Registration opens for the 2020 ANS Conference, New Orleans, LA, January 2-5, 2020

American Name SocietyRegistration is now open for the 2020 ANS Conference in New Orleans, LA. The ANS conference will take place in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of American (LSA) Conference from January 2-5, 2020.

To register, you must join the ANS or renew your ANS membership.

LSA Registration is now open! Go to the LSA Meeting page to register. You must be a member of the LSA (as well as the ANS) in order to attend.

You can also reserve your room at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside via the LSA. Use the LSA link to receive a special discounted room rate.

Once your membership is up to date, you can register online here, or download a PDF of the Conference Registration Form and mail it to ANS Treasurer Saundra Wright, as per the instructions on the form.

For more information about the ANS Conference and the LSA Conference, including rate and hotel information, please visit our Conference Page.

How do paint companies name their hues?

Hannah Yeo, Benjamin Moore’s color and design expert, said names play an important role when people are making color selections. While color descriptions such as ‘light blue’ are helpful to narrow down colors and are quite straightforward, we also look for names that evoke positive associations, experiences and are inspiring.

Charlotte Cosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball, said inspiration for their color names comes from all over. Cosby travels extensively for work, so she gets lots of name (and color) ideas from the places she visits, but just as important is the inspiration she finds in the landscape and dialect of England’s Dorset County, where the company is based. Farrow & Ball’s naming process is organic, Cosby said.

US state set to outlaw the name of the veggie burger

Soon, stores in Arkansas might not be able to call veggie burgers veggie burgers, or soy milk soy milk. That’s because a new law will prohibit what officials are calling misleading and confusing packaging on food items. Advocates for the law say that people might buy a veggie burger and be confused, because it is not meat-based. Although the word “veggie” does seem to offer a clue.

The law would prohibit the use of terms like “meat”, “sausage”, and “beef” on products that are not made from animals, as well as prohibit the labelling of items like cauliflower rice as “rice” or soy milk as “milk”. It would be punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 for each violation. Similar laws have passed in states throughout the country including Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Dakota.

Why diet coke is considering stripping its name from some cans

Diet Coke is considering stripping its brand name off some cans sold in stores next year as part of a far-reaching diversity campaign.

The effort, called “[unlabeled],” is meant to spark a conversation about “the complexities of labels in today’s society—from the empowering and earned to the unwarranted and imposed,” according to campaign materials.

The campaign by Anomaly got a soft launch in June 2019 when the brand began distributing unlabeled Diet Coke cans at experiential marketing events and at panel discussions it sponsored. For instance, Diet Coke hosted a mixer at a recent event in Los Angeles put on by women’s empowerment group Girlboss.

Seeking New ANS Officers for 2020

Ever thought about getting more involved with the American Name Society but did not know how?  Here is your opportunity!  The American Name Society is currently looking for a few good people who are interested in joining the Executive Council.  Starting January 2020, new officers will be needed to fill the positions listed below.

To apply for one or more of these positions, please fill out the application form on this page.

 

Secretary (2020-2022)

The person in this position serves as a voting member of the ANS Executive Council and its various committees (e.g., the Nominating Committee).  Aside from these duties, the Secretary is responsible for taking and disseminating the official minutes from the ANS Business Meetings, creating the ANS newsletters, and sending our ANS members announcements regarding important events (e.g., the Nominating Committee’s Slate). The ideal candidate for this position must have outstanding writing and editing skills in English and be comfortable working with email mailing programs like MailChimp.

Membership Officer (2020-2022)

In addition to being a voting member of the ANS Executive Council (EC), the person in this office is responsible for managing the ANS membership database, both institutional and individual.  To accomplish this task, this officer must liaison with ANS members, the ANS Executive Council, the ANS Treasurer, and Taylor and Francis, the current publisher of the ANS Journal, NAMES. The person selected for this position must be computer literate and be comfortable working with spreadsheets.

Allied Conference Coordinator (2020-2022)

The person elected to this position is principally responsible for organizing the ANS session at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association. This activity involves issuing a call for papers, assembling a team of abstract reviewers, selecting three authors whose work will be presented at the MLA conference, and coordinating the presentation of the three winning abstracts with the MLA administration. In addition to these duties, as a voting member of the ANS Executive Council (EC), the Allied Conference Coordinator participates in the legislative decision-making of the Society. Although the term of service for this position is for two years, the holder of this office may be re-elected pending approval by the EC. Given the fact that this position requires close communication with the MLA, candidates who have a demonstrated expertise in literary onomastics will receive preference.

Member-at-large (2020-2022)

The person elected to this position will serve as a voting member of the Executive Council (EC) and is expected to participate actively in the legislative decision-making involved in resolutions and motions placed before the EC.  In addition to these duties, members-at-large serve on various auxiliary sub-committees to, for example, help with the nomination of new officers, coordination of the annual conference, and organization of allied conferences.  Officers in this position can renew their term of service twice.

 

Seeking New ANS Officers for 2020

Ever thought about getting more involved with the American Name Society but did not know how?  Here is your opportunity!  The American Name Society is currently looking for a few good people who are interested in joining the Executive Council.  Starting January 2020, new officers will be needed to fill the positions listed below.

To apply for one or more of these positions, please fill out the application form on this page.

 

Secretary (2020-2022)

The person in this position serves as a voting member of the ANS Executive Council and its various committees (e.g., the Nominating Committee).  Aside from these duties, the Secretary is responsible for taking and disseminating the official minutes from the ANS Business Meetings, creating the ANS newsletters, and sending our ANS members announcements regarding important events (e.g., the Nominating Committee’s Slate). The ideal candidate for this position must have outstanding writing and editing skills in English and be comfortable working with email mailing programs like MailChimp.

Membership Officer (2020-2022)

In addition to being a voting member of the ANS Executive Council (EC), the person in this office is responsible for managing the ANS membership database, both institutional and individual.  To accomplish this task, this officer must liaison with ANS members, the ANS Executive Council, the ANS Treasurer, and Taylor and Francis, the current publisher of the ANS Journal, NAMES. The person selected for this position must be computer literate and be comfortable working with spreadsheets.

Allied Conference Coordinator (2020-2022)

The person elected to this position is principally responsible for organizing the ANS session at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association. This activity involves issuing a call for papers, assembling a team of abstract reviewers, selecting three authors whose work will be presented at the MLA conference, and coordinating the presentation of the three winning abstracts with the MLA administration. In addition to these duties, as a voting member of the ANS Executive Council (EC), the Allied Conference Coordinator participates in the legislative decision-making of the Society. Although the term of service for this position is for two years, the holder of this office may be re-elected pending approval by the EC. Given the fact that this position requires close communication with the MLA, candidates who have a demonstrated expertise in literary onomastics will receive preference.

Member-at-large (2020-2022)

The person elected to this position will serve as a voting member of the Executive Council (EC) and is expected to participate actively in the legislative decision-making involved in resolutions and motions placed before the EC.  In addition to these duties, members-at-large serve on various auxiliary sub-committees to, for example, help with the nomination of new officers, coordination of the annual conference, and organization of allied conferences.  Officers in this position can renew their term of service twice.

 

Third Call for Papers: ANS 2020, New Orleans, LA, January 2-5, 2020

The deadline is fast approaching!

The American Name Society (ANS) is inviting proposals for papers for its next annual conference. The 2020 conference will be held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. Abstracts in any area of onomastic research are welcome. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is July 30, 2019. To submit a proposal, simply complete the 2020 Author Information Form.

Please email this completed form to ANS Vice President Laurel Sutton using the following address: <laurelasutton@gmail.com>. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2020” in the subject line of your email.  Presenters who may need additional time to secure international payments and travel visas to the United States are urged to submit their proposal as soon as possible.

All proposals will be subjected to blind review. Official notification of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before September 30, 2019. All authors whose papers have been accepted must be current members of the ANS and need to register with both the ANS and the Linguistic Society of America. Please feel free to contact Dr. Dorothy Dodge Robbins or Laurel Sutton should you have any questions or concerns.

A downloadable PDF of the Call for Papers can be found here.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

Ancient Greek and Roman Names

 

When you think of ancient names, do you think of Romans with multiple names like Gaius Julius Caesar, but of Greeks with single names like Plato, Aristotle, or Pericles? There is a good reason for that. It is thought that most Indo-Europeans had single names, with no idea of an inheritable family name. The Romans were exceptional.

If you want to find out more, read about the naming conventions from Athens through the Roman Republic here.