When the eldest son fell in the well and most of the time getting help was spent pronouncing the name of the one in trouble, the Chinese, according to legend, decided to give all their children short names.

Our name testifies to our unique presence on this earth, yet we rarely examine the part our name plays in what makes us who we are. Himes explores both the profound ambivalence that many of us feel toward our names and the conscious and unconscious impact our names have on our lives, sometimes for good and sometimes for ill. She explores the various ways different cultures celebrate the naming of infants; the power of names in myth and legend; and...

Most of the names looked up were present, so this three-volume dictionary cannot be far off its claim to have 85% of American surnames. Entries provide frequency of occurrence in the population, an explanation or definition of the name, language of origin, original spelling, region, typology.

Abbott and Costello's classic comedy routine, reissued for children, features a bear and a rabbit trying to determine the baseball player covering each base.