I gave this book as a gift to my best friend who expected her first child.
She had so much fun going thru all the names.

I was disappointed with this book. She includes a lot of information ... but completely leaves out the meanings of names! I'd have to have yet another baby name book on hand to complete what this author leaves out. I would recommend Bruce Lansky's Five-Star Baby Name Advisor instead, because he has all the information Wattenberg includes (minus sibling-name suggestions) plus meaning and how likely the name is to be spelled or pronounced incorrectly. Those are all good things for a parent to consider! Also, I realize name opinions are subjective, but I found myself disagreeing with quite a few of this author's; she seems to miss some pretty obvious drawbacks or associations with certain names, and has odd taste in names that she thinks *should* be used more often (Edgar? Really??).

My wife and I are having our first child - and have looked at several name books - had I read this one first - I would not have bought another book -

Very interesting way to find a name. I didn't like the names that went with my son's name but still very neat. I would definitely recommend this!

Although we STILL haven't picked a name for our baby, this book has had sooo many unique and classic names! It's organized so much differently than all the other name books, it's almost fun to read!
I would highly reccomend this book, especially if the parents are unsure of where to start with names.

My sister recommended this book and I love it. It is not like every other book and baby name website. If you are looking for a name dictionary with origin and meaning of every name, buy one of the other thousand baby name books out there. If you are looking for something different that groups names by category, helps to identify what people think of when they hear the name, and shows popularity over the last century of each name, then this is definitely the book for you. It has been a huge help so far in helping me identify the type of names that I like so I can narrow down the choices for our new baby boy arriving this fall.

I bought this book thinking that it may give some unique ideas and insights into names. Unique ideas it has... but so completely untraditional that I think any child with these names will be perpetually made fun of. I will be buying a different book.

Is a great book, specially if you have an mathematical backgrownd because of the graphs.

This book has ALOT of baby names in it, I'll give it that, but trying to understand the method of how she comes up with some of them is beyond me...... there are names like Ssnar.... I dunno... Also, it doesn't give many "meanings" to the names, just little charts next to the names, which I still can't figure out. If you have the 9 months to spend reading the book to find a name, its fine, but trying to find a name with good meaning, I would pass on this one.

This gave me great ideas for names, and ideas of what current and recent trends have been. I like how it suggests families of names that are similar in style to names you like.

This is by far the most useful baby name book out there. There are dozens of books that will tell you a name is Latin in origin or means "bright, shining"--this book isn't one of them--if you are looking for a straightforward name dictionary, this is not the book for you. What is so great about THIS book is that it gives you the name's relevance TODAY--how popular is it, what image does it project, etc. Most unique is the way it groups names in the back--so if you know you like timeless names/names that end with '-en'/lacy & lissome names/nickname-proof names/etc. there is a whole list for you to choose from--very, very useful for picking sibling names or if you & your mate can't agree, but know what style you like. It is the book I give to every expectant friend.

You can find lists of names all over the internet, so why buy most books? This book helped my husband and me learn how to pick a name we will like. It also made us aware that "unpopular" names are becoming increasingly popular due to style trends. It made me think twice about some names I like and gave me confidence to be more daring when considering names. The author has a conversational writing style that is easy to read. Great book.

I regret spending the money on this- it repeated names over and over and didn't give any meanings or cultural origins. I have to buy another book, but this time I'll browse at the bookstore first.

The names in this book are so plain and un-original. If I needed help thinking of John for a name, I think I'd have bigger problems on my plate! Didn't like and wouldn't recommend.

I bought this book after reading the rave reviews and when it came, I couldn't resist seeing what the excitement was all about! The introduction was especially helpful in pointing out common pitfalls when selecting names. The tone is light, fun and comical, which was refreshing. I like the organization of the book especially the categories of names in the back. However, I was disappointed to find a lack of more ethnic names. Also, the idea of giving name suggestions for brothers and sisters is a unique feature of this book, but I'm not completely sold on the idea of using one child's name to select a sibling name that fits into a prescribed category or "flavor." Overall, this book is a step above sifting through 10,000 baby names, but it's not the "wizard" I expected it to be.

This book is very useful in finding the style of name you like. It has sections of lists of names that have different styles, and helps you understand why styles come and go. It may have a smaller section of actual names to choose from, but it gives you their history and names that go well with them for brother or sister. I found it very helpful!

I have really enjoyed reading this book, not only to find a name for my baby girl, but this baby name book is fun to read. I love the brother/sister suggestions. Get this book...you won't regret.

I thought this book served its purpose; it was simple and to the point. I found it very informative, especially that it tells you how popular each name has been through the decades. It was fun to bring it to work and run down everyone's name! Worth it for the mom-to-be.

I like the origins of the name and the statitistics on popularity. A must read for all expectant parents.

I bought this book (somewhat skeptically) after I had already purchased a couple of other overwhelming baby name books, hoping it would offer some other method of choosing a baby's name. I have to say it is a fun, helpful book that helped my husband and me create a short list of names for our baby (due in the summer of 08). I actually really like that it does not include baby name "meanings", which usually are just weird and not helpful, but instead she does a short write-up of each name and shows where they lie on a popularity chart of a given time frame. The last part of the book shows names in different fun categories.

I recommend this book to anyone beginning the daunting task of naming your child!

My husband and I have the hardest time choosing baby names. When our third was on the way, I got this book. I loved it! The way it's formatted and presented make it fascinating and fun to choose names. Much better than traditional baby name books. It was so helpful, especially when we realized a lot of the names we liked were so popular our daughter's Kindergarten class would probably already be full of Olivias.

I consider myself to have somewhat of a baby name obsession, and am somewhat of a baby name book officianado, and this is FOR SURE my favorite baby name book ever! I hope they keep coming out with new editions. Not only does it have a wonderful selection of names and "genres" of names, but one thing that is very important to us is the popularity of a name, and this has little graphs for each name showing their rise/fall in popularity over the past 100 years. Also, it shows the highest rank of the name, and what year that was. I especially love the little descriptions of each name and the little list of possible brothers/sisters names. The only thing it is lacking is the meaning of the names, but most every other name book gives you that, and it's easy enough to look up online. I highly recommend this book! It's a fun read even if you're not in the process of naming a baby!

Instead of a list of names you'd never make it through, this book takes a good number of names and gives all kinds of information about them... trends, nicknames, pop culture references, even suggestions for brother and sister names. It also has a section where names are broken into categories... my husband and I wanted to choose a Biblical Old Testament name for our son, and right there is a list of exactly that. This book is definitely more helpful, more interesting and gives lots more information than a book of 10,000 random names.

I am obsessive about baby names. I had baby names books years before we decided to start a family. I have 6 at present and am actually pregnant now.

This is the only book that is unique in it' s layout and in the type of information it provides about names. A notebable acheivement in a genre in which it seems everyone is just reformulating every other books information.

With charts, explanations, unique lists and "brother" and "sister" names, this book is sure to please parents-to-be like me who are information junkies and need more than just a regurgated alpha list of the same names over and over. The author is a bit sassy and some comments seem to made tongue-in-cheek, so it is a good read if you have a sense of humor.

This is an excellent book and will certainly be a keeper in my collection, even after we name our baby!

I think this book is a lot of fun. I've looked up all the names of my friends and family and have read the comments about their names to them, which has been fun. It's also nice that the book doesn't contain every different spelling of every name, so it just seems more manageable to go through. Both my husband and I looked through the lists of names and we wrote down the names that we liked and then compared lists. We aren't too adventurous, so it's okay that this book has mostly very normal names. I have enjoyed the name groupings, and can definitely see that I like certain types of names over others. I highly recommend this book - it's a more entertaining way of picking baby names than just looking at a list.

This is a great book for the analytical choosy type. We went through every name in the book and actually found the name for our son. We wanted to make sure we picked a rare name, and this book is a BIG help in finding those rarely used names.

too long. i have no idea what the point of this book was. i hated it so much i couldn't get through the first chapter.

Much more helpful than a simple catalog of names, this book also makes extremely interesting reading. Why are some names ragingly popular, and why does a name appeal to us? How has a name historically risen and fallen in popularity? I can't begin to count the number of hours before bed I've spent reading this book.

Naming a child is a lovely responsibility. I think this book helps more than any other in making a decision that respects the individuality of the child, as well as the indulgences of the parents.

I loved this book. I went through so many name books before I found this one. The categories are fun to read through. I did not know that my name and the one I was considering for my daughter were highly popular in the 70s. All my Aunts' names were the "happy" names of the 50s. This book has very few uncommon names. If you are looking for something ethnic, this might disappoint. It didn't even have "Jolene" but it's pretty easy to guess what the meaning of that is. Because I was looking for a more normal name (even Anica, which I loved, sounded too foreign for my girl) this book was refreshing. I found the perfect name that fit all the categories I liked: Heather.

I love this book! The author does more than define the names listed. She categorizes them, she shows recent trends, lists similar names to suggest alternatives, and she gives her opinion of each name without insulting or talking down to the reader. It's a great book for soon-to-be parents or anyone that's interested in names. The only slight problem is the fact that the book has been out for about two years, so the trends shown may no longer be entirely accurate, but you'll still be able to get a general idea of the popularity (or lack thereof).

Ok, we're on our fourth child and have a large extended family. All of my favorite names are already taken! Some of the new modern darling names are just weird. I find the "6 million baby names" type of books discouraging. About as useful as a phone book in my opinion.

What a breath of fresh air to discover this book. The first few chapters discuss general principals of name selection, good practical advice. The middle section lists various names, providing a popularity score, close variants, spelling variations, and suggested sibling names.

My favorite part of the book groups names by style. For example: "bell tone", "little darlings", "ladies and gentlemen" etc. For me it is very useful to see names organized in this way. Finding a favorite name's style group allows you to browse other names of similar style. Often you will find another good name or two in the style list. Again MUCH more useful than a simple, non-intelligent, name-list type book.

I suppose the most useful thing this book provides is a logical method to link between various names. Whether by style group lists, or by providing direct suggestions for sibling names, this book will help you find multiple good baby names. You might even have fun doing it!

Highly recommended book!! Buy two and give one away.

I have purchased this book three times, having worn out the first two copies. This book is far and away the best baby naming book available. It is uncanny how the "brother", "sister" names are so close to what one would choose for a sibling. It just solidifies the name choice so there is no trepidation in choosing a name. My grandsons names, Jack and Sam, were chosen from this book. The suggestion that Sam is a good brother name for Jack just reinforced Mom and Dad's decision.

Out of the 3 baby names book we purchased, this book had the names we ultimately end up choosing for our baby. Well layed out book with combination of theory/strategy/popularity on naming as well as name categories and plenty of great name suggestions. Other books we got were "The Baby Name Bible", and "The Right Baby Name".

I was so tired of looking at lists of baby names. This book gives you a lot of choices, but it helps you think about all of your name options. It doesn't have definitions for names, but they are catagorized many different ways and it makes it a lot of fun. This was very refreshing after my husband and I had gotten burnt out from thinking about, reading about, and talking about names too long.

This book really didn't help me. It has a limited list of names that are included and are repeated over and over grouping them in different categories. There was nothing that this book provided that was better than any of the other books or websites I have looked at. In fact, I found it had less information. It also does not give name meanings, which is a nice feature. As a first time parent, I found better information elsewhere. I wouldn't waste my money.

This should be it! The ultimate baby name book. I flipped through lots of name books that were merely dictionaries of baby name books. I read this one so much I cracked the spine!

This book gives you an opinion on the name, ranking, and ten other sibling names that "match"! I have met several people that have children with the sibling suggestions (including myself)! It is amazing! I love it and look at it still even though I'm not pregnant any more!

This book was super-helpful to us in picking a boy's name. We just could not think of many, and the lists and descriptions are clever and spot-on. I had a lot of fun reading through this book. It made choosing a name an enjoyable process. Much more insightful and modern than other baby books that just list names. Good mix of traditional and modern names.

As a person who would like to be a future father, I can tell you that my biggest concern will be what should I name my child. Normally this is something my future wife would handle because I would doubt that she would trust me to pick a name that is not ridiculous. Well I don't want to look stupid in front of my future wife/and mother-to-be by picking a bad name, so I purchased the book: "The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby" from our trusty friends here at Amazon.com

Ms. Laura Wattenberg has carefully crafted a book that gives any future parent a great guide including a graph to show the popularity of names and ranks them. Pretty useful, huh? Because the last thing I want to do is give my child an unpopular name that could haunt him or her for the rest of their lives. Of course Ms. Wattenberg also says to stay away from naming your child after children born to Hollywood Mega Movie Stars because you would be just trying to leech off the popularity of these people. I guess naming our first child Suri or Apple is out of the question. Lastly the book gives great suggestion what to name a sibling by having a matching guide. So if I name my first child Mortimer, the book suggests I name my 2nd child (if I choose to have a second child) Favelle.

I'm sure that my future wife will be happy that I took the time to find the `right' name for our child so she can spend less time worrying about naming our child and more time delivering a healthy baby boy or girl.

This is the best name baby book I've ever seen, but, with that said, I don't think any baby name book is really going to help you pick your baby's name. At the most it will help you to rationalize the names you already like.

What makes this book great is that it takes a look at names in a whole new way. Not just the derivations or meanings, but also what names "match" that name and what people associate with that name. It also groups similar names together so you can peruse a list of names that you might actually like rather than pour through hundreds of names that you won't like.

Laura Wattenberg is obsessed with names and naming trends over time. If you haven't taken a look at her blog then go check it out; the Baby Name Voyager is a must see!

I am having my third child, and am having a very difficult time picking out a name. Although this book was fun and interesting to read, I still am undecided! What I like most about this book is that the names are categorized into different styles like "New classics", "The -ens", Biblical", "Timeless" etc....although I have not decided on a name I do have a list of names that I am considering now. I took a look at what style categories my other two boys fall under, and am trying to pick a name that shares some of the same categories in hopes that it will sound good. I liked that this book was not like any other baby name book, but I did not like that it did NOT have name meanings. In addition to all of the other information the author has provided, a name meaning would really complete the book, and that is why I only give it 4 stars. If at some point this book includes name meanings I would give it a 5.

I am having my third child, and am having a very difficult time picking out a name. Although this book was fun and interesting to read, I still am undecided! What I like most about this book is that the names are categorized into different styles like "New classics", "The -ens", Biblical", "Timeless" etc....although I have not decided on a name I do have a list of names that I am considering now. I took a look at what style categories my other two boys fall under, and am trying to pick a name that shares some of the same categories in hopes that it will sound good. I liked that this book was not like any other baby name book, but I did not like that it did NOT have name meanings. In addition to all of the other information the author has provided, a name meaning would really complete the book, and that is why I only give it 4 stars. If at some point this book includes name meanings I would give it a 5.

After trying to decide which baby name book to get, I got this one because it had great reviews from other people. As soon as I got this book, my husband took it from me and read the whole thing. It was fun to look at it together and see which names we liked. Though we have some names set already it was fun to see what other names are out there that we haven't thought of. My only gripe with this book is that I wish there were more meanings of what the name stands for.

I really like this book because it groups the names by type. If you like the name Philip, for example, you will find it among a list of other names, both boy and girl, that have the same type of "feel" about them. Names can appear on multiple lists. The names are listed alphabetically with a graph showing popularity in the last 100 years, plus there are lists of names by type at the end. Scattered througout, there are lists of the top names in different decades. I see what they are trying to do with this book, and I appreciate it. I know they were trying to create a different kind of baby name book, but I still would like a couple of words on the origin of each name. Then it would be a comprehensive baby name book.

After months of trying to find a name for their baby my son
and his wife finally found just what they were looking for
when I gave them this book. I recommend it to anyone struggling
with what to name the baby.

Really this is THE book you need when naming a baby! Very helpful insights into what makes names popular and what doesn't. (The entry on Floyd cracked me up.)

I just love this book. I'm pregnant with my third child, and know that my husband and I will have a hard time agreeing on a name. So, I bought this book because I had heard GREAT things about it. I just love it. It's not your standard book with just lists and lists of names. It offers suggestions based on different styles and even offers suggestions for sibling names. I've really enjoyed reading it!

I found this book to be much more helpful in coming up with baby names that we like. Instead of the traditional name and meaning format, she has analyzed the names and broken them down into different categories and also listed other names that are similar in style to names you already like. It definitely rang true for names that we like, but I also discovered that my sister's, brother's, and my name were all given as sister/brother names. It also gives you the opportunity to consider names that you might not have before just by how she has them broken into style categories (ie. Classic, New Traditionals, Brisk and Breezy).

All the other baby name books I've used say they have 30,000+ names...if you consider Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Belle, and Bella all separate names instead of varitions of ONE name, then yes they do have over 30,000 names. This book breaks down names into groupings of Root names, variations and nicknames all under one entry so you don't have to read 10 pages to find 2 different name groupings.

The suggested names for siblings is the best feature of this book. We have one son and are expecting our second and surprisingly all the sibliing names are VERY accurate and agreeable to our tastes.

I also don't want my child to be one of 5 kids in his class to have the same name. The popularity charts over the last 100 years are helpful. Names you think are not very common are surprisingly in the top 10, etc.

Another great feature to this book is a listing of names under each style heading with a brief background of that style and its popularity.

Its an entertaining read and very very helpful in choosing names, as is her website.

All the other baby name books I've used say they have 30,000+ names...if you consider Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, Belle, and Bella all separate names instead of varitions of ONE name, then yes they do have over 30,000 names. This book breaks down names into groupings of Root names, variations and nicknames all under one entry so you don't have to read 10 pages to find 2 different name groupings.

The suggested names for siblings is the best feature of this book. We have one son and are expecting our second and surprisingly all the sibliing names are VERY accurate and agreeable to our tastes.

I also don't want my child to be one of 5 kids in his class to have the same name. The popularity charts over the last 100 years are helpful. Names you think are not very common are surprisingly in the top 10, etc.

Another great feature to this book is a listing of names under each style heading with a brief background of that style and its popularity.

Its an entertaining read and very very helpful in choosing names, as is her website.

I couldn't get enough of this book while we were trying to find a name for our daughter. My husband and I went through it at least twice making up our list.
It really is the most unique name book I've seen yet, explaining how names come in and out of fashion and why we like the names we like. I'm a history buff, so it was fun to realize why a certain name sounds like a mom or a grandma or every girl you were in elementary school with. The name families were incredibly useful - look up a name you like and find the "brother and sister" names for it. Quite often, that turned out to be another name on our list. Or look through by type - I quickly identified which categories I liked and didn't like and then was able to ruminate on each list until we found just the right name.
Perhaps the one quibble might be that that she doesn't include meanings of the names, but all the other baby name books do that, and this approach is unique.
Must have for any expectant parent!