From the bestselling arbiters of hip baby names ("The Wall Street Journal") comes an all-new guide with the hottest trends and freshest advice.

Until 1988, nearly all baby-naming books were merely dictionaries: long, dull lists of names with their definitions. But then Beyond Jennifer & Jason-- the first enlightened guide to naming your baby-- was born, to tell parents-to-be what they really want to know: which names are hot, and which names are on their way up or down. Now the book that revolutionized baby naming is fully revised and filled with even more indispensable, up-to-the-minute advice. Instead of one long alphabetical list, Beyond Jennifer & Jason offers dozens of fully updated lists of names, including: * America's move from J names to K names * New naming inspiration from the family tree * Multicultural options to reflect almost any heritage * The trend one actress set when she took the advice of the first Beyond Jennifer & Jason With dozens of fresh, savvy lists of names, Beyond Jennifer & Jason gives parents the truly authoritative word on how to tell the good names from the bad, the classic from the passe, and the intriguingly unusual from the downright weird. A Selection of the Literary Guild and the Doubleday Book Club.

"In the spotlight, she was the epitome of success - the charismatic and joyful Ava Cooper, adored by many for her achievements in the banking industry. When news spread of her decision to pen her a story, anticipation soared. Yet, little did anyone know that beneath her radiant façade lay a labyrinth of darkness and torment. As the pages unfolded, jaws dropped, and whispers filled the air. Ava’s tale took an unexpected, raw, and unfiltered turn, revealing a side of her that no one had ever imagined. From the highs of her triumphs to the depths of her struggles, the truth spilled out onto the printed canvas, leaving readers astonished and moved. Witness the extraordinary journey of a powerful woman, unraveled in the most hauntingly candid manner. Follow her through a story where success and hardship intertwined, and where the secrets she hid could no longer be contained. What secrets did her book hold that shattered perceptions and challenged beliefs? Can you bare the truth?"

This classic baby-naming bible is updated for the new millennium, with 95 percent new material, including new chapters, new trends, naming pitfalls, and more boy and girl names than ever--from traditional to trendy. Includes comprehensive name Index. Martin's Press.

What’s a “stripper” name? For that matter, what’s a high-class name? How do you tell the difference? Why does everyone call them “baby” names when they follow us through our whole lives? And can your name determine your destiny? From a television screenwriter and contributor on the LaineyGossip.com blog comes a book about what names really mean, how we use them, and why they matter. A child of Irish and Egyptian immigrants to Canada, Duana Taha became fascinated by names, not least because hers felt awkward at best and impossible at worst. She believed that names explained not only who you were, but where you came from and who you could be. She became a name nerd, and later a name snob, before settling into the role she was born to play—a Name Therapist, giving straight talk baby-and-grown-up-name advice to just about everyone. In a romp through North American naming trends, traditions, and pop culture, Duana brings us the hilarious, insightful, and surprising truths about hipster names in Brooklyn and Malibu, and the most “intelligent” names at Harvard University; digs into the stereotypes about culture and class where names are concerned; and heads backstage to find out the stories behind those supposed stripper names. And if you don’t know what a Starbucks name is, Duana points out why you obviously never needed one. The Name Therapist’s explorations will help you understand your feelings about your own name, whether it’s one you share with millions (hi, Jennifer!), or one you grew up waiting in vain for the Romper Room host to say. Would you, by any other name, still be you?

Do birds of a feather flock together or do opposites attract? Does haste make waste or should you strike while the iron is hot? Adages like these—or conventional wisdoms—shape our social life. This Fifth Edition of Second Thoughts reviews several popular beliefs and notes how such adages cannot be taken at face value. This unique text encourages students to step back and sharpen their analytic focus with 24 essays that use social research to expose the gray areas of commonly held beliefs, revealing the complexity of social reality and sharpening students’ sociological vision.

Winner, 2019 Saul Viener Book Prize, given by the American Jewish Historical Society A groundbreaking history of the practice of Jewish name changing in the 20th century, showcasing just how much is in a name Our thinking about Jewish name changing tends to focus on clichés: ambitious movie stars who adopted glamorous new names or insensitive Ellis Island officials who changed immigrants’ names for them. But as Kirsten Fermaglich elegantly reveals, the real story is much more profound. Scratching below the surface, Fermaglich examines previously unexplored name change petitions to upend the clichés, revealing that in twentieth-century New York City, Jewish name changing was actually a broad-based and voluntary behavior: thousands of ordinary Jewish men, women, and children legally changed their names in order to respond to an upsurge of antisemitism. Rather than trying to escape their heritage or “pass” as non-Jewish, most name-changers remained active members of the Jewish community. While name changing allowed Jewish families to avoid antisemitism and achieve white middle-class status, the practice also created pain within families and became a stigmatized, forgotten aspect of American Jewish culture. This first history of name changing in the United States offers a previously unexplored window into American Jewish life throughout the twentieth century. A Rosenberg by Any Other Name demonstrates how historical debates about immigration, antisemitism and race, class mobility, gender and family, the boundaries of the Jewish community, and the power of government are reshaped when name changing becomes part of the conversation. Mining court documents, oral histories, archival records, and contemporary literature, Fermaglich argues convincingly that name changing had a lasting impact on American Jewish culture. Ordinary Jews were forced to consider changing their names as they saw their friends, family, classmates, co-workers, and neighbors do so. Jewish communal leaders and civil rights activists needed to consider name changers as part of the Jewish community, making name changing a pivotal part of early civil rights legislation. And Jewish artists created critical portraits of name changers that lasted for decades in American Jewish culture. This book ends with the disturbing realization that the prosperity Jews found by changing their names is not as accessible for the Chinese, Latino, and Muslim immigrants who wish to exercise that right today.