The International Union of Applied Chemistry recently recognized four new elements and now these elements need names. Boingboing reports on the petition to name one of these new elements in honor of Terry Pratchett. Support the Change.org petition to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which has naming rights for element 117.
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Time reports on the 2015 Name of the Year
Time reports on the ANS voting session and the rationale that lead to the 2015 Name of the Year winners.
Name of the Year 2015: Caitlyn Jenner
Fictional Names: Rey, Finn, and Poe … Names from the new Star Wars movie, which all have onomastic and cultural significance in how they (1) were created, (2) represent a character, and (3) will impact baby names
Personal Name: Caitlyn Jenner … representing many LGBT onomastic issues
Place Name: Denali … Mount McKinley Will Again Be Called Denali and the onomastic debate surrounding that change
Trade Name: Charlie Hebdo … French satirical magazine attacked by terrorists, whose name gave raise to the hash tag #jesuischarlie
Name of the Year: Caitlyn Jenner
Caitlyn Jenner was chosen the Name of the Year for 2015 by the American Name Society at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. on January 8, 2016.
The name of the athlete and reality television celebrity who was formerly known as Bruce Jenner became known throughout the world during 2015. “Caitlyn Jenner is an example of how people in modern times are asserting their own identities by choosing their own names,” said Iman Nick, President of ANS. “Many cultures have allowed people to choose their own names after important life changes, and this right is being revived today in a positive ways by those like Caitlyn Jenner.”
Caitlyn Jenner was also voted Personal Name of the Year for 2015.
Charlie Hebdo was ANS’s Trade Name of the Year. The name of this French satirical magazine whose Paris headquarters was attacked in January 2015 by terrorists has become a symbol of free speech around the world. Its iconic status was only reinforced by the more recent terrorist attacks in Paris.
Denali was voted Place Name of the Year. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell ordered the official national name of Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, be changed to Denali last August. This put the federal designation in line with the official state of Alaska designation, but was criticized by many in Ohio, original home of President McKinley. The emotions aroused on both sides show the power of naming.
Rey, Finn, and Poe were voted Fictional Names of the Year. The names of three new characters in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” were cited for their expected impact on baby names in 2016. Rey is noteworthy for being a mostly male name given to a strong female character. Finn is significant as a name because it replaces the character’s impersonal designation, FN-2187, when he leaves the stormtroopers and joins the Resistance.
The American Name Society is a scholarly organization founded in 1951 devoted to studying all aspects of names and naming. The Name of the Year vote has been held since 2004. “Ferguson” was the 2014 Name of the Year, “Francis” for 2013, and “Sandy” for 2012.
For further information contact Dr. Cleveland Evans, chair of the Name of the Year committee, at cevans@bellevue.edu or 402-210-7458.
Japan’s Supreme Court rules that ban on separate last names in marriage is not unconstitutional
On the 16th December, Japan’s Supreme Court announced its verdict on the constitutionality of the law banning spouses from carrying separate last names: The court ruled that the band is indeed constitutional. However, as the current Chief Justice Itsurō Terada, cautioned, this issue will also need to be deliberated by the National Diet. Hence, the debate over this controversial naming prohibition will in all likelihood continue for some time to come.
Find additional information in Japanese here.
Name Society of Southern Africa (NSSA) 19th International Conference, South Africa, September 20-22 2016
The Name Society of Southern Africa (NSSA) has just issued its first call for papers for its 19th International Conference to take place at the University of the Free State, in South Africa from the 20th to the 22nd of September 2016. The topic of this year’s conference is Symbolism and Instrumentality in Naming. See the conference website for additional information about abstract submission.
About Names: Diane goes from goddess to grandma
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. This week’s column explores Diane.
2015’s most popular dog names dominated by human names and pop culture
Based on statistics kept by rover.com, a company specializing in matching dog owners with dog care providers, the following are the top 10 dog names of 2015:
Male dogs:
- Max
- Charlie
- Buddy
- Cooper
- Jack
Female dogs:
- Bella
- Lucy
- Daisy
- Molly
- Lola
Notice that several of these names are also popular among human babies. The distinction between human names and dog names is blurring.
Star Words
Just in time for the new Star Wars film, the US American English Dictionary, Merriam Webster has released an article about the film series’ influence on the English lexicon. Among the many words that the fantasy film has introduced into common parlance are several character names (characteronyms) such as Jedi and Wookie. However, as the Dictionary-makers explain, the popularity and familiarity of these names is not enough to warrant their immediate inclusion in the official word lists. After all, character names frequently go as quickly as they come.
In the meantime, less conservative lexicological repositories have already added many Star Wars characters to their collection. For example, the (in)famous e-lexicon, the Urban Dictionary, already contains many entries derived from the Star Wars enterprise…although in many cases, the original onomastic referents have undergone pretty significant shifts.
California, Calafia, Khalif: The Origin of the Name “California”
California is known throughout the world, but very few people know the origin of this toponym. This article published in KCET explains where the name came from.
Predictions for the 2015 Most Popular Baby Names
Although the official countdown marking the end of 2015 has not yet begun, names scholars have already made predictions about what will be the most popular baby names for 2016.
According to a November 2015 issues of the magazine “Good Housekeeping”, the following names will make the top ten US list in the new year:
- Hezekiah
- Kale
- Gertrude
- Eurydice
- Iker
By comparison, based on statistics kept by the Baby Center UK, the November 5th issue of The Huffington Post has placed its bets on a completely different set of personal names:
Girls
- Marni
- Eden
- Astrid
- Nora
- Emi
Boys
- Devon
- Otto
- Aspen
- Atticus
- Hector
Official name popularity statistics will be released in the new year.