Adrian Room

Adrian Richard West Room (27 September 1933, Melksham – 6 November 2010, Stamford, Lincolnshire) was a British toponymist and onomastician, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a prolific author of reference works relating primarily to the origins of words and place-names.

Between 1952 and 1979, Room served in the Royal Naval Reserve, Special Branch, retiring as a lieutenant commander.

Selected publications

Place-Names of the World. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974. Place-name changes since 1900: A world gazetteer. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980. Naming Names: Stories of Pseudonyms and Name Changes with a Who's Who. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. Dictionary of Trade Name Origins. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable. 2000. (editor) Cassell's Foreign Words and Phrases. London: Cassell & Co., 2000. A. to Z. of British Life Dictionary of Confusable Words Bloomsbury Dictionary of Place Names in the British Isles A Dictionary of True Etymologies Who's Who in Classical Mythology Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (this edition was published after his death) Cassell's Dictionary of Word Histories Dictionary of Irish Place Names Cassell's Dictionary of First Names The Guinness Book of Numbers Room's Dictionary of distinguishables Ntc's Dictionary of Changes in Meaning The Fascinating Origins of Everyday Words Brewer's dictionary of names Tuttle dictionary of dedications Room's Dictionary of Differences Concise dictionary of word origins Ntc's Dictionary of Word Origins Dictionary of Confusing Words and Meanings Dunces, Gourmands & Petticoats Cassell Dictionary of Proper Names A Concise Dictionary of Modern Place Names in Great Britain and Ireland Dictionary of Changes in Meaning Nicknames of Places: Origins And Meanings of the Alternate And Secondary Dictionary of Coin Names. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987. African Placenames Dictionary of Translated Names and Titles Dictionary of Cryptic Crossword Clues Dictionary of Dedications Room's Classical Dictionary The Street Names of England The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Confusible Words Dictionary of Astronomical Names A dictionary of contrasting pairs The Naming of Animals A Dictionary of Art Titles Guide to British Place Names Dictionary of World Place-names Derived from English Names The Pronunciation of Placenames: A Worldwide Dictionary Dictionary of place-names in the British Isles A Dictionary of Music Titles Alternate Names of Places: A Worldwide Dictionary Ntc's Dictionary of Trade Name Origins Placenames of France Bloomsbury Dictionary of Dedications Literally Entitled Encyclopedia of corporate names worldwide Ntc's Classical Dictionary Cassell's Dictionary of Modern American History Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of First Names The Hutchinson Pocket Dictionary of Place Names Placenames of Russia and the Former Soviet Union Room's Dictionary of Distinguishables and Confusibles An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies Dictionary Of British Place Names