The Language of Names: What We Call Ourselves and Why It Matters

A husband and wife who achieve literary distinction independent of each other are unusual. Practically unique, then, must be the phenomenon of any such pair joining forces to write a single work, which is exactly what award-winning biographer and critic Kaplan (Walt Whitman: A Life) and novelist Bernays (Growing Up Rich; Professor Romeo) set out to do. When not the subject of superficial baby-naming guides, the study of names, or onomastics, can actually be enthralling, as it is here. With much verve and a little self-interest, the two tackled the sticky legal, social, psychological and linguistic problems that surround modern American naming practices, whether they concern children, fictional characters or movie stars and starlets. In chapters on such topics as maiden names, the etiquette of exchanging names, naming in the black community and immigrants' name-changing, Kaplan and Bernays combined a survey with cultural history. The only drawback is the sometimes rambling, sometimes overly combative tone one or the other or both adopt as readers are regaled with anecdotes about the Hollywood name game or assailed with the reasons that women who adopt their husbands' names may be caving in to masculine biases. Such quibbles notwithstanding, rarely has the fundamental human function of naming received such an energetic, enlightening and engaging treatment. (Feb.)