Join us for a panel on names, identity, and social meaning at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Papers in this panel include:

“One name, two names, red names, blue names” by Mary Ann Walter, University of the Virgin Islands, USA

This study investigates the correlation of politically-inflected personal names with previously-identified phonetic variables which sociolinguistically index ‘femininity’ (higher ratios of open syllables and vowels with respect to consonants, high front vowels compared to others, and sonorant consonants compared to others). I find that there is a consistent and statistically significant stepwise progression of increasing “femininity” from red male – blue male – red female – blue female for all of these phonemic factors. Phonemic aspects of name selection for one’s children appears to play a role in expressing ideological affiliations in the United States.

“‘This is how you correctly say Appalachia’: Regional pronunciation differences and metalinguistic awareness across Appalachia” by Charlie Farrington, Virginia Tech, USA, Sarah Boudreau, Virginia Tech, USA, Grace Bush, Virginia Tech, USA, Ethan Peterson, Virginia Tech, USA, Drake Webb, Virginia Tech, USA, Chuck Corra, Independent Researcher, and Abby Walker, Virginia Tech, USA.

Learn more and register for the meeting here:

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Join us for a panel on names, authority, and power at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Papers in this panel include:

“Toponyms and the creation of a Taiwanese Indigenous village” by Rik De Busser, National Chengchi University, Taiwan

This talk explores how the complex layering of toponyms in the Taiwanese Indigenous village of Rinari is a result of its relatively recent creation, reflecting the intricate power dynamics between Indigenous communities and various external governmental and non-governmental organizations. Rinari is a village inhabited by Paiwan and Rukai people that was constructed by the government in the aftermath of typhoon Morakot in 2009 and settled by four Indigenous communities. This talk discusses how this resulted in an overlap of traditional and non-traditional toponymic systems and explores how this affects the linguistic landscape of the new village.

“Onomastic Conflicts in Maritime Spaces: “Gulf of Mexico or America?” and Other Naming Battles at Sea” by Cari Didion, Governors State University, USA, & Michel Nguessan, Governors State University, USA

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• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Join us for a panel on structure and creativity in naming practices at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Papers in this panel include:

“On the linguistic structure of paint color names: Kale green, slow green or green sprout?” by Elsi Kaiser, University of Souther California, USA

Relative to basic-level color terms (e.g. green, yellow), color names (e.g. Kale Green, Friendly Yellow) have received less linguistic attention. We present an analysis of 6000+ paint names from six paint companies. We looked at names with color terms in first/second position (e.g. Blue Sky, Sky Blue) and identified four main types. We posit that novel noun+color compounds (e.g. Summer White) and human-trait attribution (e.g. Friendly Yellow, Agreeable Gray) are frequent because they yield eye-catching names while allowing some color identifiability. We also analyze part-of-speech (Acorn, Intuitive, Ponder), metaphorical uses (Patience vs. Snow), and morphology (Greige (gray+beige), Grayish).

“Breed, Language, and Word Formation in the Names of Thoroughbreds in Turkey” by F. Nihan Ketrez, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey

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• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Join us for a panel on names in discourse and the transmission of knowledge at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society.

“Names in Contemporary Written Discourse: Sociopragmatic Functions in the Context of Educational Resources” by Emilia Aldrin, Halmstad University, Sweden

This presentation explores the sociopragmatic functions of names in contemporary, written non-fiction, with a focus on the authoritative discourse of school textbooks (Fairclough 2010, Gray 2016). Since naming choices may shape young readers’ perceptions (Macintyre & Hamilton 2010, Keller & Franzak 2016), the study asks: How are names used in textbook discourse, and what functions do they serve? Combining insights from pragmatics, socioonomastics and literary onomastics, an analytical framework is outlined. Identified functions include providing referential knowledge, signalling status, engaging readers, underlining authority, and shaping identities. Examples from Swedish primary school textbooks illustrate the discussion, with relevance beyond educational texts.

“Place Names in the Latin American Literary Discourse” by Irina Martynenko, RUDN University and Kutafin Moscow State Law University, Russia

The presentation examines the functioning of place names in fiction and their connection with real geographical objects. Based on the texts of some outstanding Latin American writers, the author analyzes the origin of toponyms recorded in their works, the historical context and the features of their use in personal artistic discourse. Particular attention is paid to cases when writers use place names in a metaphorical meaning, as well as the role of toponyms in the narrative of national identity. The results of the analysis showed that geonames in fiction perform not only a nominative, locative, but also a symbolic function.

Learn more and register for the meeting here:

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Join us for a special panel on diversity in youth literature at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society.

Recent years have seen a blistering and sustained effort to severely limit the breadth and range of literature available to readers. This censorship movement has been especially active in trying to control publications for underage readers. In response to this controversy, Bloomsbury will soon release a new book in the onomastic series edited NAMES Editor-in-Chief, I. M. Nick. This multi-authored volume specifically explores names, naming, and diversity in youth literature. The panel presents some of the many works featured in the upcoming compendium.

The book is available for Pre-order from Bloomsbury here.

Learn more and register for the meeting here:

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Join us for a special panel on forensic onomastics at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Learn more and register for the meeting here:

• https://www.eventbrite.com/e/american-name-society-annual-meeting-2026-tickets-1980904507707

The full schedule is available here:

Conferences