Last month, King Mswati III of Swaziland, one of the world’s few remaining absolute monarchs, announced the news: The country will henceforth be known as eSwatini, the kingdom’s name in the local language. (It means “land of the Swazis” in the Swazi — or siSwati — tongue.) Many African countries upon independence “reverted to their ancient, native names,” The Associated Press quoted the king as saying. “We no longer shall be called Swaziland from today forward.” According to Reuters, Mswati argued that the kingdom’s name had long caused confusion. “Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland,” the king said, according to Reuters.

Whether the name change will stick is another question. In 2016, Czech officials put forward Czechia as the preferred short version of the name of their country. The United Nations, the United States government and — crucially, in the digital age — Google Maps and Apple have complied, but the name Czech Republic remains in widespread use in English. To find out more, click through to this article at the New York Times.

Here is a quiz for you. What is the name of the country with these four official languages (no, it’s not Switzerland…): Albanian, Turkish, Romani, and Serbian?  Its capital city is called Skopje.  It achieved independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in September of 1991. Its international calling code number is “389” and it is located in the Balkan peninsula of southeastern Europe. If you guessed Macedonia, you could be right. But then again, maybe not. Confused? Irritated? Asking yourself what is going on? So are the inhabitants of the country who call themselves Macedonians. That is, the Macedonians who live in Macedonia and not in Greece – and that is precisely the point of contention. Read more about this complex political situation at Foreign Policy.

Whether they’re called Nonni, Gammy, Tutu, Nana, Mamaw, Mimi, or Grammy, grandmothers hold a special place in our lives. Check out this great video from It’s A Southern Thing that reveals the secret of how grandmothers get their Grandma Names.

I scream, you scream, why is everybody screaming about ice cream?  A Canadian ice cream company has begun to establish branches in the United States.  Normally that news would make most residents of the lower 48 jump for joy.  But, in this case, the name of the company has already caused quite a ruckus before most of the shop doors have even had a chance to open.  The company’s name just happens to be “Sweet Jesus” and for some ice cream lovers, that onomastic choice is just too much to take. Other religiously-inspired food names are far from unusual.  Aside from culinary favorites like Angel and Devil’s Food Cake, St. Lucia Buns, Hot Cross Buns, and good old fashioned Easter eggs, there are a number of companies that have taken their inspiration from Christianity when developing their business moniker.

According to the owners of the Sweet Jesus ice cream chain, they have no plans to change their company name anytime soon.

What goes into a really good burger?  Or a devastatingly delicious filet?  Or how about a wonderfully spiced breakfast sausage?  As far as the French government is concerned, one of the main ingredients for any of these products has to be meat.  That means that vegetarian and vegan products which contain no animal products should not be allowed to carry names that have been traditionally associated with meat (e.g. sausage, burger, bacon, etc.).  Supporters of the name-prohibition say this prohibition is all about product transparency.  Critics say this is more about money than honesty. Click through to this article at News.com.au for more!

The new buzzword in parenting is a mashup that will alarm even the most liberal of grammarians. A “theyby” is a baby born and raised free of the constraints of gender designation, according to an article published earlier this week by New York Magazine’s The Cut. Some new parents are adopting the childrearing practice, which includes keeping the baby’s anatomy a secret from others and referring to the child only by plural pronoun, in an effort to raise a more creative and uninhibited human. This article in AdAge discusses some of the ways that marketers are trying to appeal to parents of theybies.

Second grade classes from schools across New York City were asked to submit names for the newly launched NYC Ferries. Four Queens schools were selected as having come up with winning nautical names. In alphabetical order, some of these winning names and schools include “Rainbow Cruise” from P.S. 330 in Corona; “Starlight” from P.S. 112 in Long Island; “Spring Mallard” from P.S. 148 in East Elmhurst; and “The Ocean Queen Rockstar” from P.S. 197 in Far Rockaway, New York. For more on this innovative name contest, click here.

The latest in the Marvel movies to hit the screen, Black Panther, has been listed as the highest-grossing solo superhero firm of all times, with worldwide profits reaching over 1.2 billion dollars. Although the film had its premier in January of 2018, the native son of Wakanda has been around since in1966, when Marvel’s first Black superhero made his debut in the Fantastic 4 comic. By 1977, the popular figure had earned his very own comic. Given the obvious onomastic connections made between the real-life Afrocentric political movement lead by the Black Panthers and the fictional war waged by the fictional superhero, Marvel tried to change the character’s name to Black Leopard, but the name change was evidently rejected by fans, causing Marvel execs to concede defeat and re-adopt the name “Black Panther”. Read more in this article at History.com!