About the Author

Alan Rayburn is the former executive secretary of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names. He has written some 150 books, papers and articles in the toponymic field.

Reviews

'A handy reference for settling trivia arguments as well as a diversion to pick up at anytime' - Verne Clemence - Western People

'A ramble through Naming Canada by Alan Rayburn turns up a wonderful variety of names.' - Lew Gloin - Toronto Star

'Alan Rayburn is the Map Guy. Always has been.' - Marke Andrews - Vancouver Sun

'Alan Rayburn succeeds in bringing to life an unsuspected wealth of geographical names, associating them with their background and linking them to their history, thus providing the reader with an incredibly rich palette of Canadiana.' - Andre Lapierre - Onomastica Canadiana

'Enjoyable and informative at the same time.' - Nova Scotia Historical Review

'Naming Canada is a bathroom book in the best tradition of the term. But much much more than that, it is also a book that informs and entertains...' - Laird Rankin - The Beaver

'Naming Canada will be enjoyed and valued as a resource by everyone with an interest in place names or the geography of Canada.' - H. Gardiner Barnum - The Canadian Geographer

'Nothing acts as a mirror for the social and cultural fabric of a country more than place names. Steeped in our past, they linger long after those who named them.' - Rosalie Hodson - Montreal Gazette

'The book is more than just names and numbers, Rayburn has also tried to seek out the whys and wherefore's that have been involved in how places in this country were named.' - George Bentley - Regina Leader Post

'This isn't your garden-variety let's-poke-fun at Dildo, Nfld. Author Rayburn looks at the origins of the place-names and how - and why - they've been altered by local tongue.' - Halifax Daily News

'This little book is full of entertaining stories. It is hard to put down once you start reading it. The stories are entertaining and give us some of the real cultural history of Canada.' - R.J. Love - Fredericton Daily Gleaner

'Enjoyable and informative at the same time.'