Symposium on Bavarian-Austrian Onomastics, Augsburg, Germany, September 22-23, 2016

From the 22nd to the 23rd of September, 2016, the University of Augsburg (Germany) will be holding a symposium on Bavarian-Austrian onomastics (ABÖN). The specific theme of this year’s conference is “Names in Poetry and Literary Prose.” Interested attendees are encouraged to email Prof. Dr. Klaus Wolf [klaus.wolf@phil.uni-augsburg.de].

ICOS 2014 Proceedings Published

The 2014 conference proceedings are now published and available on the ICOS 2014 website:

Names and Their Environment. Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Glasgow, 15-19 August 2014. 5 vols, edited by Carole Hough and Daria Izdebska. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2016.
The proceedings are available for download either by volume (five volumes in total) or by individual paper (organized by thematic section on the website).

Two Poets Unapologetically Reclaim Their Names: “Say It Right, Or Don’t Say It At All”

Poets Yesika Salgado and Aman Batra present a powerful poem as a duo, calling for respect for people of color. Their poem is centered around their names. Watch the video.

NPR Sunday Puzzle: Name That Celebrity! All You Have To Do Is Rhyme

This week, the NPR Sunday Puzzle answers are names. Listen here and play along.

We’re Naming Babies After Pokémon

Pokémon Go has even inspired baby names.

Call for Papers: University of Warsaw Lexicography Conference

The University of Warsaw has announced an upcoming lexicography conference called “Key Words / Słowa klucze / Schlüssel-Wörter.” The purpose of the conference is to bring together different methodologies and levels of language/discourse analysis.

The deadline for 300-word abstract submissions is August 31, 2016. The conferences languages are English, Polish, and German. Interested author are asked to email their abstracts to [sloworoku.polonuw.edu.pl].

A select group of accepted presentations will later be published in the journal “Tekst i Dyskurs” / “Text und Diskurs.”

Call for Papers: 19th Century Lexicography Conference, Stanford, California, April 6-7, 2018

The 19th Century Lexicography Conference will be held from the 6th to the 7th of April, 2018, at Stanford University in California. The aim of the conference is to compare dictionary-making in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Pacific and beyond to discern inter- and intralingual lexicographical pattern. Interested contributors are asked to send abstracts by the 1st of September 2016 to Sarah Ogilvie (sogilviestanford.edu) and Gabriella Safran (gsafranstanford.edu). Abstracts may be no longer than 300 words (excluding references).

About Icelandic Names

The European Soccer Cup may be over for Iceland, but Europe’s fascination with the tiny island nation with the giant volcanoes is just getting started. In particular, the Europeans have become obsessed with Icelandic naming patterns. To feed this onomastic frenzy, the past few months have seen an unprecedented proliferation of online sites designed to help would-be Vikings generate their very own Icelandic name. Along with these fun e-sites, traditional websites devoted to the history and meaning of Icelandic names have also witnessed a huge increase in visitors. Want to see what all the fun is about? We have compiled a list of e-sources for you:

AutoCarto 2016 from the Cartography and Geographic Information Society, Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 14-16, 2016

What could be better than a few days of sun, fun, and cartography? If you agree, the Cartography and Geographic Information Society has just the event for you!

From the 14th to the 16th of September 2016, the Society will be holding AutoCarto 2016, a symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Visit the website for additional information about the conference, the scientific presentations, and scheduled workshops.

New Publication Released on Estonian Place Names

Names scholars and enthusiasts with a special interest in all things Estonian will be excited to learn that a new publication on Estonia toponyms has been recently released. Eesti kohanimeraamat, aka The Book of Estonian Place Names, offers readers over 6000 entries over 1,000 pages on the pronunciation, grammar, and history of Estonian toponyms, written, spoken, and signed. Read more about this resource in Estonian.