The Worst Baby Name Book Ever by David Narter
192 pages	Cumberland House Publishing	March 2005	Paperback

David Narter has forked off from the usual baby-naming book herd. The author of Don’t Name Your Baby has scribbled out in black the word “Best” and replaced it with the word “Worst” on the title page of his newest book on naming babies. With 85 pages of girls' names, starting with Abby and ending with Zoe, and 96 pages of boys’ names, starting with Aaron and ending with Zion, this author reminds in-need-of-a-baby-name-parents what not to name their newborn and why.

David Narter, who jokes that his own sons' names are # and π, writes in jest as he mocks many common and trendy baby names. He forewarns parents the name Anna rhymes with Banana, and that there is no escaping a nerdy name like Albert or Arthur. While the author sees nothing wrong with his name, he does see what the future holds for children with particular names. He foresees girls named Becky living unemployed in their parents’ basements. Still looking to the future, he predicts the pronunciation problems future teachers will have with the name Breanna/Breanne/Breanon. He believes some names are bad because of associations the name will call up. For example, Dawn will make us think of noisy alarm clocks, and the name Max will surely make us think of a dog. The author points out the boring names like Bob, and the horrible names like Ralph. And there are some names he just plain pokes fun at: he says Denise is the sister of Denephew, and Allen is a misspelling of Alan.

Even if you’re not naming a baby, this book is fun to read. I looked up my name and my family’s names. All were included but Belinda. Having never read a baby naming book like this before, I enjoyed it in the manner in which it was intended. Pick it up for a funny break and distraction from the regular baby-naming books.