Cool Names for Babies 2nd (second) edition Text Only

by Pamela Redmond Satran

About the AuthorPamela Redmond Satran lives in Montclair, New Jersey, and Linda Rosenkrantz lives in Los Angeles, California. They are the authors of Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana ("the classic baby-name guide"--The New York Times Magazine) and Baby Names Now, with nearly a million copies in print.

Genres: Reference, Parenting, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published August 7, 2003

About the author

Pamela Redmond Satran is the author of 20 books, both fiction and non-fiction. Her most recent novel, The Possibility of You, is written as Pamela Redmond and published by Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books. A New York Times bestselling humor writer, she has a new humor book, Rabid: Are You Crazy About Your Dog or Just Crazy?, due out from Bloomsbury in September 2012. She is the creator with Linda Rosenkrantz of the million-visitor website Nameberry, based on the 10 books on baby names they coauthored. Satran also writes The Glamour List column and contributes to The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

At this point, this book is dated, but since all names cycle I read it anyway. I like how this book is shorter and grouped by categories. That definitely made it more interesting to read than typical name books. However, I still don’t have a name picked. 😂

[RJC · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first chapters were interesting, then it got patronising.

[Seth Jenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read (skimmed) on baby names. Instead of getting shorter the name list has been getting longer and longer, but not because there are so many names that we're in love with. In fact, there haven't been any that we've been totally in love with yet but today we forced ourselves to eliminate some names off the list and categorize those that remain. Anyone who knows me isn't surprised to hear about lists. Anyway, now we've got an A list and a B list and so on all the way until E! Our A list has 4 names we like, our B list has 17, our C list 14, our D 9, and our E 10.

Here are the names on our A list:

Ash (Cash is also a favorite. Dash too.)
Max
Miles
Jack

The B list has a couple that I really like. Blaise, for example. I don't know what I like it about it, but I just do. Meg doesn't, thus, it's on the B list. And it's got a temporary position on that list at best. Other cool names on that list are Kale, Cody, Dash, Roux, Tucker, Walker, and Grady. The C list has the name Eli, which we've both liked at one point or another. The E list doesn't really have any that are worth mentioning.

[Julie Decker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all Baby Name Books are created equal! This book doesn't have a ton of "meanings" for your little one's name, but what it does have is cultural relevance--an understanding that the people you give these names to will be entering a society where their names will be their label and will convey a certain thing about them (or their family). Obviously some of its "right now" trends were probably dated before it got published, but what I did really like was how it pointed out the way names become cool. It gave many examples, but showed how naming trends work--if the names included don't do it for you here, you can look in the same places they got those names. Recent movies and books. Actors and actresses, and what they're naming their kids. Trends toward classic reinventions or place names. Etc. Some parts of the book gave suggestions on "create-your-own" names, which I've always wished was more common in naming children.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look, someone left this by the self-check machine and ... the book did tempt me, and I did read. Well, part of it. I can't help thinking, dumb premise. Also, some of these names are so uncool. Parents need to accept that some names are not unique and exotic and outré, marking their child as a special snowflake — they're just dumb. I recommend Margaret Rose's Baby Names For Dummies for anyone looking for something more sensible. If you plan to have kids, cultivate an ear for names to develop a sense of what is and isn't completely ridiculous and unfair to hang on your kid. (I mean, seriously. Scarlett and Indigo? Please.)

[Zoey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In light of the animal print bib on the cover, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. "Cool Names for Babies" was published in 2003, so even the "coolest" names don't seem especially edgy or new at this point. But it's just as well. I like the categories this book sets up; it's intriguing to think about why certain names have become popular, and the authors certainly identify many of the continuing trends (grandparents' names, "old lady cool," literary names, British names, etc.) My own list of favorite potential names grew steadily over the course of the book, which is why I would recommend it. How nice to find a name book that is actually helpful in the search for a name.

[Yve Chairez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the way the names are categorized in this book: "place names", "supermodel names", "outer space names"; each category only takes up about 2 pages and the names are surprisingly relevant. Beats those A-Z books that have hundreds of names with ridiculous spellings like Aan, Aann, Aen, and other such bullshit that no one in their right mind really has enough patience to skim through.

My daughter's name happened to be in this book and I found a couple good suggestions for our next. Also, I like to whip out this book when naming characters for my short stories.

[Swankivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like naming trends and am interested in how names become what they are, but this book stands apart from others because it not only shows you some cool names but some strategies on how to look for/create your own and what to do to consider whether you should actually bestow those names on children or what. I like baby name books not only because they're interesting in and of themselves, but also because I can sometimes use them as resources in naming characters in my novels.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was ridiculous when a friend gave it to me. But in the end, I found the groupings and classifications to be fairly helpful. It also completely decoded the trends in naming that I had observed but not really been able to identify or analyze. Here it is, all laid out for you-- whether you want to avoid the trends or jump right in them, you'll at least know where your choices fit.

[Vanessa Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really great name book. it has names divided by style, which really helps since people tend to gravitate toward the same style of names. much more useful than those name books that just list names and meanings.

[Staci von Harten · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at Barnes and Noble the other night and I believe we have another name for one of our girls. Pretty fun book with a really varied selection inside- fairly small compared to the other gigantuous name books you'll find.

[Kristin Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

good alternative to the generic name books, we found some good ones!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun baby name book to read. They classify the names by uncool, cool and cooler. For example: Anne (uncool), Anna (cool) and Anya (cooler).

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is fun. I didn't pick a "cool" name for my first baby, nor will I for my second, but it's fun to read through options.

[Cabryn Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has quite a few unique names. It's a good change from some of the other same-ol-same-ol name books.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

i'm obsessed with baby names, even though no babies. this is the best of the many books i've had.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm trying to think of middle names, and also convince Adam that he DOESN'T want "Brigham" if it's a boy.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently I'm cooler than I thought - in my quest for baby names, many of the ones I came up with are listed in this book!

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Ideas and some bad names what do some parents think of when naming there new born. :0) Cute Book

[Laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the most recent edition. It's up-to-date and relevant, full of cool names that aren't too far-fetched.

[D'Anne · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is retarded.

[Bryn]

This is also another really awesome baby name book (again, I don't need any!)

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining enough.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

waste of time...for me at least.

[Rachel C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of categorized name lists. Likely, I won't pick any name from this book, but the intros to each chapter/category were pretty amusing.

[Janelle Leigh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too Bizarre. Too cool. Too out there.

[Melissa]

fun book we looked at. Better than A-Z books. Breaks it down into "plants" or "musical names" or "cool old fashion names"... stuff like that

[Aubrey Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found my daughter's name in this book!

[Tandy Coughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some very unique names, some way weird...all in all. it was okay. nothing super special.

[Christina Kaslow-trujillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting, though many names seemed random as fillers.