Member News

Announcement: Best Article of the Year 2023 in Names: A Journal of Onomastics

Russell Fielding, author of the NAMES 2023 Article of the Year (Photo by Josee Cole)

The 2024 Winner of the NAMES Best Article of the Year is Dr. Russell Fielding (Photo by Josee Cole) of HTC Honours College and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina, USA. The title of his article is “‘A Change of Name During Sickness’: Surveying the Widespread Practice of Renaming in Response to Physical Illness”  [NAMES vol. 71, no. 1: 11-28].

The second place winner is “Using the ANPS Typology to Unearth the Relationship Between Japanese Sign Language (JSL) Endonymic Toponym Distribution and Regional Identity” by Johnny George of Meiji University, Department of Political Science and Economics, Tokyo, JAPAN [NAMES vol. 71, no. 3 :1-19]. The third place winner is “A Case Study of De-Russification of Ukrainian Hodonyms: Rigged Trial or Justice Restored?” by Oleksiy Gnatiuk and Anatoliy Melnychuk of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine [NAMES vol. 71, no. 4: 40-55].

Publication Announcement: Names: A Journal of Onomastics 71, no. 4 is now available

The latest issue of Names: A Journal of Onomastics is now available online! Click here to read the latest in onomastics scholarship in volume 71, number 4 of Names. A table of contents for this special issue on Ukrainian Names and Naming appears below.

Names is published as an open access journal available to all via the Journal’s home at the University of Pittsburgh. All journal content, including the content found in previous volumes, is available for free online as downloadable PDF files.

Special Issue: Ukrainian Names and Naming

Table of Contents

Editorial

Editorial by I. M. Nick

Articles

Romanian-Ukrainian Anthroponymic Contact on the Interstate Border along the Tisza River by Oliviu Felecan and Adelina Emilia Mihali

Homeland on Foreign Maps: Toponymy of Western Ukraine on Austrian, Interwar-Polish, and Soviet Topographic Maps with Special Focus on Toponymy of the Carpathian Mountains by Wojciech Włoskowicz

A Case Study of De-Russification of Ukrainian Hodonyms: Rigged Trial or Justice Restored? by Oleksiy Gnatiuk and Anatoliy Melnychuk

Вільні Люди ‘Free People’ and Надійний тил ‘Reliable Rear’: Names of Ukrainian Resistance and Support by Olena Kadochnikova

Ukrainian Onomastic Identity Across 15 Years (2006–2021) by Olena Karpenko and Valeriia Neklesova

Book Reviews

Empty Signs, Historical Imaginaries: The Entangles Nationalization of Names and Naming in a Late Habsburg Borderland by I.M. Nick

Naming and Othering in Africa: Imagining Supremacy and Inferiority through Language by Michel Nguessan

View All Issues

 

Registration opens for the 2024 ANS Conference, Online, February 17, 2024

The first ANS 2024 Annual Conference will be held online, using Zoom, Saturday February 17, 2024. This one-day event will feature presentations from 16 scholars, as well as updates on the ANS and a report on the Name of the Year Discussion.

The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend!  Each attendee must fill out this form and pay separately.

Detailed information for attendees, along with the book of abstracts, will be sent in January.

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.

The schedule will be available as soon as possible.

For more information about the ANS Conference, please visit our Conference Page.

Call for Nominations: 2023 Names of the Year

Call for Nominations:


2023 Names of the Year

 

The American Name Society requests nominations for the 2023 “Names of the Year” (NoY) vote. Nominations should demonstrate significant linguistic features through their formation, productivity, and/or application, irrespective of associations with the name-bearer. It’s not just your favorite name! Nominations should also reflect important trends in US society during the past year. It is not necessary for a nominated name to have originated in the US.

Nominations are called for the following categories:

  • Personal Names: Names of groups or individuals, including nicknames, given names, surnames, or a combination of these.
  • Place Names: Names or nicknames of any real geographical locations (e.g., rivers, lakes, mountains, streets, buildings, regions, countries, etc.).
  • Brand Names: Names of commercial products, companies, organizations, and businesses (both for-profit and non-profit). This category includes personal names used as brands for commerce.
  • Artistic/Literary Names: Names of fictional persons, places, or institutions, in any written, oral, or visual medium (e.g., titles of art or musical works, books, plays, tv programs, movies, games, etc.).
  • E-Names: Names of online platforms, websites, and movements, as well as hashtags, usernames, etc.
  • Miscellaneous Names: Names that do not fit in any of the above five categories.

The same name can be nominated for more than one category. Each nomination must be supported with an explanation. The NoY Committee reserves the right to reclassify nominations and to reject nominations that do not meet the requirements. Nominations will be evaluated on their linguistic innovation, potential to influence US language use, and ability to capture national attention. The popularity or notoriety of the name-bearer is not prioritized in the evaluation process.

During the NoY special session, the NoY Coordinator will present all of the accepted nominations by category. Attending members discuss the nominations and the NoY may accept additional nominations from the floor. Once the nominations for a category are finalized, the attending members vote to determine a winner for each category. The category winners will automatically be put up for a vote for overall Name of the Year. In addition, the NoY Coordinator may accept nominations from the floor.

Although anyone may nominate a name in advance. However, only ANS members who attend the NoY discussion may vote during the special session. This year’s NoY session will take place at 12:00 pm [Noon] Pacific on January 4th 2024, held via Zoom. To make your nominations, complete the online form found here:

https://nick662.typeform.com/to/qiS2bXas

Advance nominations must be received no later than December 31st, 2023, at midnight Pacific.

Registration opens for the 2024 ANS Conference, Online, February 17, 2024

The first ANS 2024 Annual Conference will be held online, using Zoom, Saturday February 17, 2024. This one-day event will feature presentations from 16 scholars, as well as updates on the ANS and a report on the Name of the Year Discussion.

The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend!  Each attendee must fill out this form and pay separately.

Detailed information for attendees, along with the book of abstracts, will be sent in January.

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.

The schedule will be available as soon as possible.

For more information about the ANS Conference, please visit our Conference Page.

Registration opens for the 2024 ANS Conference, Online, February 17, 2024

The first ANS 2024 Annual Conference will be held online, using Zoom, Saturday February 17, 2024. This one-day event will feature presentations from 16 scholars, as well as updates on the ANS and a report on the Name of the Year Discussion.

The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend!  Each attendee must fill out this form and pay separately.

Detailed information for attendees, along with the book of abstracts, will be sent in January.

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.

The schedule will be available as soon as possible.

For more information about the ANS Conference, please visit our Conference Page.

Registration opens for the 2024 ANS Conference, Online, February 17, 2024

The first ANS 2024 Annual Conference will be held online, using Zoom, Saturday February 17, 2024. This one-day event will feature presentations from 16 scholars, as well as updates on the ANS and a report on the Name of the Year Discussion.

The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend!  Each attendee must fill out this form and pay separately.

Detailed information for attendees, along with the book of abstracts, will be sent in January.

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.

The schedule will be available as soon as possible.

For more information about the ANS Conference, please visit our Conference Page.

Call for Nominations: 2023 Names of the Year

Call for Nominations:


2023 Names of the Year

 

The American Name Society requests nominations for the 2023 “Names of the Year” (NoY) vote. Nominations should demonstrate significant linguistic features through their formation, productivity, and/or application, irrespective of associations with the name-bearer. It’s not just your favorite name! Nominations should also reflect important trends in US society during the past year. It is not necessary for a nominated name to have originated in the US.

Nominations are called for the following categories:

  • Personal Names: Names of groups or individuals, including nicknames, given names, surnames, or a combination of these.
  • Place Names: Names or nicknames of any real geographical locations (e.g., rivers, lakes, mountains, streets, buildings, regions, countries, etc.).
  • Brand Names: Names of commercial products, companies, organizations, and businesses (both for-profit and non-profit). This category includes personal names used as brands for commerce.
  • Artistic/Literary Names: Names of fictional persons, places, or institutions, in any written, oral, or visual medium (e.g., titles of art or musical works, books, plays, tv programs, movies, games, etc.).
  • E-Names: Names of online platforms, websites, and movements, as well as hashtags, usernames, etc.
  • Miscellaneous Names: Names that do not fit in any of the above five categories.

The same name can be nominated for more than one category. Each nomination must be supported with an explanation. The NoY Committee reserves the right to reclassify nominations and to reject nominations that do not meet the requirements. Nominations will be evaluated on their linguistic innovation, potential to influence US language use, and ability to capture national attention. The popularity or notoriety of the name-bearer is not prioritized in the evaluation process.

During the NoY special session, the NoY Coordinator will present all of the accepted nominations by category. Attending members discuss the nominations and the NoY may accept additional nominations from the floor. Once the nominations for a category are finalized, the attending members vote to determine a winner for each category. The category winners will automatically be put up for a vote for overall Name of the Year. In addition, the NoY Coordinator may accept nominations from the floor.

Although anyone may nominate a name in advance. However, only ANS members who attend the NoY discussion may vote during the special session. This year’s NoY session will take place at 12:00 pm [Noon] Pacific on January 4th 2024, held via Zoom. To make your nominations, complete the online form found here:

https://nick662.typeform.com/to/qiS2bXas

Advance nominations must be received no later than December 31st, 2023, at midnight Pacific.

Registration is Now Open: ANS Name of the Year Workshop (14 October 2023)

Name of the Year Workshop (14 October 2023)

Registration for the Name of the Year Workshop is now open. Please follow this link to register for the event:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ans-name-of-the-year-workshop-tickets-718911211787

Tickets to this workshop are free! 

The workshop will be held virtually (via Zoom) and it is scheduled for 9:00 am Pacific on 14 October 2023. This workshop event will focus on clarifying nomination and voting procedures for the ANS 2023 Name of the Year vote, held in January 2024. We’ve recently revised the Call for Name of the Year, and will provide it to participants before the workshop.

This workshop will be conducted by Laurel Sutton (ANS President), I.M. Nick (NAMES Editor-in-Chief), and Star Vanguri (ANS Secretary). The URL to our Zoom room will be sent to everyone who registers for this workshop.

Register for the event today!