Leslie Alan Dunkling (born 1935) is an author known for his authoritative work on names books, ranging from names people choose for their children to names of
pubs.
Biography
Dunkling was born at Willesden in north-east London, and grew up in "working-class
Acton",
West London
West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary.
The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...
. As a mature student he qualified as a teacher in 1961, then gained a BA (Hons) degree in English at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. This was followed by an MA in Linguistics from
Stockholm University
Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, ...
, Sweden, where he taught English language and literature. He subsequently became a producer of educational radio and television programmes for the BBC, remaining there for 20 years. In 1970 he developed a spare time interest in
onomatology
Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...
, the study of proper names. He was co-founder of the Names Society and for many years was its president. He also published several reference books about names of various kinds, not only proper names but also, as his interest in
toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
grew, places, followed by other related areas.
He has lived since 1971 in
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest of Charing Cross ...
, Surrey, with his French wife, Nicole (née Tripet).
Bibliography
* ''English House Names'' (The Names Society, 1972)
* ''First Names First'' (Littlehampton Book Services, 1977)
* ''Seven Sketches (Structural Readers)'' (Longman, 1980)
* ''Our Secret Names'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1981)
* ''Everyman Dictionary of First Names'' (with William Gosling) (J M Dent, 1983)
* ''Facts on File Dictionary of First Names'' (with William Gosling) (Facts on File, 1983)
* ''A Dictionary of Pub Names'' (with Gordon H. Wright, Law Book Co of Australasia, 1987)
* ''A Dictionary of Days'' (Routledge, 1988)
* ''Guinness Book of Names'' (Guinness Books, 1989)
* ''Guinness Book of Beards and Moustaches'' (with John Foley, Guinness World Records, 1990)
* ''The Guinness Book of Money'' (with Adrian Room, Facts on File, 1990)
* ''A Dictionary of Epithets and Terms of Address'' (Routledge, 1990)
* ''Journey to Universe City'' (Addison Wesley, 1991)
* ''The New American Dictionary of Baby Names'' (Signet Book, 1991)
* ''The Guinness Book of Curious Phrases'' (Guinness World Records, 1993)
* ''The Guinness Book of Curious Words'' (Guinness World Records, 1994)
* ''Pub Names of Britain'' (Orion, 1994)
* ''Dictionary of Surnames'' (HarperCollins, 1998)
* ''Scottish Christian Names'' (Bacon (G.W.) & Co .Ltd, 1999)
* ''The Battle of Newton Road'' (Penguin, 2000)
* ''Island for Sale - Elementary'' (Longman, 2000)
* ''Wordsworth Dictionary of Pub Names'' (with Gordon Wright, Wordsworth Collection, 2001)
* ''The Guinness Drinking Companion'' (Lyons Press, 2002)
* ''Collins Dictionary of Curious Phrases'' (Collins, 2004)
* ''Penguin Readers Level 1: Mike's Lucky Day'' (Penguin Longman, 2008)
* ''Six Sketches'' (Pearson Education Ltd, 2008)
* ''Kate and the Clock,''
References
British family and parenting writers
1935 births
English non-fiction writers
People from Thames Ditton
Living people
English male non-fiction writers
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