View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

[Facts] Re: Names
"Jodi" may be acceptable as a masculine spelling up in Nan Country, but down here in Redneckland, no guy's gonna survive to the second beer spelling it that way. Jody or Jodie, yes, but not Jodi. It'd be safer introducing yourself in the bar as Tinkerbelle.And Nan, I'm really disappointed at my copy of Mills' "Dictionary of English Place-Names" (miraculously still unpacked), which has heretofore bluffed me through many an A-S name enquiry. No mention of Wyndham, even as an overpriced hotel chain. The boys at Oxford University Press really blew it this time.
vote up1vote down

Replies

The boys at Oxford University Press attoned somewhat for their sins when they published Hanks & Hodges massive tome: *A Dictionary of Surnames*. "Wyndham" is in that, but I didn't use their interpretation of the name because it sounded a bit convoluted.Instead I turned to my old favorite, Elsdon C. Smith (former president of the American Name Society and member of the International Committee of Onomastic Sciences), and his *New Dictionary of American Family Names*. The esteemed Mr. E.C. Smith is (at least as far as I'm concerned) the last word on last names.-- Nanaea
vote up1vote down