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USING THIS BOOK

Today’s parents have an enormous pool of names to choose from, probably more than at any other time in history. Alongside the traditional stock of names from the Bible, the classical world and the old Germanic names brought over by the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans, we now have names from all over the world, both Continental versions of traditional names and names from cultures with which our grandparents had little or no contact. This has led to a change in the attitude to what a ‘real’ name is, and as a result people now feel free to create a wonderful range of new names, many unique to their child. The danger here, of course, is that the child will have a lifetime of explaining what their name is, and how it is spelt, but many of these names pass into general circulation, particularly those that are blends; that is, combinations of sounds from other names. In addition, a much wider range of spellings of any given name is used by parents, perhaps to distinguish their child from others of the same name. I have tried to include as many of these different spellings as is reasonably possible, under the standard or traditional form of the name. I have also included a wide range of short forms. This is not only to show the range available, but also so that parents can check that all possible forms of a chosen name go harmoniously with the surname. For however determined a parent might be to use one particular form of a name, someone will at some time use a pet form of the name. I have also given a lot of information about naming habits in America. In part, this is because so many new names come from America, particularly from the African-American communities, which are particularly rich coiners of new names. But it is also because of America’s dominance of the entertainment world. I hope that those curious about the unusual names they find used by actors and musicians will find the answer here.

Most of the variant names in this book have been cross-referenced to the name you can find it under. But in order to squeeze as many names as possible into this small book, if the cross reference would come near the headword, then it has been left out. Please look for the name you want under alternative spellings, and check under overlapping sounds such as ‘C’ and ‘K’, or ‘sh’ and ‘ch’.

The first edition of this book was compiled in 1967. Since then I have revised it at regular intervals to bring it up to date. Leslie Dunkling has added names from Arabic and from the Indian Sub-continent.

I hope that this book will help you find just the right name for your child.

JULIA CRESSWELL, 2004