https://www1.nga.mil/ProductsServices/GeographicNames/Pages/default.aspx - This is a fantastic resource if you need a list of place names. You can download a file containing names covering the whole world.

The title is horrible but clear, at least to me. I only have one link so far, but it's a good one. http://blog.jclark.com/2007/12/thai-personal-names.html - There's an election coming up in Thailand on December 23rd and the streets are lined with election posters. As a bit of an i18n geek, I find it interesting that the posters almost all make the candidates' first names at least twice as big as their last names. If you're also an i18n geek, your reaction might well be: "it must be because Thais write their family name first, followed by their given name". But you would be wrong. Thais have a given name and a family name; the given name is written first, and the family name last.