Leslie Dunkling

Leslie Alan Dunkling (born 1935) is an author known for his authoritative work on books about names, 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. As a mature student he qualified as a teacher in 1961, then gained a BA (Hons) degree in English at University College London. This was followed by an MA in linguistics from Stockholm University, 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, 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 grew, place names, followed by other related areas.

He has lived since 1971 in Thames Ditton, Surrey, with his French wife, Nicole (née Tripet).