Join us for a panel on names, identity, and social meaning at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Papers in this panel include:
“One name, two names, red names, blue names” by Mary Ann Walter, University of the Virgin Islands, USA
This study investigates the correlation of politically-inflected personal names with previously-identified phonetic variables which sociolinguistically index ‘femininity’ (higher ratios of open syllables and vowels with respect to consonants, high front vowels compared to others, and sonorant consonants compared to others). I find that there is a consistent and statistically significant stepwise progression of increasing “femininity” from red male – blue male – red female – blue female for all of these phonemic factors. Phonemic aspects of name selection for one’s children appears to play a role in expressing ideological affiliations in the United States.
“‘This is how you correctly say Appalachia’: Regional pronunciation differences and metalinguistic awareness across Appalachia” by Charlie Farrington, Virginia Tech, USA, Sarah Boudreau, Virginia Tech, USA, Grace Bush, Virginia Tech, USA, Ethan Peterson, Virginia Tech, USA, Drake Webb, Virginia Tech, USA, Chuck Corra, Independent Researcher, and Abby Walker, Virginia Tech, USA.
Place name pronunciations can signal local identity and ideologies of correctness. In Appalachia, the pronunciation of Appalachia and Appalachian often reflects geographic or social in-group distinctions. This paper analyzes over 1500 voice recordings from residents across all 423 counties in the Appalachian Regional Commission’s Appalachia, collected via the Appodlachia podcast. We examine regional variation in the penultimate syllable, specifically, whether speakers use TRAP/CH (Appa-LATCH-ia) or FACE/SH (Appa-LAYSH-ia). Results show that Appa-LATCH-ia dominates at 85%. We also explore metalinguistic commentary, revealing how pronunciation ties into regional identity and diverse perceptions of correctness across the geographically diverse Appalachia.
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