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Nobody in America knows more about names than Prof. Ashley, and his book is designed for everyone. It will tell you the facts behind the names of persons, places and things; about how names are chosen for business and for success; how they are used for everything from tracing settlement patterns to telling fortunes; how forenames have their fashions; where surnames had their origins; all about names in the U.S. and around the globe.

Open the book anywhere and you'll find something that catches your attention: name trends and fashions, name crazes, names in magic and the occult, middle names and nicknames, trick names and married names, place names, street names, good names and bad names, the psychology of names, naming practices around the world, personal factors in naming, tips for giving a child a good name, what names tell us about ourselves . . . you name it, it's here!.


EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"...intriguing..."--BOOKLIST (February 1, 1990), p. 1066.

"...fascinating..."--WORD WAYS (February 1990).

"This is a fun book...a very readable item that can be opened to almost any page."--ACADEMIC LIBRARY BOOK REVIEW (December 1990).

"This book will amaze and amuse you by bringing out a chuckle now and then. Mr. Ashley has written an informative book that shouts out his style and knowledge. It contains valuable ideas that can open up a brand new avenue to genealogists. An asset to bookshelves."--THE GENEALOGIST (Winter 1990).

"[Ashley] takes us on a lively introductory ramble through the entire field of name studies, succeeding in his stated purpose of entertaining as well as informing the general reader...Recommended for general collections."--LIBRARY JOURNAL (November 15, 1989).