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World Health Organization Debuts New Nomenclature for Virus Variants

The World Health Organization has debuted a new standardized nomenclature for naming virus variants. Recognizing the issues surrounding the informal use of geographic names for virus variants earlier this year, the W.H.O. set out to adopt a new naming schema. They decided to use Greek letters. Benjamin Mueller writes in the New York Times:

“Variants will be assigned letters of the Greek alphabet in the order in which they are designated potential threats by the W.H.O. B.1.617.2, for example, which has contributed to a deadly surge in India, has been named Delta under the new system. That variant may spread even more quickly than B.1.1.7, the variant discovered in Britain that has contributed to devastating waves of cases globally. (B.1.1.7’s new name is Alpha.)”

On Renaming US Army Bases after Unrecognized Veterans

Deborah Sampson, a soldier and veteran of the Revolutionary War (Public Domain)

In an Ideas piece in Time magazine, Craig Bruce Smith argues that US Army bases presently named for Confederate figures should be renamed after previously unrecognized veterans. This short piece tells the tales of Prince Hall and Deborah Sampson, heroes of the Revolutionary War and two suggestions that Smith floats as possible eponyms. The latter of the two bears a striking resemblance to Disney’s Mulan: Sampson disguised herself as a man, enlisted into military service, and fought in battle. Smith concludes by highlighting the benefit of renaming institutions after unrecognized Revolutionary War veterans:

“Today, we can remember that the founders are not simply the “Founding Fathers,” but all who contributed to the independence and creation of the U.S. In 1776, the nation was joined in a “common cause.” A politically divided America could use a reminder that the Declaration of Independence’s words matter and apply to all Americans.”

Smith, an assistant professor of military history at the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, is the author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation’s Ideals during the Revolutionary Era (2018), available from the University of North Carolina Press.

On the Name “Jalen” in the World of Sports

Jalen Moore of the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (photo by Marc-Gregor Campredon / MGoBlog, CC BY-SA 2.0)

In an ESPN article, Eric Woodyard writes about the influence of the name Jalen. Not only are there many Jalens in sports, but professional and college sports players are influencing young fans to name their children “Jalen”. Woodyard writes about the power of names and the unique hold that this generation of Jalens has in the world of sport. Read more about the name Jalen here.

This Weekend: The Canadian Society for the Study of Names Annual Meeting / La Société canadienne d’onomastique rencontre annuelle

The final program for the Annual Meeting of La Société canadienne d’onomastique / The Canadian Society for the Study of Names is now available here. The meeting will be held virtually in conjunction with Canada’s Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2021, which takes place this weekend 29-30 May 2021. If you are interested in attending the meeting, you can find more detail about registration here.

 

 

Naming a Pasta: the Story of Cascatelli

“Raining Cascatelli” by Filebustre (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In a story about how Cascatelli got its name, ANS President Laurel Sutton describes the process of naming a new shape of pasta.

According to creator and Sporkful Podcast host Dan Pashman, Cascatelli was designed to maximize what he believes are all optimum features of pastas: sauceability (“how readily sauce adhere to the shape”), forkability (“how easy it is to get the shape on your fork and keep it there”), and toothskinability (“how satisfying it is to sink your teeth into it”).

In Sutton’s story, several fascinating alternatives were introduced (and one, Millepiedi, promptly vetoed due to similarity to the insect of the same name). Ultimately, Cascatelle was the winning entry with one small change. Click here to read more about that change in “Pastafazool! Helping to name Cascatelli” at Catchword.

Click here to listen to the podcast episode featuring ANS President Laurel Sutton.

About Names: Trevor was a grand slam in the 1990s, thanks to baseball’s all-stars

Trevor Noah speaking at BookExpo 2018 (photo by Terry Ballard, CC BY 2.0)

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his March 14th column, he looks at the history of the name Trevor.

Trevor may not sing tonight, but he’ll surely joke about singers. Tonight, South-African born comedian Trevor Noah, star of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” hosts the 63rd Grammy Awards.

Trevor is a Welsh surname, indicating one’s ancestors lived in one of several medieval hamlets in Wales whose name meant “large homestead.”

Though Trevor is an uncommon last name it’s well-known in Britain because of Edward Trevor (1580-1642), a Welsh soldier sent to Ireland who married Rose Ussher, daughter of the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, in 1612. He acquired a large estate in County Down and was knighted in 1617.

Sir Edward’s grandson Sir John Trevor (1637-1717) was Speaker of the House of Commons from 1689 to 1695. Though Sir John lost his speakership because of taking bribes, by then his daughter Anne had married Michael Hill, Governor of County Down. Their elder son Trevor Hill (1693-1742), perhaps the earliest person with Trevor as a first name, became Viscount Hillsborough. Younger son Arthur (1694-1771), created Viscount Dungannon in 1766, is a five-greats-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II.

Trevor’s aristocratic associations led to its use as a surname for many characters in British novels and plays. After 1925 it became fashionable as a first name in England. This was reinforced when Trevor Howard (1913-1988) became one of Britain’s biggest movie stars in “Brief Encounter” (1945). Trevor peaked in 1955 at around 27th on England’s baby name chart.

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

FDA to Study Link between Drug Names and Perceived Efficacy

The FDA will study the link between users’ perceptions of drug efficacy and the name of the drug itself. Zachary Brennan writes, “The study will compare five target names that may just suggest a medical condition or vary in terms of how the name portrays a drug’s efficacy, with one name that explicitly suggests strong efficacy (CuresFlux) and one that is more neutral (Zerpexin). Participants will answer questions about the names, before and after they have been told what each drug’s indication is.”

Read more about this study and the role of names in drug perception on Endpoints News.

Ten Formerly Popular First Names in America

Take a moment to check your calendar. Tea time with Ethel this Tuesday? Meeting Merle for a matinee on Monday? Neither of the above? It’s not surprising, as both “Ethel” and “Merle” have fallen out of use in recent decades. Using a database from the Social Security Administration, Rose Heichelbech compiled a list of “10 Names you don’t hear anymore”. There are no rigid criteria behind her list, but the ten names featured in her article certainly prove its title accurate.