The Last Word on First Names: The Definitive A-Z Guide to the Best and Worst in Baby Names by America's Leading Experts

The authors of Beyond Jennifer & Jason, the bestseller that revolutionized baby naming, offer the last word on the perfect first name.

Hope is hot, Hortense is not-- at last, here's what parents really need to know before naming a baby.

For years you knew what to expect from a baby-name book: a long, dull list of names with their dictionary definitions. All that changed with Beyond Jennifer & Jason-- the groundbreaking book on styles and trends in baby names that has been called "the best baby-naming book ever written" (The News Journal).

Now Rosenkrantz and Satran return with an all-new baby-name guide that is destined to become a classic. Like other books, it's packed with entries on girls' and boys' names from A to Z, but no one else gives you the inside story on names: why the world has all the Ashleys it needs, why everyone loves Emily, and why you should or should not call your son Ishmael. Drawing on sources as diverse as ancient myths, current TV series, the Bible, and world literature, The Last Word on First Names is a readable, witty, and illuminating guide to the real-world meaning of Miranda, Max, and thousands of other names from Abigail to Zelig. No one should name a baby without this book.

Linda Rosenkrantz is the author of the novel Talk and coauthor of Gone Hollywood and SoHo. The former editor of Auction magazine, she now writes a weekly syndicated column on collectibles and also contributes to numerous national magazines. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

Pamela Redmond Satran is a columnist for Parenting magazine and also writes a syndicated newspaper column on working parenthood. Her essays and articles appear frequently in Working Mother, Glamour, Redbook, and other national magazines. She is author of a book on style and a a novel, and lives outside New York with her husband and three children.

Together, the authors have written the bestselling Beyond Jennifer & Jason, and a series of books on British names, Irish names, and Jewish names.