Australia vs West Indies women’s cricket

Cricket Australia has adopted a naming convention that will see its men’s and women’s international teams referred to in the same manner. The two national outfits will be referred to in the same way — simply as the Australian women’s cricket team and the Australian men’s cricket team. The women’s Southern Stars moniker will remain in a colloquial capacity, but some questions by businesswoman Ann Sherry prompted the change. Australia’s women’s cricket captain Meg Lanning has praised Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to drop Southern Stars as the official women’s team name. “I think it’s a big step towards gender equality and it’s great that Cricket Australia have recognized that,” she said.

Indian authorities are moving to strip Mumbai’s railway stations of their British names, as leaders seek to purge the city of remnants of its colonial past. Critics say the name changes are a cynical ploy to appeal to the local Maratha community, which makes up the bulk of Shiv Sena’s support base, while historians lament any attempt to eradicate the city’s history. Elphinstone Road station – named after a British-era governor – officially became Prabhadevi station this week, after a local Hindu deity, and ministers say more changes are in the works. In addition to the Guardian article, this YouTube video from Lehren News provides good coverage.

Soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk, flax milk, rice milk….what do all of these products have in common? Not one of them was, well, “milked” from a cow. For that reason, the dairy industry has said “enough is ENOUGH!” Plant-based products that use the name “milk” are, according to dairy industry leaders, deceiving consumers. If the Food and Drug Administration is anything to go by, they might well have a point. The FDA defines “milk” as a “lacteal secretion”. Sound yummy? Want to learn what all the naming uproar is about? This New York Times article examines the controversy.

From “Dusty Rose” and “Ruby Red” to “X-

Rated” and “Better than Sex”, over the past few years, the product names of women’s cosmetics have gone through revolutionary change. What used to be considered too risqué or offensive to sell has now become commonplace in the marketplace. While some have hailed these onomastic changes as liberating and fun, others have begun to wonder if product namers have gone too far. In this article at Bravo by Adele Chapin, a fascinating discussion of this controversy is offered. (Warning: autoplay video upon landing on the page)

Chinese people commonly choose their own English names when they move overseas. It is to make names more pronounceable, but they know the real bonus is the chance to pick their own names, like picking a new identity. In this article in the China Daily, Cecily Liu looks at how Chinese people pick their English names, and what it means for identity – and why British people working in China might choose Chinese names.

Dottie Lux has made it her mission to help trans users and drag queens restore accounts that match their identity. Photograph: Camille Adams Photography

One of the most important and exciting parts of transitioning is announcing to the world your brand new name. Thanks to the work of generations of trans activists, this onomastic coming out has become easier and easier. However, there are still many important, painful, and unexpected stumbling blocks. In this Guardian article, what Facebook’s name policy has meant for some in the LGBT community is explored.

The company contends that it does not allow fake names in an effort to prevent bullying, harassment, scams and criminal behavior from anonymous accounts. Though Facebook insists that it has since improved its procedures, critics say the company’s name policy continues to pose challenges for trans people and other vulnerable users who don’t use legal names for safety and privacy reasons, including domestic violence survivors and drag queens.

A group of German scientists has suggested that the formal names of extinct animals should be given a special linguistic tag to indicate their origins. The purpose of the tagging is to provide an onomastic distinction between extinct species and species that have been resurrected from the DNA of their long-gone ancestors.

In a Policy Forum piece in the journal Science, the group suggests adding the tag “recr” to scientific names given to resurrected creatures to make sure they are not confused with the original. Want to learn more about this project? Click here.