Name News

University of California Hastings College of the Law will Change Name, Drop “Hastings”

Stained Glass showcasing the “Battle of Hastings” at UC College of the Law (Public Domain)

University of California Hastings College of Law will be known as the “UC College of the Law, San Francisco” until a new name is chosen, potentially by January 2023. The Board of Directors voted for the change after it was revealed that Serranus Clinton Hastings was involved in the mass killings of the indigenous populations in Mendocino County in the 1850’s. The local tribal council has supported efforts to rename the law school.

Read more over at KRON 4 news.

Tuck Woodstock’s Advice for Changing your Name in America

Photo by Coastal Elite, Halifax, NS (CC-BY-SA-2.0)

In a recent installment of Life Kit on NPR, Tuck Woodstock explores the process of changing one’s name—a process that they have undertaken numerous times over their life. While the process can be arduous for trans people as they adjust to a new public identity, the article and accompanying audio recording outlines important considerations and the steps involved in changing a name. One tip: test drive your potential name at a coffee shop.

Read and listen over at NPR.

Symposium: “People’s Names: Identities and Inequalities” at Nottingham Trent University, 14 September 2022 (Online)

“Hello my name is…” badge (Public Domain)

From Dr. Laura Coffey-Glover:

 

“People’s Names: Identities and Inequalities

On behalf of the People’s Names Research Network, Associate Professor of Sociology Dr Jane Pilcher of Nottingham Trent University is pleased to present this free online globally available symposium on names, identities and inequalities.

From: Wednesday 14th September 2022, 1.30 pm (GMT)

To: Wednesday 14th September 2022, 5pm (GMT).

Where: online, with booking via Eventbrite

 

Event details

Personal names are core components of identities – and therefore are also inherently linked to issues of equality and social justice. This free online symposium features a range of international social scientists at different stages of their careers. Their work showcases the opportunities the study of names presents for our understanding of people’s identities and experiences, and how the social science of personal names can help promote social and democratic inclusion and transformation at global, national and local levels.  Contact: Dr. Jane Pilcher, Associate Professor of Sociology (jane.pilcher@ntu.ac.uk)

 

Keynote speaker – Dr Karen Pennesi, Western University, Canada: (Don’t) Say Their Names: Indexing Social Injustice through (Re-)Naming

 

Karen Pennesi is Associate Professor of Linguistic and Sociocultural Anthropology. Karen’s research explores how language plays an integral part in the processes of constructing individual and group identities. Her current focus is on personal names, and their importance in relation to immigration, social integration and belonging. Karen is particularly interested in the experiences of people whose names do not fit into the legal, institutional and conventional frameworks for the structure, spelling and pronunciation of names in Canada. Her research aims to promote understanding and respect for everyone in linguistically and culturally diverse societies.”

Booking information

 

Programme

13.30 – 13.35 Welcome Jane Pilcher, Nottingham Trent University, UK The People’s Names Research Network
13.35 – 13.55 Paper 1 Emilia Aldrin, Halmstad University, Sweden

 

 

 Naming Diversity: Textbook name choice as a mirror of evolving cultural & gender constructions in Sweden from the 1920’s to the 2010’s
13.55 – 14.15 Paper 2 Julia Sinclair-Palm & Westley Partington, Carleton University, Canada Finding Joy in a Name: Trans youths’ experiences of names & naming practices

 
14.15 – 14.35 Paper 3 Hannah Deakin-Smith*, Jane Bryan^ & Jane Pilcher* (*Nottingham Trent University & ^Warwick University, UK The (Mis)Pronunciation of Names: experiences of university students in England & Wales
14.35 – 14.45 10 min Q & A Chaired by TBA
14.45 – 14.50 5 mins break 5 mins break 5 mins break
14.50 – 15.10 Paper 4 Francesco Cerchiaro, University of Leuven, Belgium “What About a Muslim Name?”: religion, ethnicity & family kinship in naming practices among mixed couples with a Muslim partner (in Italy, France and Belgium).
15.10 – 15.30 Paper 5 Federica Guccini, Western University, Canada Conceptualizing a Decolonial Framework for Language & Naming Practices: A translanguaging approach to names

 
15.30 – 15.50 Paper 6 Ayokunmi Ojebode, University of Nottingham, UK

 

 Connecting Worlds, Performing Identities: Peeking Through Lens of British-Nigerian Actors’ Names in Hollywood

 
15.50 – 16.00 10 min Q & A Chaired by TBA
16.00 – 16.10 10 mins break 10 mins break 10 mins break
16.10 – 16.45 Keynote address Karen Pennesi, Western University, Canada (Don’t) Say Their Names: Indexing social injustice through (re-)naming

 
16.45 – 16.55 10 min Q & A Chaired by Jane Pilcher
16.55 – 17.00 Closing remarks Jane Pilcher

 

Read more about this symposium over at Eventbrite.

About Names: “Cleveland Evans: Kyle raced up the charts of boy names”

A football card dated to 1952 featuring Kyle Rote (Public Domain)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his July 31st column, he looks at the name Kyle.

Kyle’s racing into his fourth decade.

Kyle Larson, 2021’s NASCAR Cup Series champion, won the ESPY for Best Driver on July 20. He turns 30 today.

Kyle is a Scottish surname that can come from places named from Gaelic “caol” (narrows, strait.) It’s also from the district of Kyle (Gaelic “Cuil”) on Scotland’s southwest coast, possibly named for legendary British king Coel Hen, where Coel means “belief, trust.”

Kyle was a prominent surname among Scots who settled Northern Ireland during the 1600s. In the 1700s, Kyle families were among Scots-Irish immigrants to America. In 1850, 2,200 Americans had the surname Kyle. In Scotland and England together there were only 950 in 1851.

When the custom of turning surnames into given names began, Kyle was among them. An early example is “Kyle Stuart” (1834), a long poem by Robert Mack. There Kyle buries his father on a Virginia mountaintop and later sails to Scotland to claim his inheritance. Though published in Tennessee, “Kyle Stuart” condemns slavery, and claims studying law develops morality while practicing law ruins it.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name Kyle!

J. Lo is now J. Aff. Here’s Why it Matters.

J. Lo (Photo by dvsross, CC-BY-2.0)

In an opinion piece in The New York Times, author Jennifer Weiner discusses the significance of marriage-related surname changes in America. Actress Jennifer Lopez’s decision to become “Jennifer Affleck” represents the majority attitude of American women toward marriage-related surname changes, Weiner writes, but it also coveys a longer tradition of historical power imbalance between men and women. Weiner argues that “Names confer identity. And married women continue to give theirs up, while married men rarely reciprocate. No matter what else changes, that power imbalance endures.”

Read more in The New York Times.

“Alethia Tanner Day” and the Namesake it Honors

Alethia Browning Tanner, 1781-1864 (Public Domain)

On July 6, 1810, Alethia Tanner bought her freedom for $275. An article in The Washington Post tells the rest of her compelling story. On July 23, 2022 Alethia Tanner Day was celebrated in Washington D.C. at a park that bears her name in the NoMa neighborhood. After Tanner purchased her own freedom and while she was working for President Thomas Jefferson, she set up a vegetable stand near the White House. This allowed her to free dozens of her family members. Read more about Alethia Tanner’s story over at The Washington Post.

Vermont’s “Suicide Six” Ski Resort to be Renamed “Saskadena Six”

An aerial view of the former “Suicide Six” Ski Resort (Photo by Jared C. Benedict, CC-BY-4.0)

According to a report over at CNN, the Vermont Ski Resort once known as “Suicide Six” will rename itself “Saskadena Six”. The name change is prompted by the perceived insensitive nature of the term suicide and “increasing awareness” surrounding mental health

After consulting indigenous populations, the company chose the term “Saskadena” as the new name for the ski resort. Saskadena is an Abenaki term that means “standing mountain”. Read more over at CNN.

Product Placement and Brand Names on Television

A bowl of milk and cereal comprised of pulverized oats in the shape of a solid torus (Public Domain)

A recent article in the New York Times explores alternatives to traditional commercials on television: product placement. As more and more consumers skip or ignore traditional advertising, corporations are placing their products in television and movies. Though not a new practice (the first product placement—”Sunlight” soap—can be found in the 1896 film “Laveuses”), product visibility allows manufacturers to reach consumers while minimizing production costs. Mike Proulx, an advertising consultant, says that brand names should appear “in a way that doesn’t feel like an advertisement.” Read more over at the New York Times.

About Names: “From religious beginnings to spy thrillers, Gabriel still a ‘mighty’ name”

A mosaic of the Archangel Gabriel from the Gelati Monastery, Kutaisi, Georgia (Public Domain)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his July 17th column, he looks at the name Gabriel.

Gabriel’s back in action Tuesday.

“Portrait of an Unknown Woman,” Daniel Silva’s 22nd novel about art restorer and Israeli intelligence operative Gabriel Allon, will be released Tuesday. Since “The Kill Artist” (2000), Silva’s spy thrillers about Allon have been bestsellers. “Portrait” finds Gabriel retired from Israeli service and investigating a multibillion dollar art forgery.

Gabriel is from Hebrew Gavri’el, “God is my strong man.” Gabriel is the archangel who interprets Daniel’s visions in the Old Testament and announces Jesus’ birth to Mary in the New Testament. Traditionally, Gabriel’s expected to be the angel blowing a horn to signal the Last Judgment, though that angel isn’t named in the Bible. Muslims believe Gabriel dictated the Quran to Muhammad.

Silva named his spy Gabriel because of its meaning. In “Prince of Fire” (2005) Allon’s mentor tells him “Your mother named you Gabriel for a reason. Michael is the highest [angel], but you, Gabriel, are the mightiest … You’re the angel of judgment — the Prince of Fire.”

Despite that, Gabriel was less popular with medieval Christians than Michael. In England, 686 churches were dedicated to Michael, but only six to Gabriel.

Gabriel became regularly used in the 17th century, ranking in the lower half of the top 50 names between 1610 and 1689. However, Puritan parents avoided it, believing it was sacrilegious to name children after angels. Instead, Gabriel was taken up by Anglican gentry and others opposed to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell’s radical Protestant regime (1653-1658).

In the American colonies, German Lutherans and French Huguenots also used Gabriel. Architect Gabriel Manigault (1758-1809) was a son of Peter Manigault of South Carolina, a Huguenot descendant thought to be the wealthiest American at his death in 1773.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name Gabriel!

Introducing Alessia Battista, Recipient of the 2021 ANS Emerging Scholar Award

Alessia Battista, Ph.D. Student at the University of Naples (Photo courtesy of Alessia Battista)

In 2021, Alessia Battista of the University of Naples was named the winner of the ANS Emerging Scholar Award (ANSESA) for her research in literary onomastics. Her winning paper was entitled “Stone Butch Blues: A linguistic negotiation of butch identity” which she presented at the ANS Annual Conference in January 2022. Ms Battista is currently working with her ANS mentor, Professor I.M. Nick, to turn her presentation into a manuscript for possible publication in NAMES. In addition to this mentorship, the ANSESA winner also received a cash prize of 250 US dollars, and one year of membership in the ANS. As a part of her doctoral studies, Ms. Battista would like to expand her knowledge in onomastics through a study abroad in Germany. In this interview, the 2021ANESA winner explains how she first learned about onomastics and describes what she hopes to gain from studying in Germany. If you would be interested in temporarily hosting this summa cum laude PhD student in Germany, or if you have a colleague who might have such an opportunity open for this self-funded emerging scholar, please contact her directly via email, using the phrase “GERMANY” in the subject line of your email.

How did you first become interested in names?
I have always been truly passionate about names ever since I was a child. As I grew older, I became curious to find out more about names connected to my birth city and my hometown. I first became aware of the field of onomastics by chance. I was about to complete my Master’s Degree, when the call for the ANS Emerging Scholar Award was brought to my attention. I suddenly realized how my final dissertation could contribute to the field. I was already analyzing names, but I was not aware that my work fit perfectly into onomastics. However, once I realized that, I started learning more and more about the field, and now it is an area I am deeply committed to pursuing.

Why is it important for you to study abroad in Germany?
I am currently enrolled in an international PhD program in my home country of Italy. However, as a part of my studies, I am expected to spend several months abroad for research. I would love to spend that time in Germany. I have always wanted to move there for my studies. Its advanced education system, multicultural cities, rich culture, and musical language have always attracted me. After completing my BA and MA in Foreign Languages (English and German), now is the time I hope I can make my dream of studying in Germany come true.

What could you offer a potential sponsor?
As an Italian PhD student in English and Terminology, I am currently seeking opportunities to carry out research which is relevant to my PhD project. My doctoral thesis is examining European Languages and Specialized Terminology. I would also welcome the chance to contribute to the research being conducted by a department willing to host me as an exchange student. I am a qualified teacher of Italian as L2/foreign language and I am currently a teaching assistant for English at the University of Naples. I have also successfully completed exams in Business Law, EU Law, Marketing, and Economic Sustainable Development.

Applications are now being considered for the ANSESA2022. To learn more about the application guidelines submission procedures, and eligibility requirements, please click here.