Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, announced that the U.S. fleet will soon be receiving an historic new addition: “the USNS John Lewis”. In an NBCNews interview, Mabus explained the reason why Georgia Congressman and Civil Rights leader John Lewis was chosen for this special honor. “Naming this ship after John Lewis” Mabus stated, “is a fitting tribute to a man who has, from his youth, been at the forefront of progressive, social, and human rights movements in the U.S., directly shaping both the past and future of our nation.”

Musically, things have been relatively quiet around the masters of funk, The Gap Band. But legally, the band has continued to make the news. In 2015, the group received a massive settlement from singer Bruno Mars for treading too close to their 1979 “Oops Upside the Head.” Now, in 2016, The Gap Band is making juristic news again over an onomastic family fight. Charlie Wilson has sued his brother Ronnie Wilson over which one owns the rights to the group’s name.

Throughout most of the past century, countless unsuspecting visitors to Whangarei, New Zealand have stopped by one of the city’s most famous landmarks, Mount Parihaka. Unbeknownst to the masses, the name of the sacred space was not “Parahaki” but “Parihaka.” Finally, in 2005, the NZ Geographic Board officially corrected the mistake.

In a moving ceremony this month, hundreds gathered at the summit for a special ceremony: the unveiling of a “kohatu,” a sacred carved rock symbolizing the spirit of the mountain. As Sheryl Mai, Whangarei’s mayor, explained in a Radio New Zealand interview: “…now we’ve got the public coming to meet our beautiful kohatu […] and the name Parihaka has been returned…”

The Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) is inviting the general public to propose new place names for Canada. The accepted toponyms will be recorded in a national register, the Canadian Names Database. There is information on the proposal guidelines and review process specifically for Nova Scotia.

Fashion labels are increasingly inspiring baby names. Labels such as Armani and Cartier are on the rise as baby names and more traditional names such as Calvin have been recently boosted by a corresponding fashion label. This article in Vocative graphs the rise of particular fashion labels are baby names.

 

In the wake of a new project by a property developer in Staten Island, NY, Borough President James Oddo named the streets in the new development after the greed and deceit of the developers. A New York State Supreme Court judge allowed the street names.

 

Ever heard the name burrissimo? What about the names taka taka, sushirrito, or pizzabon? If you guessed that these names have something to do with food, you may be right.

After the success of culinary creations like the infamous cronut, the name for an artery-clogging cross between a donut and a croissant, restaurant chains have started experimenting with other fast-food hybrids. In celebration of these mutant edibles, a whole new line-up of food names has been created as well. Discover what is behind these onomastic neologisms.

The 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janiero are right around the corner. In preparation for the activities, the official names of the two mascots designed for the sports events have been announced: Vinicius and Tom.

These names honor the famous Bossa Nova musicians, Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. Bossa Nova, the name given to a fusion of jazz and samba, is considered to be one of the most popular genres of music to come out of Brazil.

The onomastic announcement by the Brazilian Olympic Committee not only brings much needed positive press to the 2016 Games, but also honors to two of the country’s music legends.