Nestled in the forests of upper New York State is Paul Smith’s College (PSC). The College of the Adirondack’s owes its name to Phelps Smith, a generous 19th century hotelier, who agreed to give a sizable donation to the college on the condition that it forever carry the name of his father Paul Smith.

Nearly eighty years later, the college, which specializes in forestry, was offered another sizable endowment on the condition that it change its name to honor a new benefactor, Joan Weill, the wife of Wall Street billionaire Sanford Weill. Although many PSC officials were eager to swap the institution’s original name for the $20 million gift, New York State Judge, Justice John T. Ellis, ruled that the renaming condition was unacceptable as directly violated the college founder’s will.

In a statement released to the New York Times, the loss of the Weills’ gift was tragic as the majority of PSC students depend on financial aid. The shock waves of the ruling extend far beyond the Adirondacks. As Doug White, Director of Columbia University’s MS program in Fundraising Management noted, the ruling serves as a warning to organizations tempted to accept donations tied with perpetual benefactor naming agreements.

The nonprofit organization Little People of America (LPA) started an online petition to encourage Illinois officials of Freeburg community high school to change the name of their athletics symbol, the Freeburg Midgets.

In an interview given to USA TODAY, Andrew Lehman, the Superintendent of Freeburg district, explained that the name has been part of the school’s history since the 1930’s. According to Freeburg lore, the nickname came from a cheeky reporter who praised the feisty basketball team’s record, despite the fact that many of the players were smaller than average.

Since then, the name “midget” has been identified by many as being offensive. However, the school has refused to remove the name, stating that doing so would not only remove a beloved symbol, but would also be exceedingly costly. LPA members counter that the continued use of the name helps to create a dehumanizing environment. As Megan Sabourin, a Freeburg native with dwarfism, explained to The Guardian, after being made to suffer the derogatory moniker as child, what is hurtful as an adult is the fact that some residents staunchly refuse to see the name as negative.

After three months of intense scientific deliberation and public consultation, the New Zealand Geographic Board (NZGB) announced late in 2014 that it recommended the correction of several misspelled indigenous place names.

This Autumn, the Land Information Minister, Louise Upston, announced the decision to correct the spelling of 12 place and feature names in the Ōpōtiki District. Among those names on the list for correction are the Waiotahi River, Waiotahi Forest and Waiotahi Knoll, which will all have the misspelling of Waiotahi replaced with the correct, original Māori name ‘Waiotahe’.

Despite the popularity and international recognition of place names featuring the form Waiotahi, officials, scientists, and activists agree, correcting the spelling of these and other toponyms is essential to protecting and respecting New Zealand’s cultural heritage. As Minister Upston stated in a recent interview featured on Radio New Zealand News: “New Zealand has a rich and diverse cultural history and I am pleased we are able to help safeguard the place naming traditions and heritage that have been brought here by our various communities.”

On the 11th of September 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the international terminal of one the largest airports of Northern India. Although the airport is a technological triumph, it included onomastic hitch: the festivities were conducted without a final decision on the new terminal’s name.

According to an article in the Daily Mail, the Punjab government lobbied for the name Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International Airport Mohali-Chandigarh. However, the Haryana government complained that the Punjabi suggestion was far too long and complicated. Covering over 305 acres of land, the 53,000 square meter terminal is due to open for business on or about the 19th of October 2015. In the meantime, the airport remains unnamed.

O’so Brewing Co needed to change the name of a beer after they became victims of a copyright lawsuit. This comically highlights the importance that names play in business.

The 2015 edition of the prestigious anthology Best American Poetry (BAP) is now on sale. A mainstay since 1988, the American anthology is commonly accepted as one of the most important literary platforms for aspiring wordsmiths.

This year, the publication announcement includes an unforeseen onomastic controversy: Appearing alongside Chen Chen’s poem “i will do/undo what was done/undone to me” and Jane Wong’s “Thaw” is Yi-Fen Chou’s award winning poem “The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve”. It looks as if three Asian-American authors made the final cut. However, the name Yi-Fen Chou is a pseudonym for Mr. Michael Derrick Hudson, who has no known Asian ancestry.

When asked why he had chosen this pen name, Hudson replied that he resorted to this tactic after his poem was repeatedly rejected under his real name.

As BAP juror and literary heavy-weight Sherman Alexie revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he only learned of Hudson’s non-Asian ancestry after the poem had been selected. According to Alexie, one of his goals when putting the 2015 anthology together was to make sure that it represented the true diversity of the United States. When he therefore learned the real identity of the author behind the name, Yi-Fen Chou, he was livid.

In an interview with TODAY.com, Dr. Timothy Yu, Director of the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained that one of the reasons why Hudson’s onomastic subterfuge was so injurious was that it ”fits into a long tradition of […] white Americans appropriating Asian identities and culture.” While poets and pundits will no doubt continue to argue the legitimacy of including Yi-Fen Chou/Hudson’s submission, from an onomastic point of view, this case exemplifies the power of names in forming our opinions and guiding our decision-making.

The poetry foundation offers many reactions to Yi-Fen Chou.