It is maddening and you probably will not get all of them right. And if you do, there is a very good chance you won’t be able to repeat that stellar performance. And if you do, send us an email. You should definitely join the American Name Society. Feeling lucky? Feeling knowledgeable? Want to test your wits against the folks at Merriam Webster? Check out the game: Name That Thing. You can play as often as you like. Warning: this name game can be harmful to your ego and just might be a tad addictive.
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Final Schedule for the ANS Conference in Austin, TX
The final schedule of presentations is now available for the upcoming annual conference in Austin, TX, from January 5-8, 2017. The schedule is included in the ANS 2017 Conference Program.
For more information about the conference and registration materials, please visit the conferences page.
African American names aren’t “ghetto”
Fayetteville University Freshman Dominque Elliott shares the cultural trends that have influenced the creation of distinctly black names. These names have their own rich history.
Naming a Dog?
Looking for dog names? Check out alldognames.com. The site includes articles and name lists to aid you in this decision.
Top Celebrity Baby Naming Trends Of 2016
In this article, Mallory Moss, cofounder of Babynames.com, discusses celebrity baby naming trends. Will the rest of us copy these trends?
What’s in a Name?: Hebrew and Arabic Names, Naming, & North American Culture
In this “Can We Talk?” conversation, Wajahat Ali and Rabbi Or Rose discuss their ethnically and religiously marked names.
Nameberry’s Names of the Year 2016
It’s that time of year when we start seeing “Name of the Year” lists. Nameberry has put together a list of “names that reflect current trends and are prime to inspire baby names of the future.”
Do you have ideas about Name of the Year? Submit your nominations to the American Name Society.
Award for Best Article in Names: A Journal of Onomastics 2016
The 2016 Award Winner is:
Dr. Gerrit Bloothooft and David Onland, “Multiple First Names in the Netherlands (1760-2014)” Names: A Journal of Onomastics 64(1) 3-18.
Learn more about their article in this interview in Names: A Journal of Onomastics.
Committee: Michael McGoff, Kemp Williams, Dorothy Dodge Robbins
2017 Emerging Scholar Award Winner
Daniel Duncan (New York University)
Understanding St. Louis’ love for Hoosier.
The 2016 Emerging Scholar Ward Committee is pleased to announce this year’s winner: Daniel Duncan from New York University. The title of Mr. Duncan’s submission is “Understanding St. Louis’ love for Hoosier.”
Abstract
Danial Duncan is a graduate student in the Department of Linguistics at New York University. His work primarily focuses on language variation and change within suburbs in the United States, using the St. Louis, MO metropolitan area as a case study.
Biography:
The name Hoosier (‘Indiana resident’) instead means ‘poor, rural, white trash’ in St. Louis (STL), Missouri (Murray 1987). This paper engages in discourse analysis of several texts to explore why its use persists despite less-localized alternatives (redneck, etc.) and why it would become enregistered (Agha 2003) as a feature of the local dialect. Findings show Hoosier is used to police behavior. Unlike similar slurs, its use requires knowledge of STL’s social geography. Hoosier allows speakers to demonstrate localness while positioning themselves and STL as cosmopolitan compared to the derided target. As such, the slur asserts positive values for St. Louisans.
Attendees of the upcoming ANS annual conference in January will have a chance to hear him present his research in person.
As the ESA award-winner, Mr. Duncan will receive a cash award as well as a mentor who will assist him in preparing his research manuscript for possible publication in a future issue of NAMES. Click here for more information about the award.
This year’s ESA Committee was made up of Dr. Jan Tent (committee chair), Dr. Mirko Casagranda, and Dr. Luisa Caiazzo.
Call for Papers Extended for the 17th World Congress of Jewish Studies
The deadline for submitting an abstract for the 17th World Congress of Jewish Studies has been extended to tomorrow, the 15th of December 2016. This event occurs every four years and is considered to be the most important event in Jewish Studies worldwide. The Congress will take place from the 6th to the 10th of August 2017 at the Mount Scopus Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.