rachael. If it doesn’t affect pronunciation, I’ve only listed a name once. Some people like traditional spellings, some like names spelled phonetically, and some like to really mix it up. I will leave that up to you.
By clustering names with the same ending, you’ll get a better feel for a name you’re considering. Look at Dana, Danna, Deanna, Deena, Dena, Diana, and Dinah. One letter change can make a big difference. Do you like a traditional name, but would like a funky variation on it? It’s easily done using this book. I’ve tried to compile a good mix of elegant, minimal, traditional, modern, cultural and biblical options you won’t be embarrassed to try out on your spouse.
Alas, I am not including all name meanings. I do apologize. I have highlighted a few names after each section with origin, meaning, and popularity rankings. If name meanings are super important to you, remember that the meaning and/or origin can change with the spelling. Also remember that a name can be personally meaningful without worrying about what it meant in Old English. My husband and I named our son after a mountain near where we met.
I hope you love this book as much as I've loved creating it. What's in a name? A whole lot!
(Last updated December 22nd, 2016 - I will continue to watch for errors, update rankings and add names as I find them. I want my readers to have the best book possible! - Last count was 3,405 names)
The first thing you’ll notice about this book is the way it is organized. My book is not alphabetical by first letter. This made it harder for me to put together, but I do believe it will be much easier for expecting parents to read through. The names are alphabetized by their ending sounds. For example, the boy names Casey and Pacey are next to each other. There are over 3,000 names here, but my lists are not padded with alternate spellings of the same name, i.e.: Rachel and Rachael. If it doesn’t affect pronunciation, I’ve only listed a name once. Some people like traditional spellings, some like names spelled phonetically, and some like to really mix it up. I will leave that up to you.
By clustering names with the same ending, you’ll get a better feel for a name you’re considering. Look at Dana, Danna, Deanna, Deena, Dena, Diana, and Dinah. One letter change can make a big difference. Do you like a traditional name, but would like a funky variation on it? It’s easily done using this book. I’ve tried to compile a good mix of elegant, minimal, traditional, modern, cultural and biblical options you won’t be embarrassed to try out on your spouse.
Alas, I am not including all name meanings. I do apologize. I have highlighted a few names after each section with origin, meaning, and popularity rankings. If name meanings are super important to you, remember that the meaning and/or origin can change with the spelling. Also remember that a name can be personally meaningful without worrying about what it meant in Old English. My husband and I named our son after a mountain near where we met.
I hope you love this book as much as I've loved creating it. What's in a name? A whole lot!
(Last updated December 22nd, 2016 - I will continue to watch for errors, update rankings and add names as I find them. I want my readers to have the best book possible! - Last count was 3,405 names)
