A Guide to Secret Government Code Names

FBI Headquarters

Who picks government code names? It varies. The C.I.A. randomly selects code names — called cryptonyms, or crypts — from a list of pre-approved names. But C.I.A. officers can skip that process and pick their own. That is most likely how the agency ended up with hacking tools named RickyBobby and EggsMayhem. Somewhere, there is a former classics scholar who can claim responsibility for choosing Anabasis, the epic Greek military tale, as the cryptonym for a C.I.A. operation in Iraq.

Military operations get code names, too, and random selection has its downsides. When a blitz on Iraqi weapons sites was randomly given the name “Operation Bolton” by the British Ministry of Defense, the name divided residents of the town of Bolton.

Want to know more? To find out all about these code names, and what Crossfire Hurricane means (and where it came from!), click through to this article at the New York Times.

What’s in an Author Name?

Over at The Millions, author Marie Myung-Ok Lee writes about her relationship with her name – as a writer, a daughter of Korean immigrants, and as a Korean-American. She examines how her name has evolved over the years and how deeply names and identity are intertwined.

Here’s a sample:

Not unlike George Herbert Walker Bush, my full legal name, as it reads on my birth certificate, has four pieces, not the usual three.

Marie Myung-Ok Grace Lee.

People assume Myung-Ok is my middle name. But it’s just my name, one that was benched, like a junior varsity player, for my entire childhood, and then revived–but not for the reasons one might think–when I needed an “author name” for my novel.

…

Perhaps the author name is also a brilliant tool that should be used as such. Friends and family call me Marie, and Koreans revert to Myung-Ok—but no one uses both. Marie Myung-Ok Lee then becomes the embodiment of my writing, a protective shell that diverts the attention from that overly open, curious part of me that I need to be able to write in the first place.

Call for Papers: 2019 ANS Conference Special Panel on Literary Names

The ANS is inviting abstract submissions for a panel on Literary Names for the 2019 annual conference to be held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. The purpose of the panel is to highlight research in, and study of, names in works of fiction.

All professional names enthusiasts are invited to submit an abstract for a 20-minute presentation. Abstract proposals should answer one or more of the following questions:

How do the texts under analysis make use of onomastics to establish and convey character and/or plot?
How does linguistic analysis bear on the reading of these texts?
How is the field of onomastics enhanced by your research?

To submit a proposal, simply send a 250-word abstract proposal and a 100- word professional biography to Susan Behrens [sbehrens@mmm.edu] by the 15th of July 2018. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2019 Panel” in the subject line of your email.

All proposals will be subjected to blind review. Official notification of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before September 30, 2018. 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 Susan Behrens should you have any questions or concerns.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

Call for Papers: 2019 ANS Conference Special Panel on Names, Naming, Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation

The ANS is currently inviting abstract submissions for this special panel on Names, Naming, Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation at the 2019 annual conference, which will be to be held in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. Although all topics within the theme are welcomed, papers dealing with the following questions are of particular interest: 1) general naming trends and controversies within the LGBT community; 2) official naming policies and laws for the designation of gender, sex, and sexual orientation; 3) considerations around name selection and name changes for trans people; 4) the intersection of gender, power, and naming for LGBT people.

The deadline for receipt of abstracts is August 15, 2018. To submit a proposal, simply send in a 350-word abstract (excluding references), a 100-word shortened version, and a 80-word biographical sketch in prose. Please email these materials to Dr. I. M. Nick using the following address: mavi.yaz@web.de. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS-Gender 2019” in the subject line of your email. All proposals will be subject to independent blind review. Official notifications of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before October 1, 2018. All authors whose papers have been accepted must be current members of both the ANS and the Linguistic Society of America. Please feel free to contact Dr. I. M. Nick mavi.yaz@web.de or Ms. Laurel Sutton laurelasutton@gmail.com should have you any questions or concerns.

A downloadable PDF of the call for papers can be found here.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

Philips Lighting has changed its name to Signify

What’s the significance of Signify? In this name review, Alex Kelley of Catchword digs into this name change for Philips.

Here’s a sample:

Signify is retaining the Philips brand for their products, like Philips Hue. You may have heard of this colorful, smart-home enabled lights platform, which is perhaps the greatest innovation in home ambience control since the dimmer switch.

The company has well over a hundred years of name equity, the products are retaining the Philips name, and, aside from GE, Philips is the most recognizable brand in bulbs … so why make the change?

Click through to read the rest!

Call for Papers: 2019 ANS Conference Special Panel on Names and Tourism

The ANS is inviting abstract submissions for a panel on Names and Tourism for the 2019 annual conference, to be held in New York in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America. The purpose of the panel is to highlight research in and the study of names in relation to tourism discourses. More specifically, naming practices in tourism are relevant as they suggest distinction, originality, authenticity or even romance for a number of reasons. The range of issues at stake is quite broad as it may include linguistic, literary, historical and archeological references to local traditions as well as the strategies adopted to rebrand places to make them more appealing to potential visitors.

All names enthusiasts are invited to submit an abstract for a 20-minute presentation. Abstract proposals should focus on one or more of the following areas of interest:

archaeological sites and tourism
film/documentary-induced tourism
history, collective memory and tourism discourses
literature-induced tourism
tangible/ intangible heritage tourism

To submit a proposal, simply send a 250-word abstract proposal and a 100- word professional biography to Luisa Caiazzo [luisa.caiazzo@unibas.it] by the 15th of July 2018. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2019 Panel” in the subject line of your email.

All proposals will be subjected to blind review. Official notification of proposal acceptances will be sent on or before September 30, 2018. All authors whose papers have been accepted must be current members of the ANS and are expected to register with both the ANS and the Linguistic Society of America. Please feel free to contact Luisa Caiazzo should you have any questions or concerns.

A downloadable version of the call for papers can be found here.

We look forward to receiving your submission!

How Brands Are Built: Linguistic Analysis

On Monday’s episode of How Brands Are Built, Laurel Sutton (ANS Information Officer) of Sutton Strategy talks linguistic checks—you know, that crucial step in the naming process that keeps you from accidentally offending a whole country with a name that’s slang for “masturbation”. Listen in to learn:

What linguistic analysis is and why it’s important
What it means to do a “global” linguistic check
Why linguistic checks are still advisable even for US-only brands
The difference between translation and transliteration
What “FIGS” stands for

You can follow this link to listen and read a transcript, or click below!

Why Startups Are Obsessed With Human Names

Over the past few years, a crowd of new companies has emerged across tech, finance and health—all sporting a first-name brand. “Oscar,” “Alfred,” “Lola” —they have the look and feel of a friend, a colleague, maybe even your cat. And that’s the point: Make a connection with consumers that even Dale Carnegie would appreciate.

The strategy seems to be working. Research shows that the more simple and human-sounding the name, the greater the company’s success. Brands with short, easy to pronounce names were viewed more positively by investors, a 2012 study published in the Journal of Financial Economics found. By reducing name length by just one word, companies can see a boost of 2.53 percent to their book-to-market ratio—a formula used to find the market value of a company—or $3.75 million for a medium-size firm, according to the study.

Check out this article at Bloomberg.com about the trend in personal names in startups!

About Names: From Roman origins, a name that still hits the Mark

Mark Hamill at Star Wars: The Last Jedi Japan Premiere Red Carpet

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his June 5th column, he looks at the history of the name Mark.

Mark is the English form of Marcus, a common given name for ancient Roman men. It’s derived from Mars, Roman god of war. The most famous Roman Marcus is Marcus Antonius, called Mark Antony in English. A friend of Julius Caesar, he vied for power after Caesar’s death. His love affair and alliance with Cleopatra, leading to defeat and suicide in 33 B.C., have been portrayed in countless books and films.

In the 19th century, many Biblical names went out of style in America. The 1850 United States census included 7,623 Marks. In Britain, 17,193 were found in 1851, when the two countries had similar populations. In 1880, when Social Security’s yearly baby name lists began, Mark ranked 160th. By then, the most famous American Mark was Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain. Creator of beloved characters Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Twain was one of the best known public figures of his day.

Famous Marks born during the name’s heyday include investor and “Shark Tank” star Cuban (born 1958), Olympic swimmer Spitz (1950) and Luke Skywalker actor Hamill (1951).

Want to know more? Read on to find out more about Marks in history!

Call for Papers (Third Extended Call): ANS 2019, New York City, NY, January 3-6, 2019

The ANS is inviting abstract submissions for the 2019 annual conference to 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 31, 2018. To submit a proposal, simply complete the 2019 Author Information Form.

Please email this completed form to Dr. Dorothy Dodge Robbins using the following address: drobbins@latech.edu. For organizational purposes, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS 2019” 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, 2018. 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 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!