If you live in a city, cover the different foreign quarters
thoroughly and note in your book names of every nationality that
strike your fancy.
2. If the public library in your town gets French, Italian, or other
foreign papers (all great city libraries do, of course), go over them
and get similar lists of foreign names. You can never tell when a
typical Russian surname, or an Italian Christian name, may be wanted
for one of your stories. This will prevent your calling a Spaniard
"Pietro" or an Italian "Pedro."
3. Buy an old or a second-hand city directory. An out-of-date New York
or Chicago directory contains names enough, of all nationalities, both
Christian names and surnames, to last you a life-time and will cost
you little. But directories are not _absolutely_ trustworthy after
all.
4. When reading novels and short-stories, copy any names that
particularly strike you. Use only the first or the last name in every
case, of course, and do the same when selecting names from the
directory or from signs in the street. You would not name your hero
Richard Mansfield, nor his uncle John Wanamaker, but you might wish to
call the uncle Richard Wanamaker and make John Mansfield the hero.
5. Select from regular theatre programs names that please you, but
transpose the first and last names as recommended above.
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