Laura WattenbergThe Baby Name Wizard, Revised 4th Edition: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby

I LOVE this baby name book. It's different from most of the ones out there in so many ways, which makes it a really useful addition to almost any collection - but it also stands alone really well if you just want one (personally this is the only one I own).I find this book so much more practical than most name books out there, especially as someone who doesn't care too much about name meanings (that's one thing this book is conspicuously missing - although that's deliberately replaced by a focus on what people will *actually* think when they hear a name, which I personally consider much more useful).Some of its best features:Popularity graphs for every name! So many parents say that they had no idea their child's name was getting so popular. This book has a tiny graph in every name entry showing its popularity curve over the last century (each graph is to scale with itself, but not with the other graphs - it does list the peak popularity number to help you compare graphs to each other).Sibling name suggestions. This is part of the book's overall focus on style and perception rather than just dumping out a million and one names organized only by the alphabet. Every name entry has several "brother" and "sister" names to help you expand your search in a more focused way. If the parents disagree on names, or if you're simply stumped on brainstorming, you can start by looking up a couple names you do like, writing down the sibling names, and then repeating the process with the sibling names. Eventually, you may find that your styles converge at some point or that you find a gem that you never considered before. This really helps to personalize the search process so that you can skip the 999,900 names you'd never consider and jump straight to the ones you might actually like.Similarly, the book has lists in the back of names in different style category, e.g. "African" or "Saintly" or "Lacy." Every name has a couple style categories assigned to it, so if the sibling name approach isn't bearing fruit, you can do the same thing but by reading through the style categories associated with the names you like. And there are lots of names that are in the lists but don't have a full entry, which I think helps give the book a great balance of having lots of names, but still having space to go into a wonderful amount of depth for the names most people will actually use. (It would be an insane amount of work to write this book with a million and one entries!)Finally, and this may not sound like a big deal, but the last great feature is the index. Most baby name books don't need this since every name is listed once, but this can be super helpful for finding where a name is in the lists or sibling suggestions. If you like a name that doesn't have its own entry, this can help you get started in finding similar names, or if you've exhausted a name's own sibling suggestions, you can find where it's listed as one (the sibling name lists are independently generated, so in most cases sibling name-ship isn't mutual).The one complaint I have is that sometimes the limited selection of names makes cuts that seem strange to me - like, it doesn't have George, but it does have Gotham.

Just what we were looking for to read meaning of names and helpful lists to identity style of names.

I bought this book 3 years ago to name my daughter. While we did find a name in it, it definitely seems to be a “one and done” sort of book. We didn’t even flip through it that much, but recently got it back out to name our second baby and it is falling apart so bad it’s actually difficult to use. The binding is absolutely terrible. Weird thing to have to comment on, i know.. but i’ve never seen a so gently used book fall apart so easily.

My husband and I are expecting our first child and really didn't know where to begin as far as names go. While we haven't finalized our name choices, this guide has been a lifeline! There are two main sections. The first lists names with detailed information. Here is an example:Jacqueline (JA-ke-lin)Popularity [current]: #200 (also has a graph showing popularity from 1880 to today and peak popularity year and rank)Styles: Timeless, FrenchNicknames: Jackie, JacquiVariants: Jaclyn, JacquelynSisters: Marianne, Diana, Valerie, Cynthia, Adrienne, JulianneBrothers: Terrence, Vincent, Philip, Christopher, Jerome, Anthony- This French classic bears the lasting stamp of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Luckily, hers is a versatile image: elegant, honorable, pretty, and strong. All of those qualities apply to her name too.In the World: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; actress Jacqueline Bisset and Jaclyn SmithThe second section has lists of names by style/category (for example, Antique Charm, Celtic, Last Names First). There are more names listed here than in the first section, but there is not detailed information on each name. So we were able to take a look at lists, but were able to focus just on categories we liked after going through the first section.Ms. Wattenberg is a great author and wordsmith! She keeps the reading fun and interesting (be sure to look up the boy's name Gax in the first section and the Long Gone category in the second). I never thought I'd have such fun reading a baby name guide, but I have laughed out loud on more than one occasion.This is truly a one-stop resource for naming a baby! I will definitely be passing along the name of this guide to other expectant parents that I know.

I like the book for trying to find names. Nice layout. Gave 3 stars because the condition was not as described by seller. There was highlighting and marked corners. It said there would be no marking or highlighting.

Helpful but still had the most basic names. Feel like there are better options out there but this was a good start.

I have loved Swistle's baby name blog for years, and she's always raving about the baby name wizard. Now that I'm expecting, I decided to buy my own copy and see what all the praise is about. The first night I got it, my husband and I ended up on the couch for hours flipping around the book. I absolutely love the regional maps, the sibling recommendations, the categories, everything about it!! It's just such a terrific, scientific, unique way to look at baby naming. The author is absolutely right in the beginning when she explains that the usual baby name books telling you how to pronounce a name and it's "meaning" isn't really helpful. The way she breaks it down to show rankings, categories, and notable people really changes the way you start to view names. I have had possible names on my list for years and would know right away after reading more about them if I wanted to omit them or not. We went from having virtually no names picked out together, no previous discussions about names, and no plans to even decide a name for months to being settled on a girl name and 2 possible boy names within a few hours. And it was painless, fun, and both of us love all the options we've settled on!

Pros:The Baby Name Wizard does so many things similar books don't: the amount of information listed for each name is huge. For example, the popularity graphs (take note: these can look very dramatic) and the "sisters and brothers" feature. Additionally, near the end of the book are lists of name styles such as "brisk and breezy" and "mythological" for readers to search through, enabling them to find new names based on categories they like.Cons: A few notable names are left out, although the selection of names is generally good. Meanings are absent as well, which may or may not be important to you.However, the Baby Name Wizard does so many things right that these cons are insignificant. And who could forget the book's humour? This is very easily worth a read.(Note: I was sent the wrong edition, the 2013 one instead of the 2019 one. This doesn't affect my rating though, since this was the seller and not the book itself.)

Its a good book don’t get me wrong but not as amazing as some reviewers have saidIt’s still just a list of names and some descriptions/meanings seem like they had no thoughtI do however like the different lists of names in the back sorted by region / country and styleStill a good book don’t regret buying but also just a book filled with names

The best baby name book out there. It was recommended to me by a friend. I've since bought 5 copies for friends and family during their pregnancies!

Lots of great names!!

I likes this book but did not feel it was much different from other baby name books. I feel that the author gave her opinions of names as opposed to general opinions.