The general theme of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names (CSSN) for its 2026 annual meeting (virtual) is “Onomastics and Toponymy as Reflections of Our World’’. The 2026 CSSN conference will not be held in conjunction with the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) of Canada and will take place entirely online.
Papers on any onomastic or toponymic topic are welcome, from any discipline, perspective, or field of study, including but not limited to linguistics, geography, history, economics, literature, archaeology, ethnology, politics, genealogy, administration, taxonomy, and related areas. The scope of the programming is not limited to Canadian subjects; rather, diversity and originality in topic and provenance are always appreciated, including contributions from independent scholars outside academia. Of particular interest are contemporary topics that explore onomastics within changing societies, cultures, sciences, or technologies.
Authors are encouraged to present their subject matter with clear research questions, methods and outcomes. Presentations are allotted 20 minutes, with 10 minutes added for questions and discussion. We expect two keynote speakers, one in English and one in French, each presenting for 45 minutes.
Please submit by February 21, 2026, an abstract of 150–250 words in French or English (language of the presentation, which may even be bilingual), including the title of your paper, the full name and affiliation of each author, along with a current email address for each. You may also indicate a preferred day or time period.
Presenters need not be current CSSN members to submit an abstract but must be CSSN members at the time of the presentation. More information about membership is available on the CSSN membership webpage.
For further information about the range of topics you might present, please see the full-length call for papers on the webpage of the 2026 CSSN annual meeting. Please use the form provided on this webpage for your abstract. Authors will receive a response by March 31, 2026.
You can email your abstract, written in English or French, to the Programme Committee members: Marie (Aurélie) Thériault, Ph.D., at marie.theriault@umontreal.ca and Grace Gomashie, Ph.D., at ggomashi@uwo.ca by February 21, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.