Intelligent and entertaining
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There are so, so many rubbish name books out there. This is one of a very few gems (the only other one I'd recommend is the Oxford Dictionary of First Names).
It's full of interesting, and accurate tidbits about the names, which the author sometimes groups together in themes - for example, Alfred and Aubrey might be talked about in the same entry because both have meanings about elves. This doesn't mean the names are hard to find, though, as they are all ordered alphabetically. Just don't be put off if some of them say "See 'X'"; it doesn't mean they've been lumped in with another name, but that they will be discussed with them. This gives the book an almost conversational feel, as if you were listening to someone really well-informed talk about names. The introduction, too, is very interesting and makes it obvious she has done her research (she even provides a bibliography). I really enjoyed reading it and haven't spotted a single factual inaccuracy of the kind that other name books are riddled with. The only strange thing is that there are lots of typos in my edition. It's a shame that such a good book clearly hasn't been proofread to do it justice.
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United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada