A photo of Kate Gosselin, a bearer of the prototypical “Karen haircut” (Photo by Kathy, CC-BY-2.0)
A recent expose in The New York Times Style Magazine explores the name “Karen” as it came to represent “an entitled and belligerent white woman”. The history of this epithet—and the inherent racism and sexism to the greater concept of “a Karen”—are explored in great detail. Read more about the history and possible utility of the epithet in The New York Times.
“Reach” was born aboard a C-17 military aircraft with the callsign “Reach 828” as it flew from Kabul to Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. After her parents learned of the callsign, they decided to name their infant daughter after the evacuation flight. According to USA Today, Reach is the first child born on an evacuation flight. Read more about this birth story on USA Today.
An image of a dog (unlikely a Fauci—as the photo was taken in 2017) in the public domain
Forget Fido, Fifi for furry friends: “Fauci” finds favor following famous facemask facilitator. All alliteration aside, an article in The Washington Post explores recent trends in dog names and naming practices. The author provides anecdotal evidence of a rise in the name “Fauci”, though it remains to be seen if the name will end up on the 2021 top K-9 name lists.
A Nike Outlet Store (Photo by Michael Rivera, CC-BY-4.0)
The New York Times reports that Nike has renamed a building after coach Alberto Salazar was permanently banned from distance running. This is the third time Nike has renamed a building following revelations of serious abuse or wrongdoing—Salazar joins Joe Paterno and Lance Armstrong as former eponyms for the Nike corporation. Read more about the new name “Next%” at The New York Times.
Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his August 29th column, he looks at the history of the name Lacey.
‘You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey,” by Omahan Lacey Lamar and her sister, comedian Amber Ruffin, is the Omaha Public Library’s 2021 Omaha Reads selection. They humorously present the serious subject of how racism has impacted their lives as Black Omahans. The library will hold an online discussion with the authors Sept. 2.
Lacey is an English surname from the town of Lassy in Normandy. Lassy is 42 miles south of D-Day landing site Omaha Beach.
The first Laceys came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror. One branch included John de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (1192-1240), a leader of those who forced King John to sign the Magna Carta in 1215.
An Irish branch was founded by Hugh de Lacy, who King Henry II appointed Lord of Meath when he invaded Ireland in 1172. Most Irish Laceys are Hugh’s descendants, though some get the name from Gaelic Ó Laitheasa, “grandson of the prince.”
When the custom of turning surnames into given names became established around 1700, men named Lacy appeared. The 1850 U.S. Census reported 603.
The spelling Lacy was commoner for boys. In 1880, when yearly baby name data starts, Lacy ranked 662nd. It peaked at 392nd in 1900, leaving the male top thousand in 1969.
The “Band of the Fighting Irish” playing at Notre Dame Stadium (Photo by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, CC-BY-2.0)
A recent story in the IndyStar explores a study that named “Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish leprechaun” as the fourth-most offensive college football mascot. Though the list later disappeared from the website, its appearance has caused quite a stir and fostered several conversations about college sports mascots.
A US National Weather Service depiction of the formation of a heat wave (Public domain)
A recent article in the New York Times asks an important question: “Could assigning names to heat waves, the way officials do for hurricanes and tropical storms, help protect people from the warming climate?” In her article, Jenny Gross explores pros and cons of applying names to heat waves. While applying names to hurricanes and tropical storms increased a sense of awareness and urgency with these storms, it is also just as likely that applying names to additional weather phenomena might dilute the message overall. Read more at the New York Times.
American Name Society member Ayokunmi Ojebode recently published the essay “Name as National Archive Capturing of Yoruba Masculinist Names” in the edited volume The Cinema of Tunde Kelani: Aesthetics, Theatricalities and Visual Performance.
The book is described as follows:
“This book is the first definitive publication on Tunde Kelani, and represents a mine of divergent scholarly approaches to understanding his authorial power. A collection of articles on the cinematic oeuvre of one of the important and finest filmmakers in Africa, it addresses diverse areas that are crucial to Kelani’s filmic corpus and African cinema. Contributors articulate Kelani’s visual crafts in detail, while providing explications on significant markers. The book offers an understanding of how Kelani’s works represent the African worldview, science, demonstrative law, politics, gender, popular culture, canonized culture and history.”
(Image by Flaviovivoriosalles, CC-BY-4.0)
Recently, Pfizer announced that their FDA-approved COVID vaccine will be called “Comirnaty”, a combination of the words community, immunity, mRNA, and COVID. Phoebe Bain of Marketing Brew recently interviewed American Name Society President Laurel Sutton about this new name. Read more about President Sutton’s verdict over at Marketing Brew.
Several members of the American Name Society have contributed to a new publication at Palgrave Macmillan titled Names and Naming: Multicultural Aspects. The book is further described:
“This edited book examines names and naming policies, trends and practices in a variety of multicultural contexts across America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In the first part of the book, the authors take theoretical and practical approaches to the study of names and naming in these settings, exploring legal, societal, political and other factors. In the second part of the book, the authors explore ways in which names mirror and contribute to the construction of identity in areas defined by multiculturalism. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to onomastics, and it will be of interest to scholars working across a number of fields, including linguistics, sociology, anthropology, politics, geography, history, religion and cultural studies.”
Purchase a copy at the publisher’s website by clicking here!
