Name books
For years I thought I was eccentric in liking to collect baby name books but I’ve since found out it’s a fairly common hobby for writers.
The best one I’ve found for fantasy writers is Baby Name Countdown by Janet Schwegel. (There are some used ones at Amazon for a $1.)
Unlike most baby name books, it doesn’t give definitions. It’s purely a list of names, divided into boys and girls, culled from birth records so there are names that are truly unique as well as foreign names and common names. I’ve been able to drop my finger onto a random page and find fantasy-sounding names nearby (that’s how common the uncommon names are.)
