The US Institute of Medicine (IOM) has called for the renaming of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFE/ME) to Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease.

According to the IOM, the onomastic move was made to spare the millions of people who have been diagnosed with CFE/ME additional suffering from public stigmatization.

According to the ME Association (an international association dedicated to CFE/ME support, education, and training) it remains to be seen whether this name change “will actually improve attitudes towards patients and their assessment and care”. However the ME Association has applauded the attempt by the IOM as a “brave” and “important step” towards changing public perceptions.

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The chocolate and peanut butter porter beer initially marketed under the product name Sweet Baby Jesus has been pulled from some Ohio grocery store shelves in response to multiple consumer complaints about the popular beverage’s name.

Dave Benfield, owner of the Baltimore-based company Duclaw, which produces the brew, defended the product name by saying that the name was not meant to be offensive, but was chosen as a “phrase of excitement or astonishment.” When asked in an interview with FOX News if the company was planning to change the name of the dark brew, Benfield responded: “We don’t censor ourselves because it might cost us dollars.”

Although the name remains controversial amongst some consumers, the rocky head porter is a hit amongst beer connoisseurs. According to the company website, Sweet Baby Jesus won the Bronze Medal for chocolate beers at the Great American Beer Festival in 2014.

Other religiously inspired names in the Duclaw company repertoire include:

• Divine Retribution, the moniker for an imperial stout aged in a Kentucky white oak bourbon barrel
• Mad Bishop, a German-style seasonal brew inspired by the Oktoberfest
• Devil’s Milk, a Gold medal winner barley wine ale of the Brewer’s Association of Maryland.

 

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Guitar World discusses some of the best stage names in this recent article.

Hybrid surnames are becoming increasingly popular. The New York Times reports that Zelda Violet Frissberg’s surname is the combination of Frissora, her father’s, and Bloomberg, her mother’s. Given that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is her grandfather, New Yorkers are likely to see Fissberg denoting New York cultural and philanthropic institutions in the near future.

This is an interesting piece about how Facebook alienates transgender individuals by requiring real names. It also touches on the influence and power social media exerts over names.