Upcoming Symposium: International Symposium on Place Names 2025 (September 2025)

From Chrismi Loth:

International Symposium on Place Names 2025
Short Title: ISPN 2025

Date: 01-Sep-2025 – 30-Sep-2025
Location: Clarens, South Africa
Contact: Chrismi Loth
Contact Email: kongresETFB@ufs.ac.za

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics

Theme: Harmonising toponymic heritage: balancing standardisation and local diversity
Dates: To be confirmed

About the ISPN (from the ISPN 2023 home page):

“The vision of the International Symposium on Place Names series is to advance research on place names and to provide a platform for international collaboration in this regard. As such, in addition to the symposium, a related workshop usually directly precedes the symposium.”

Registration Open: ANS Name of the Year Discussion and Vote (Virtual, 4 January 2024)

ANS Name of the Year Discussion and Vote

REGISTRATION is now open! Click here to register for the discussion and vote.

Join us for our annual Name of the Year discussion! We will be nominating, discussing, and voting on eligible names in 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 discussion will be conducted by Laurel Sutton, ANS President and Name of the Year Coordinator.

If you have not done so already, you can nominate names via this form

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

Tickets to this event are free!

The URL to our Zoom room will be sent to everyone who registers for this event.

Please review previous Name of the Year reports, to better understand the type of names that will be accepted:

Name of the Year Report 2022 (PDF)

Name of the Year Report 2021 (PDF)

***

Our first conference of the year will take place February 17, 2024, over Zoom. It will be a one day event. More details, including the price of attendance, will be available soon!

Call for Papers: 3rd International Scientific Conference “ONOMASTIC INVESTIGATIONS” (University of Latvia, 9-10 May 2024)

CALL FOR PAPERS

3rd International Scientific Conference “ONOMASTIC INVESTIGATIONS”.

Latvian Language Institute (University of Latvia) invites to participate in the 3rd International Scientific Conference “Onomasticinvestigations”. Conference will be held at the University of Latvia on May 9–10, 2024. The conference is dedicated to our colleague Ojārs Bušs (1944–2017) who would have celebrated his 80th anniversary on April 28, 2024. The theme of the conference is “Variability of proper names.” We invite you to submit paper topics that address an area of research relevant the variability of place and personal names, as well as other proper names. We invite to look at their changes and changing processes, both in time and in perception, and under theinfluence of linguistic and extralinguistic factors.

Working languages: Latvian, English, German.

Duration of presentation: 20 minutes.

Please submit the application form and the abstract of your presentation (2500-3000 characters with spaces) by 15 January 2024 online: https://lavi.lu.lv/onomastikas-petijumu-anketa/

Abstracts, regardless of the language of the presentation, must be submitted in English.

The notification of acceptance/rejection will be sent by 1 March 2024.

After positive peer-review, articles based on the presentations will be published in the journal of the conference “Onomastic InvestigationsIII”.

Participation fee:

EUR 80 (paid by 20 March 2024) or EUR 90 (after 20 March 2024) for presenter;

EUR 60 (paid by 20 March 2024) or EUR 65 (after 20 March 2024) for each co-author participating in the conference.

Participation fee includes:

for presenters and co-authors participating in the conference – a certificate of participation, participant’s materials, technical support at theconference and for the journal of the conference, rights to submit an article, coffee breaks, copy of the author of the journal of theconference.

Scientific Commitee
Dr. philol. Laimute Balode
Mg. hum. Anna Elizabete Griķe
Dr. habil. philol. Irēna Ilga Jansone
Dr. philol. Sanda Rapa
Dr. philol. Renāte Siliņa-Piņķe
Dr. philol. Anta Trumpa

Organizing Commitee
Mg. paed. Gunita Arnava
Mg. hum. Ieva Auziņa
Mg. hum. Anna Elizabete Griķe
Bc. hum. Laura Paula Jansone
Mg. hum. Agita Kazakeviča
Mg. hum. Sintija Ķauķīte
Elīna Ķēniņa
Mg. hum. Anete Ozola
Bc. hum. Odrija Ratfeldere
Mg. hum. Marita Silkāne
Mg. hum. Ilze Štrausa

For more information about the conference, including bank transfer details for the fee, visit: https://lavi.lu.lv/en/conferences-2024/

E-mail: onomastikaspetijumi@gmail.com

Call for Papers: The 28th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences (DUE 31 October 2023)

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 28th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences

Paper proposals for the 28th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences are now invited. The deadline for proposal submissions is 31 October 2023.

Congress theme

The theme of the congress is Sustainability of names, naming and onomastics (see full description here). We organizers encourage scholars to link their papers to the congress theme. Examples of possible approaches are (but not limited to):

People’s relation to their environment (both physical and digital) from the standpoint of toponyms and other place-related names
Names and minorities, the power relationships conveyed by names
Urban toponymy in smart and sustainable cities
Commercial names as a part of sustainable economy
Identity and naming, the rights to express identities via names
Changing names (place names, personal names, commercial names etc.)
Names in the digital world
Names and law-making
Names, traffic and tourism
Onomastics as a sustainable science

Abstract contents

When preparing your paper abstract, please follow these instructions:

The abstract can be written in English, French or German
The paper title should clearly define the topic and must be no longer than 15 words
The body text (including possible references) must be no longer than 300 words
The abstract should logically contain the following issues: objectives, research question(s), and materials and methods
Add 1–5 keywords that describe your research
Possible literature references should use the same referencing style as in Onoma journal (see section 4 in Onoma Style Sheet)

Proposal submission

Paper proposals must be submitted by using the online submission system here: https://confedent.eventsair.com/icos2024/abstractsubmission

When submitting your proposal, you also choose:

presentation type: whether you want to present your paper as an oral presentation or as a poster
theme: whether you offer your paper to general paper session or to one of the thematic workshops

You can find detailed instructions for using the online submission system at the congress website. If you have any problems with the online system, you can contact to icos2024@confedent.fi.

The online system opens on 22 June 2023. The proposals must be submitted by 31 October 2023.

Evaluation

The paper proposals will be evaluated by the members of the scientific committee. The proposals will be accepted or rejected based on their scientific quality, originality and impact.

Papers offered to thematic workshops are evaluated by workshop convenors. If a paper cannot be accepted to a workshop but it fulfills the overall scientific criteria of the congress, it can be included in general paper sessions.

Evaluation results will be sent to the abstract submitters by 31 January 2024.

Download the ICOS 2024 Call for Papers

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 4^th 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.

DC Politicos and the Name “Doug”

General Douglas MacArthur (Photo: Public Domain)

An article recently published on the site Politico.com explores the frequency of the name “Doug” amongst politicians. The article reveals a camaraderie amongst people with the name “Doug”, and there are many of them. The author, Sam Stein, also interviewed American Name Society Past President Cleveland Evans. On the history of the name “Doug”, Stein writes:

“The name Doug or Douglas traces back to Douglas Water, a tributary of the River Clyde in Scotland. Cleveland Evans, professor emeritus of Psychology at Bellevue University and America’s foremost expert on names, said it became common in both the USA and Canada in the 1940s and 1950s. The predominant theory was that parents in that era saw it as a “‘different but not too different’ shift from the previously popular Donald, another D- name with Scottish roots.” (Trump, since you’re now wondering, was born in 1946.)”

About Names: Dr. Evans on the name “Brandon”

An engraving from an early copy of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility: Marianne greets Colonel Brandon on his arrival (Public Domain)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his October 8th column, he discusses the name “Brandon”.

Are you reading Brandon’s “Nightmare” yet?

“Yumi and the Nightmare Painter,” latest novel by fantasy author Brandon Sanderson, was released last week. Sanderson, born in 1975 in Lincoln and a graduate of Lincoln East High School, in March 2022 revealed he’d written four “secret” novels during the pandemic, promoting them to fans in a Kickstarter campaign which raised a record $41 million. “Yumi” is the third of these to get a standard publishing release.

Brandon’s an English surname from a place name meaning “hill with broom shrubs.” In County Kerry, Ireland, it’s also from “Mac Breandáin,” “son of Brendan.”

Charles Brandon (1484-1545), Henry VIII’s best childhood friend, was created Duke of Suffolk in 1514. In 1515 he married Mary Tudor, Henry’s sister. Their daughter Frances Brandon (1517-1559) was mother of tragic Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554), briefly proclaimed Queen after Edward VI’s 1553 death until his sister Mary successfully claimed the throne.

Despite the royal connection, Brandon remained rare as a first name. Even in 1950, the United States census found only 760 men named Brandon, though 14,005 Americans had Brandon as a last name.

The first three celebrities whose fame affected Brandon’s use were all born with Brandon as a middle name. In 1914, the first year more than five American boys were named Brandon, songs by lyricist J. Brandon Walsh (1882-1935) sold well as sheet music. The chorus of his “Harmony Bay” (1914) proclaims “While the moon shines above, we can spoon and make love, on Harmony Bay.”

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Brandon”!

Call for Papers: Non-bare Proper Names: Proper Names with Determiners and Modifiers in a Cross-linguistic Perspective

Non-bare Proper Names. Proper Names with Determiners and Modifiers in a Cross-linguistic Perspective

Date: 16-May-2024 – 17-May-2024

Location: Köln, Germany
Contact Person: Carolina Oggiani
Meeting Email: detmod.pn@gmail.com
Web Site: https://easyabs.linguistlist.org/conference/Non-bare_Proper_Name

Linguistic Field(s): Morphology; Pragmatics; Semantics; Syntax

Call Deadline: 12-Dec-2023

Meeting Description:

Proper names have been widely studied from a philosophical and a linguistic perspective (Frege, 1892; Russell, 1905; Strawson, 1950; Searle, 1958; Donnellan, 1970; Kripke, 1980; Soames, 2002; Elbourne, 2005; Fara, 2015; Matushansky, 2006, 2008, 2014, 2015, among others). Over the last decades, they have become an important subject of investigation with respect to the semantics of reference and the syntax of the nominal phrase and, more specifically, to the different types of determiners and modifiers they can combine with, such as indefinite and definite articles (von Heusinger & Wespel, 2007; Gomeshi & Massam, 2009; Bernstein et al., 2019; Camacho, 2019; Saab, 2021; Oggiani & Aguilar-Guevara, forthcoming), honorific particles (Saab, 2021), and adjectives (Sigurdsson, 2006; Bernstein et al., 2019). There is also a growing interest in the cross-linguistic perspective (e.g. Caro Reina, 2020, 2022; Becker, 2021; Caro Reina & Helmbrecht, 2022).

In this context, the research project “Proper Names with Determiners and Modifiers in a Cross-linguistic Perspective” aims to contribute to this discussion by bringing together researchers working on proper names with determiners and/or means of modification from a morphological, syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic perspective. The starting event of this research group will be the workshop “Non-Bare Proper Names: Proper Names with Determiners and Modifiers in Cross-Linguistic Perspective”. The workshop will take place in Cologne, Germany, in May 2024, and will be followed by later academic events in Mexico and Uruguay.

We invite contributions on proper names with determiners, quantifiers and/or any means of modification, as well as honorifics, diminutives, classifiers, and other affixes, from a morphological, syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic perspective. The main questions this Workshop seeks to answer are:
i) What categories can accompany proper names in natural language?
ii) What is the meaning contribution of these categories? How does it combine with that
of proper names?
iii) What kind of syntax do determined and modified proper names project?

Call for Papers:

We invite submissions for 30 min presentations (plus 15 min for discussion) in English. Abstracts should be anonymous and not longer than two pages (Times New Roman 12 pt., single space, 2,4 cm margins). They should be submitted in pdf format to: https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=nbpn2024

Submissions open: Aug. 1, 2023 – Dec. 11, 2023

Abstract review period: Dec. 12, 2023 – Jan. 15, 2024

Call for Book Chapter Proposals On Names, Naming, and Diversity in Youth Literature

Children’s Books (Photo by: Robyn Budlender, CC0 1.0 Public Domain)

Call for Book Chapter Proposals On Names, Naming, and Diversity in Youth Literature

Recent years have seen a significant increase in works of fiction that champion and celebrate diversity and inclusion for young readers. This literary evolutionary literature has also introduced children, to the enormous diversity of. The current call is for book chapters that examine how youth literature use names to present that child, adolescent, teen, and tween readers ethnic, cultural, linguistic, neurological, religious, diversity. Proposals centered on the use of names and naming in youth literature dealing with individuals, families, and communities from the following groupings are particularly, but by no means exclusively welcomed:

ethnoracial minorities, including those with mixed heritage
The differently abled
LGBTQ+
communities of faith
Immigrants and asylum-seekers

Although the proposals must be in English, the works selected for examination may include other languages. Proposals will be judged upon their thematic fit and potential to make a substantive contribution to the fields of onomastics and literary studies. All Interested authors are asked to submit formal proposals using the following guidelines.

Proposal Submission Process

Abstract proposals (max. 500 words, excluding the title and references) should be sent as a PDF email attachment to Professor I. M. Nick (nameseditor@gmail.com)
For organizational purposes, the proposals must include “DIVERSITY” in the subject line of the email
All proposals must include an abstract, title, and a preliminary list of references;
The full name(s) of the author(s) and their affiliation(s) must appear in the body of the email. These details should NOT appear in the attached proposal.
In the case of multi-authored submissions, one person must be clearly designated as the primary contact
The DEADLINE for proposal submissions is November 15, 2023. All proposals will be submitted to a double-blind review process. Authors will be notified about acceptance on or by December 15, 2023
Final chapters (max 7,000 words, excluding abstracts and references) will be due April 15, 2024

For further information about this call, please feel free to contact Professor I. M. Nick (nameseditor@gmail.com). We look forward to receiving your proposals!

About Names: Dr. Evans on the name “Daryl”

An individual cosplaying as “Daryl Dixon”, a popular character from the TV Series “The Walking Dead” (Photo by Marnie Joyce, CC-BY-2.0)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his September 10th column, he discusses the name “Daryl”.

‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” debuts on AMC this evening. This spinoff of “The Walking Dead” (2010-2022) finds popular character Daryl (played by Norman Reedus) stranded on a French beach without knowing how he got there. He’ll trek across France trying to find his way back home.

Daryl’s a respelling of Darel and Darrell, surnames brought to England in 1066 by knights from Airel, a town in Normandy whose name meant “open courtyard”.

Darrells were prominent among Tudor nobility. Elizabeth Darrell (1513-1556) was maid of honor to Catherine of Aragon. Sir Marmaduke Darrel (1559-1631) was a jailer of Mary Queen of Scots, and later escorted Anne of Denmark from Scotland to London when her husband James I succeeded to the throne.

Anglican clergyman John Darrell (1562-1603) made a name for himself as an exorcist. Though he claimed he proved Puritans could cast out devils as successfully as Catholics, he was imprisoned as a fraud.

The 1850 United States census found 99 persons with last name Darrell and 14 Darrels. There were 10 men with first name Darell and 12 Darrells.

Best-selling English novelist Mary Elizabeth Braddon published “Darrell Markham” in 1853. There Darrell’s true love Millicent is forced to marry George Duke. When George is murdered, Darrell gathers evidence proving Millicent innocent. They marry on the last page.

In 1867 English judge Sir Douglas Straight (1844-1914) began publishing memoirs and fiction under pen name “Sidney Daryl”, one of the first examples of that spelling.

All spellings stayed rare until the 20th century. Darrell first shows up among the top 1000 boy’s names in 1891, Darrel in 1905, Daryl in 1920, and Darryl in 1932.

Daryl was occasionally given to girls by 1900. In 1921, silent film “Love, Hate and a Woman” featured heroine Daryl Sutherland (Grace Davison) pretending to be a society belle to catch a husband. However, Daryl only made it into the top thousand names for girls between 1945 and 1957. Surprisingly, the 1980s fame of actress Daryl Hannah (born 1960) didn’t popularize it.

Nebraska-born movie producer Darryl Zanuck (1902-1979) helped found 20th Century Fox in 1935. His name being featured in film credits, along with the 1940s fame of child star Darryl Hickman (born 1931) propelled their formerly rare spelling upward. After Hickman was featured on brother Dwayne’s “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” in 1959, Darryl became the most common spelling for seven years, peaking at 68th in 1965.

Want to learn more? Read on to learn more about the name “Daryl”!