The Grand Rapids, MI food and snack manufacturer Kellogg is rebranding itself Kellanova, drawing from the Latin “nova” or new. Many other international corporations have also followed suit by utilizing Latin words and derivatives in their branding. Read more over at the Wall Street Journal.
In a recent investigation published in Slate, Demetria Glace explores the names of action heroes, asking the question, “Why is every action hero named Jack, John, James, or, occasionally, Jason?” While data demonstrate that not every action hero has a J name, many indeed do have a name beginning with a J. Included is a consultation with ANS member Jennifer Moss:
“Jennifer Moss, from BabyNames.com, told me over email, “When I sit down to watch a new show and hear that the protagonist is named Jack, I think ‘Isn’t that over, yet?’ ” Going back to the data, I wanted to see how the trend has changed over time and whether we are seeing an end to it. From the data dating back to 1962, J-named action stars overtake all other names a few times, in the early 1970s, for a moment in 1984, and last in 2002. It’s already been more than two decades since the J’s reigned supreme.”
Sandra Day O’Connor (Image: Public Domain)
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his March 26th column, he discusses the name “Sandra”.
Are you observing Women’s History Month? If so, you should celebrate today as Sandra Day O’Connor’s 93rd birthday.
O’Connor became the first woman Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States Sept. 25, 1981. She left the court Jan. 31, 2006.
Sandra is originally a short form of other names. Most name dictionaries state it was introduced to English speakers by George Meredith’s 1887 novel “Sandra Belloni.” The full name of the heroine is Emilia Alessandra Belloni. Alessandra is the Italian form of Alexandra, Greek “defending men.”
Sandra’s history is actually more complicated. In 1860, the first two Sandras in the United States census, 28-year-old Sandra Nason of Massachusetts and 32-year-old Sandra Adams of Ohio, were both “Cassandra” (Greek “shining upon men”) in other records found on Ancestry.com.
Italians weren’t the only ones to shorten Alexandra. Sandra was also used where it was spelled Aleksandra, including most of eastern Europe. In 1900, 46 of the 211 Sandras in the census were born in Finland. Another 10 were from Sweden or Norway. Only two were born in Italy.
Meredith’s novel was first published in 1864 as “Emilia in England.” The heroine, a professional singer deciding between two suitors, is called “Sandra” by her father. Everyone else calls her “Emilia.” “Sandra” only occurs 22 times in the story, while there are 880 examples of “Emilia.”
Publishers in 1887 probably thought the novel would sell better if the then more exotic name became the title. They were right; “Sandra Belloni” stayed in print for decades. However, the use of Sandra as an American name owes as much to Cassandra and Finnish immigrants as it does to Meredith’s Italian heroine.
Sandra first was a top thousand baby name in 1913. It got a boost in 1924 from the film “Sandra.” Sandra, who has a dual personality, abandons her husband for adventurous affairs in Europe, returning home to be redeemed by his forgiveness. Barbara LaMarr, called “The Girl Who Is Too Beautiful” by fan magazines, played Sandra.
When Sandra Day O’Connor was born in 1930, Sandra ranked 392nd. Sandra’s stock soared during the Great Depression. It 1939 it ranked 13th. It fit in with other booming fashions like Linda, Barbara, Nancy and Sharon. Sandra peaked at 5th in 1947.
Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Sandra”!
A photo of “Sweeping Beauty” (Photo by The City of Tampa, Public Domain)
No, these are not counterfeit DVD titles encountered in an open air market. These are the new names for pieces of municipal equipment, including plows, garbage trucks, and street sweepers. One might remember “Boaty McBoatface“. It’s kind of like that: a city asks local residents to decide on the name of the machinery and the internet responds. Read more over at The Wall Street Journal.
Brendan Fraser (Photo by Montclair Film, CC-BY-2.0)
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his March 12th column, he discusses the name “Brendan”.
Will Brendan win an Oscar tonight?
Brendan Fraser (born 1968) is nominated for Best Actor for portraying a morbidly obese man in “The Whale.” He’s already won top prizes from the Screen Actors Guild and Critics’ Choice Awards.
Irish actor Brendan Gleeson (born 1955) is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” where his character cuts off the fingers of his left hand to spite his former best friend.
The Welsh word breenhin, meaning “prince,” was turned into the name Brénainn in ancient Ireland. Monks writing in Latin made this “Brendanus.” That led to the modern Irish Gaelic Breandán and English Brendan.
Seventeen medieval Irish saints were called Brénainn. The most famous, St. Brendan of Clonfert (484-577), is called “Brendan the Navigator.” Three centuries after his death, “The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot” appeared, claiming Brendan and 16 monks discovered a blessed forested island full of songbirds where the sun never set.
If St. Brendan’s Isle wasn’t completely imaginary, it was probably based on sightings of Atlantic islands like Madeira. However, since 1900, the theory that Brendan reached the Americas centuries before Columbus has been popular. Many songs, poems and novels are based on that speculation.
Despite that, Brendan vanished as a given name when Ireland’s British overlords prohibited most Gaelic names in official records. It was revived by Irish nationalists in the late 19th century.
The first Brendan in the United States census was an Irish-born monk at Indiana’s University of Notre Dame in 1870. He probably adopted the name after taking vows.
The oldest Brendan in the 1880 census, 36-year-old Canadian-born Brendan Letourneau of West Waterville, Maine, was probably an example of the 19th-century French Canadian fashion of searching the saints’ calendar for obscure baby names.
The first American-born example, 9-year-old Brendan Merrigan, lived with Irish immigrant parents Patrick and Mary in New York City in 1880.
Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Brendan”!
An aerial view of the former “Suicide Six” Ski Resort (Photo by Jared C. Benedict, CC-BY-4.0)
An article recently published on VTDigger explores local place names and their broader cultural significance. Last year, the owners of the ski hill known as “Suicide Six” changed its name to “Saskadena Six”, a term that means “standing mountain” in the Abenaki language. The article cites both local residents and onomastics experts, specifically our own past president Laurel Sutton. The article reads:
People create names mostly for convenience, Sutton said, describing the process as innately human. “We make up names. We make up words. We’re people — that’s what they do. But words have meaning,” she said. “There’s nothing inherent about a name that makes you have to stick with it.” Over time, people become emotionally invested in names, Sutton said, which can explain their resistance to change. When she works with companies in the midst of a name change, Sutton often finds employees upset at the idea of leaving behind an old name. Her work then becomes largely psychological. “It’s a little like family therapy,” Sutton said, describing corporate name changes.
“Children’s Literature” (Photo by Shambhavi Karapurkar, CC-BY-4.0)
Call for Book Chapter Proposals
Chosen, Bestowed, Acquired, Assigned: Names and Naming in Youth Literature
Edited by I. M. Nick and Anne W. Anderson
Just as names are among the first and most basic means by which we order and make sense of our world, so too do names in works of literature help readers order and make sense of created worlds. Moreover, names in literature often connote more than they denote. This edited collection will consider how names, depictions of naming practices, and explorations of name theory in youth literature can enrich our understanding of created worlds and, by implication, of our real world. For the purposes of this collection, we draw on the Children’s Literature Association’s conception of literature as “books, films, and other media created for, or adopted by, children and young adults around the world, past, present, and future” (https://www.childlitassn.org).
Chapters proposed for this volume might address names, naming, and name theory in youth literature of any media and/or modality, from any perspective, and using the analytical tools of any discipline. From the names of places, people, animals, and plants to the monikers of fairies and goblins, cyborgs and droids, any type of name from any time period or from any language is welcome. Please see the American Name Society’s glossary of naming terminology (https://www.americannamesociety.org/names/). The primary works examined may be fiction or non-fiction. The only subject-matter stipulation for submission is that the primary intended reading audience of the piece(s) of literature investigated must be youth (i.e., children, adolescents, and/or early adults).
The following is a partial list of possible topics, but we also welcome being surprised by other pertinent suggestions.
For further information about this call, please feel free to contact Dr. Anne W. Anderson (YouthLit2023@gmail.com). We look forward to receiving your proposals!
ONOMASTICS & LITERATURE
Call for Papers
Onomastics & Literature, the Italian Society for literary onomastics studies based at the University of Pisa, is issuing a Call for Papers for the XXVI International O&L Symposium to held at the University of Cagliari, 19-20-21 October 2023.
The topics it will focus on are the following:
Those who intend to participate in the Conference or who wish to submit their article to the editorial staff of the journal “Il Nome nel Testo” are requested to send Donatella Bremer (donatella.bremer@unipi.it) no later than 30 June 2023 an abstract, not generic, but sufficiently indicative (about 2200 characters with spaces) of their contribution.
Please also attach a short resume.
The length of the articles to be submitted to the peer review process for a possible publication in the journal “Il Nome nel Testo” must be around 12 pages.
For more information see the O&L webpage http://oel.fileli.unipi.it/
or contact Giorgio Sale: giosale@uniss.it
