Although two compilations of the world's turtles have appeared within the last ten years (Wermuth and Mertens, 1977; Pritchard, 1979), publication delays and rapidly changing turtle taxonomy have left each out-of-date, and neither systematically included common names. This list has two primary purposes: to inventory the latest published (and in some cases unpublished) taxonomic opinions, and to begin efforts to standardize English common names. It should be made clear that the common names listed here are recommendations only; they hold no official status and some may be changed following future taxonomic studies. Like other such lists, this one should be considered preliminary.