The Port Stephens community (New South Wales, Australia) is being called on by the Geographical Names Board to have their say about a proposal to formally name a Medowie reserve after the iconic Bower bird.

Board chair Narelle Underwood said feedback was being sought on Port Stephens Council’s proposal to name a public reserve located north of Topaz Avenue, within The Bower residential estate, as Bower Reserve. “It is important that place names reflect the character and history of the local area and community,” Mrs Underwood said. They want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to provide their feedback on the proposed name. According to the submission, the name is derived from the estate name that the reserve is located in.

A market town in Somerset has topped a list of the 10 most difficult-to-pronounce place names in the UK.

Frome is the most mispronounced town in England, according to a team of linguists behind a language learning app. Ballachulish in Scotland, Beaulieu in Hampshire and Woolfardisworthy in Devon also made the top 10. The list’s makers said British English was “famous for some of the most confusing pronunciations on earth”.

‘How do you say?’: The Top 10 ‘most difficult’ place names

Frome, Somerset, England
Ballachulish, Highland, Scotland
Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, England
Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Woolfardisworthy, Devon, England
Beaulieu, Hampshire, England
Bicester, Oxfordshire, England
Ynysybwl, Cwm Clydach, RCT, Wales
Rampisham, Dorset, England
Quernmore, Lancashire, England

BabyNames.com is seeking name experts to be interviewed on future episodes of The Baby Names Podcast. We’ve already had the pleasure of speaking with ANS members Cleve Evans and Laurel Sutton and have received a great response.

Toledo City Council on 17th September 2019 voted unanimously to officially change the name of Toledo Express Airport to the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport.

The name change is to honor Mr. Kranz, 86, who served as flight director for Apollo 11 and directed the successful rescue mission of the Apollo 13 crew. He was born in Toledo and graduated from Central Catholic High School.

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz first announced his intention to change the airport’s name to honor the NASA icon. Now all that’s left is for the Federal Aviation Administration to authorize the name change.

Premier Will Hodgman says new legislation to penalise those who use place names not formally recognised as Tasmanian nomenclature will not extend to Aboriginal place names. Greens leader Cassy O’Connor asked Mr Hodgman in Parliament how the proposed legislation to worked with the government’s pledge to reset its relationship with the Aboriginal community. She said Aboriginal names attached to places had been used for thousands of years. Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre chief executive Heather Sculthorpe said the community would resist the legislation and would risk prison time if necessary. “This bill is a direct attack on Aboriginal rights to use our own language and maintain our cultural heritage,” she said.

Calling all 007 fans, the title for the much anticipated 25th James Bond film has just been revealed. And it’s…No Time to Die. The title was announced on Twitter, and producers also posted that the movie is due to come out in the UK on 3 April 2020.

What else do we know about the long-awaited film?

According to the official plot summary, the British spy comes out of retirement to take on a mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist. Filming is already underway, but there have been some problems along the way, including Daniel Craig needing minor ankle surgery after an injury on set in Jamaica. Oscar-winner Rami Malek, who starred in Bohemian Rhapsody, will play a villain.

New streets in Cardiff (Wales, UK) could be given names in Welsh only under new plans.

Cardiff council said it is keen for new streets and future developments in the capital to be given names that reflect local heritage. The plans were first announced last year and council officials will make a decision whether to adopt the scheme at a meeting next month. A consultation was held over six weeks between January and March 2019. The responses will now be considered by the council’s cabinet in September. Mabli Siriol, from Welsh language group “Cymdeithas yr Iaith“, welcomed the idea. She said: “It would give a boost to the status and use of the language in the city.”

Unilever is rebranding its I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spread in the UK in a move to “drive awareness of the product’s versatility”. The new name? I Can’t Believe It’s So Good For Everything, which is two words (and four syllables) longer than the already lengthy original brand name. “Everything” includes spreading, cooking, baking, and frying – so technically not everything. But can you use it to remove gum from your hair?