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Featured
Name of the Year 2015: Caitlyn Jenner
Fictional Names: Rey, Finn, and Poe … Names from the new Star Wars movie, which all have onomastic and cultural significance in how they (1) were created, (2) represent a character, and (3) will impact baby names
Personal Name: Caitlyn Jenner … representing many LGBT onomastic issues
Place Name: Denali … Mount McKinley Will Again Be Called Denali and the onomastic debate surrounding that change
Trade Name: Charlie Hebdo … French satirical magazine attacked by terrorists, whose name gave raise to the hash tag #jesuischarlie
Name of the Year: Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner was chosen the Name of the Year for 2015 by the American Name Society at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 8, 2016.
The name of the athlete and reality television celebrity who was formerly known as Bruce Jenner became known throughout the world during 2015. “Caitlyn Jenner is an example of how people in modern times are asserting their own identities by choosing their own names,” said Iman Nick, President of ANS. “Many cultures have allowed people to choose their own names after important life changes, and this right is being revived today in a positive ways by those like Caitlyn Jenner.”
Caitlyn Jenner was also voted Personal Name of the Year for 2015.
Charlie Hebdo was ANS’s Trade Name of the Year. The name of this French satirical magazine whose Paris headquarters was attacked in January 2015 by terrorists has become a symbol of free speech around the world. Its iconic status was only reinforced by the more recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
Denali was voted Place Name of the Year. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell ordered the official national name of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, be changed to Denali last August. This put the federal designation in line with the official state of Alaska designation, but was criticized by many in Ohio, original home of President McKinley. The emotions aroused on both sides show the power of naming.
Rey, Finn, and Poe were voted Fictional Names of the Year. The names of three new characters in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” were cited for their expected impact on baby names in 2016. Rey is noteworthy for being a mostly male name given to a strong female character. Finn is significant as a name because it replaces the character’s impersonal designation, FN-2187, when he leaves the stormtroopers and joins the Resistance.
The American Name Society is a scholarly organization founded in 1951 devoted to studying all aspects of names and naming. The Name of the Year vote has been held since 2004. “Ferguson” was the 2014 Name of the Year, “Francis” for 2013, and “Sandy” for 2012.
For further information contact Dr. Cleveland Evans, chair of the Name of the Year committee, at cevans@bellevue.edu or 402-210-7458.
ANS 2016 Conference Program
The ANS 2016 Conference Program is now available.
The program includes:
- schedule of presentations
- keynote address information
- awardee information
- abstracts and biographies of presenters
2016 Slate of Nominees for ANS Officers
The American Name Society is pleased to announce the 2016 Slate of Nominees for ANS Officer positions:
- Vice President: Dr. Dorothy Dodge Robbins, Louisiana Tech University, USA
- Allied Conference Coordinator*: Dr. Andreas Gavrielatos, University of Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
- Member-at-large: Dr. Jan Tent, University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA
- Membership Officer*: Ms.
Call for Nominations for the 2015 Name of the Year
The American Name Society requests nominations for the “Names of the Year for 2015”. The names selected will be ones that best illustrate, through their creation and/or use during the past 12 months, important trends in the culture of the United States and Canada.
Nominations are called for in the four following categories:
Personal Names: Names or nicknames of individual real people, animals, or hurricanes.
Place Names: Names or nicknames of any real geographical location, including all natural features, political subdivisions, streets, and buildings. Names of national or ethnic groups would be included here.
Trade Names: Names of real commercial products, as well as names of both for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations, including businesses, universities, and political parties.
Fictional/Literary Names: Names of fictional persons, places, or institutions, in any written, oral, or visual medium, as well as titles of art works, books, plays, television programs, or movies.
Winners will be chosen in each category, and then a final vote will determine the overall Name of the Year for 2015. Anyone may nominate a name. All members of the American Name Society attending the annual meeting will select the winner from among the nominees at the annual ANS meeting in Washington, D. C. on January 8, 2016. The winner will be announced that evening at a joint celebration with the American Dialect Society.
Advance nominations must be received before January 5, 2016, though nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting. Please send your nominations, along with a brief rationale, to Dr. Cleveland K. Evans at cevans[@]bellevue.edu
Reminder: Emerging Scholar Award Submissions DUE 11/16/15
Reminder: Emerging Scholar Award Submissions are due Monday, November 16, 2015.
Presenters for the 2016 ANS Conference who are eligible for and interested in applying for the ANS Emerging Scholar Award (ESA), should have received all pertinent information.
Please send submissions to the chair of this year’s ANS-ESA Selection Committee, Lisa Radding: raddinglisa [ @ ] gmail.com.… Read More
ANS Panel on Literary Onomastics at the Modern Language Association Conference, Austin, TX, January 8, 2016
On the 8th of January 2016, the ANS will be hosting a special panel on literary onomastics during the annual conference of the Modern Language Association (MLA) in Austin, Texas. The title of this year’s panel is “Names in the Literary Workplace”.
Three papers will be presented during this event:
- Linguistic Imperialism in Doctor Dolittle (to be presented by Jonathan Rey Lee
- Screen Names: Names and the Limits of the Human in Don DeLillo’s The Body Artist (Candace Caraco)
- Naming and the Work of Revolution: Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies (Christine De Vinne).
The official scientific abstracts for this event can be found here.
The panel will take place from 10:15am to 11:30am, in the Austin Convention Center.
Interested in becoming an ANS Officer?
Have you ever thought about getting more actively involved in the ANS? Well, here is your opportunity! The ANS is presently looking for people interested in becoming an ANS officer. At present there are four different offices open. See the ANS Officer Information document for detailed descriptions about each of these positions and the official application form.… Read More
ANS conference acceptance notification by September 30th.
The ANS Abstract Review Committee is encouraged by the quality of work submitted this year. Stay tuned for notification of acceptance by September 30th.
Record Number of Abstracts Submitted for the American Name Society Annual Meeting
U.S. Capitol at Dusk
The American Name Society has received a record number of abstracts for this year’s annual meeting.
Join us January 7-10, 2016, in Washington, D.C to hear these papers presented and contribute to an onomastic dialogue.