Seeking New ANS Officers for 2019

Ever thought about getting more involved with the American Name Society but did not know how?  Here is your opportunity!  The American Name Society is currently looking for a few good people who are interested in joining the Executive Council.  Starting January 2019, new officers will be needed to fill the positions listed below.

To apply for one or more of these positions, please fill out the application form on this page.

 

ANS Treasurer (2019-2021)

The person elected to this position will be responsible for keeping official record of all funds and securities of the Society; giving and keeping receipts for moneys due and payable to the Society; depositing all moneys in the name of the Society; responding to inquiries from annual conference attendees regarding registration payments; and informing the ANS President, the members of the ANS Executive Council, and the general membership about the financial status of the Society via an end-of-the year fiscal report. The ANS Treasurer will work closely with the ANS President, Vice President, and Membership Officer as well as Taylor & Francis, the current publisher of the ANS Journal NAMES. The person elected to this position is expected to have demonstrable accounting experience and competence in using standard spreadsheets programs (e.g., Excel). Applicants for this position must be long-term ANS members in good-standing.

 

Member-at-large (2019-2022)

The person elected to this position will serve as a voting member of the Executive Council (EC) and is expected to participate actively in the legislative decision-making involved in resolutions and motions placed before the EC.  In addition to these duties, members-at-large serve on various auxiliary sub-committees to, for example, help with the nomination of new officers, coordination of the annual conference, and organization of allied conferences.  Officers in this position can renew their term of service twice.

 

Information Officer (2019-2021)

The person elected to this position will be responsible for maintaining the ANS social media presence via our website as well as Facebook and Twitter. The main duties for this position include the following: updating the news page of the ANS website on a weekly basis; posting special alerts (e.g., conference announcements, calls for papers, ANS newsletters); responding to requests made via the Facebook and Twitter accounts; and adding books that are reviewed in NAMES to the ANS Amazon Wishlist. The person chosen for this position must not only be highly computer literate, but also an avid user of social media. Experience in using WordPress is desirable but not mandatory. Training will be provided. The new Information Officer must also have excellent writing and time-management skills as well as a high level of creativity. The Information Officer will work very closely with the ANS President and Vice President throughout the year.

Names and Identity in the Medieval World: The 2018 Medium Ævum Day Conference, Oct 27 2018, Glasgow, Scotland

Registration is now open for Names and Identity in the Medieval World: The 2018 Medium Ævum Day Conference, to be held Oct. 27th, in Glasgow, Scotland, at the University of Glasgow. Medium Ævum is the Society for the Study of Medieval Languages and Literature.

Speakers include:

  • John Hines (University of Cardiff)
  • Kelly Kilpatrick (University of Wales)
  • Dauvit Brown (University of Glasgow)
  • John Baker (University of Nottingham)
  • Carole Hough (University of Glasgow)

For the full program and registration, please visit the Medium Ævum website.

ICOS Summer School 2019: Methods of Onomastics, Helsinki, Finland, Aug 26-30 2019

The International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) will organize its first Summer School in Helsinki, Finland from 26 to 30 August 2019. The idea of an ICOS Summer School is to bring together young onomastic researchers from all over the world, to help them network and expand their onomastic knowledge. The theme of the Summer School 2019 is Methods of Onomastics. The fast technological development – especially new tools and large datasets – are changing the nature of onomastic research. The course gives students an overview of the most crucial current methodological issues on various sub-areas of onomastics (e.g., toponomastics, anthroponomastics, literary names, commercial names, and socio-onomastics). The course will be held in English.

The full announcement can be found here.

The course is targeted especially to PhD students, but Master’s students intending to continue to PhD level are also welcome. Please note that the course is only for ICOS members. If you are not a member currently, you can become one simply by filling in the course application form. The maximum intake for the course is 25 students. Participants will be awarded with 5 ECTS (study points) and a diploma.

The application form can be found here, and should be submitted by December 14th 2018 at the latest. Students who are accepted for the course will be informed on January 2019.

Call for Papers: Minority Names in Oral and Written Contexts, NORNA 49th symposium, Guovdageaidnu (Kautokeino), Norway, April 24-25 2019

NORNA’s 49th symposium will be held in the middle of the North Sámi area in the town of Guovdageaidnu (Norwegian Kautokeino) in northern Norway, 24–25 April 2019. The symposium is set to last for two working days, with a provisional starting time of 09.00 on 24.4.2019 and finishing at 16.00 on 25.4.2019. Following the symposium, on 26.4.2019, there will be an optional excursion around the host town of Kautokeino.

The central topic of the symposium is to examine questions related to minority language names using various different approaches, as well as from a cross-disciplinary viewpoint. Presentations may deal with all types of name categories in onomastics, such as, e.g. minority language place names, personal names, administrative names, animal, business and artifact names.

Proposals for 20-minute paper presentations or for posters are due by 30th September 2018 at the latest.

The symposium is being hosted in collaboration with Sámi allaskuvla | Sámi University of Applied Sciences and Sámediggi | The Sámi Parliament in Norway, and will be held in the science-building, Diehtosiida, on the premises of Sámi University of Applied Sciences and the Sámi Parliament’s language department.

The call for papers can be found here.

About Names: Keegan keeps on growing in popularity

Keegan-Michael Key

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his August 27th column, he looks at the history of the name Keegan.

Keegan is an Anglicized version of two Irish surnames. Most Keegans were originally Mac Aodhagáin, “son of Egan.” Egan is from Áeducán, a diminutive of Áed (“fire”), the most common name in seventh-century Ireland. The best known Mac Aodhagáin family founded a law school in County Tipperary around 1350. The first Irish law books were compiled under their sponsorship.

A few Keegans were originally Mac Thadhgáins, “son of Tadgán,” a diminutive of Tadhg, “poet.” In the 1850 United States census, 283 of the 465 people with last name Keegan were born in Ireland.

In 2004, Keegan-Michael Key (born 1971) began six seasons on the sketch-comedy hit “Mad TV.” He probably helped Keegan peak at 222nd in 2007. The name had another small uptick when Key starred in Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” from 2012 to 2015. Other famous Keegans include pro golfer Bradley (1986), the PGA Rookie of the Year in 2011 after winning the PGA Championship. His fans wear “Keegan vs. Everybody” T-shirts. Chef Keegan Gerhard (1969) hosted “Food Network Challenge” from 2005 to 2010. Keegan Allen (1989) starred as Toby on teen drama “Pretty Little Liars” (2010-2017).

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