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. Before becoming a full-time author, he was employed at King's College School, Cambridge, where he taught modern languages and was a senior house master. He later, until 1984, worked as a senior lecturer in Russian for the Ministry of Defence.

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. ISBN 0710007027
 * Naming Names: Stories of Pseudonyms and Name Changes with a Who's Who. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. ISBN 0710009208
 * Dictionary of Trade Name Origins. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. ISBN 0710008392
 * Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable. 2000. (Editor) ISBN 9780304350964
 * Cassell's Foreign Words and Phrases. London: Cassell & Co., 2000. ISBN 0304350087
 * 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 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. ISBN 0710206461
 * 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