Putting a creative twist on the traditional name book, Barden offers names organized by categories, an intuitive way to tap into how parents think about what to call their baby. Containing more than 50,000 names, the book's handy alphabetical index makes cross-referencing easy.

Amanda Barden is an attorney and has worked as a freelance policy consultant. In addition to her J.D., Barden also has a M.S. in Gerontology from the University of Southern California. Barden has always been fascinated with names and their meanings and lives in San Francisco with her cat Trixie.

INTRODUCTIONBirth of a Baby Name BookWhen I was in elementary school, my mom gave me the baby name book she got while in the hospital having my older brother. I've been hooked ever since. Over the years, my fascination with names has grown as I've collected baby name books and spent hours reading them, making lists of names I liked and their meanings. Eventually the lists graduated into notebooks and, finally, a baby name book of my very own.If you're a name junkie like me, you will immediately see that this book is an interesting and fun spin on the traditional baby name book. If you are a soon-to-be parent picking up a baby name book for the first time, you might find yourself a little overwhelmed with the options out there. There are dictionaries that give a list of names organized alphabetically. There are books that give opinions and statistics about names. Then there are the specialty books that include only certain types of names -- Irish baby names, Jewish baby names, even sci-fi baby names. Depending on what you're looking for, all these books can be helpful. However, my book combines the best of all these books for parents who want to decide for themselves which names are cool, strange, or too trendy.OrganizationThe organization of this book is fairly self-explanatory. Naturally, the names themselves determined the chapters. My job was to group the names into categories according to their meanings. The result is an easy-to-use guide that will help parents in their search for the perfect baby name.Baby Names Made Easyhas over forty chapters covering a wide variety of categories -- everything from Love & Affection to Nature to Religion & Faith to Intelligence & Wisdom and more.My research showed me that some names have multiple definitions or interpretations. In instances where a name fits into more than one category, it is listed in all relevant chapters. For example, Violet is in the Flowers, Trees, & Things That Grow chapter as well as the Colors chapter.One of the most useful and time-saving features ofBaby Names Made Easyis that the definitions are listed after each name, not just under the root name. This might sound like common sense, but many baby name dictionaries refer readers to other entries in order to find the definitions of some names. This happens when one name is derived from another. It is especially common for feminine names that have their roots in masculine names. For example, in other books, the entry for Georgia might only tell you that it is the feminine form of George, forcing you to then look up George to find out what Georgia means. That's too much work! No more flipping back and forth to find definitions --Baby Names Made Easysaves you time and frustration by simply telling you that Georgia is the feminine form of George and that it means "farmer." That was easy!As you read through the book, you'll see that some chapters have more names than others -- and some chapters have more girls' names than boys' names and vice versa. There just aren't a lot of boys' names that mean "innocence" or that are derived from jewels. Likewise, there are fewer military-related names for girls than there are for boys. My research also uncovered names that refused to be categorized. To accommodate these names I created a Miscellaneous chapter where you'll find everything that didn't fit elsewhere.Throughout the chapters you will find boxes that feature groups of names. Some boxes highlight a specific subcategory within a chapter. For example, the Physical Characteristics & Personality Traits chapter has a box full of names that describe hair -- blond hair, curly hair, red hair, and so on. Other boxes feature interesting names worth a second look. I had a good time putting these together and I hope you enjoy reading through them -- and maybe even get an idea or two.Meanings Matter<