Many families have naming traditions. The pressure to give your child your own name can be freeing or stifling. In this blog post, Joanna Goddard of cupofjo.com talks to her friend Mary Keith about this tradition.
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Seeking New ANS Officers for 2018
Ever thought about getting more involved with the American Name Society but did not know how? Here is your opportunity! The American Name Society is currently looking for a few good people who are interested in joining the Executive Council. Starting January 2017, new officers will be needed to fill the positions listed below.
To apply for one or more of these positions, please fill out the application form on this page.
ANS Treasurer (2018-2020)
The person elected to this position will be responsible for keeping official record of all funds and securities of the Society; giving and keeping receipts for moneys due and payable to the Society; depositing all moneys in the name of the Society; responding to inquiries from annual conference attendees regarding registration payments; and informing the ANS President, the members of the ANS Executive Council, and the general membership about the financial status of the Society via an end-of-the year fiscal report. The ANS Treasurer will work closely with the ANS President, Vice President, and Membership Officer as well as Taylor & Francis, the current publisher of the ANS Journal NAMES. The person elected to this position is expected to have demonstrable accounting experience and competence in using standard spreadsheets programs (e.g., Excel). Applicants for this position must be long-term ANS members in good-standing.
Member-at-large (2017-2020)
The person elected to this position will serve as a voting member of the Executive Council (EC) and is expected to participate actively in the legislative decision-making involved in resolutions and motions placed before the EC. In addition to these duties, members-at-large serve on various auxiliary sub-committees to, for example, help with the nomination of new officers, coordination of the annual conference, and organization of allied conferences. Officers in this position can renew their term of service twice.
Allied Conference Coordinator (2018-2020)
The person elected to this position is principally responsible for organizing the ANS session at the annual conference of the Modern Language Association. This activity involves issuing a call for papers, assembling a team of abstract reviewers, selecting three authors whose work will be presented at the MLA conference, and coordinating the presentation of the three winning abstracts with the MLA administration. In addition to these duties, as a voting member of the ANS Executive Council (EC), the Allied Conference Coordinator participates in the legislative decision-making of the Society. Although the term of service for this position is for two years, the holder of this office may be re-elected pending approval by the EC. Given the fact that this position requires close communication with the MLA, candidates who have a demonstrated expertise in literary onomastics will receive preference. Holders of this position are also eligible for election as an ANS Vice President.
Coordinator for 4 ANS Facebook Special Interest Group (2018-2020)
The person elected to this position is principally responsible for managing the ANS Facebook Special Interest Groups (SIGs). There are four ANS SIGs: 1) Personal Names, 2) Literary Names, 3) Trade Names, and 4) Place Names. For each of one of those SIGs, the coordinator is responsible for stimulating and monitoring discussions between users; regularly posting material of thematic interest; answering queries from the general public; and coordinating an informal gathering in-person during the annual ANS meetings. The people chosen for these positions are expected to have excellent writing skills; be a frequent and enthusiastic Facebook user; and have a demonstrable interest in the thematic area of the relevant SIG. The coordinators of the ANS Facebook SIGs will work closely with one another, the ANS President and Vice President, and the ANS Information Officer.
Trump, Clinton campaigns influencing baby names
Presidential races even impact baby names. Babycenter’s recent study found that Clinton is currently influencing baby names more than Trump is.
Call for Papers: HAMSA Journal of Judaic and Islamic Studies special issue on Onomastics of Muslims and Jews
An upcoming issue of the HAMSA Journal of Judaic and Islamic Studies will be devoted to the theme “Onomastics of Muslims and Jews”. In this special issue, articles dealing with diachronic and synchronic variation in the naming patterns of both communities will be presented. The deadline for receipt of manuscripts is the 15th of October 2016. Researchers interested in submitting a contribution for possible publication can find more information, including the call for papers on the HAMSA website.
The New Yorker’s “Name” a Cartoon Contest
Every week, “The New Yorker” runs a cartoon caption contest in which readers are invited to provide a name for an unlabeled cartoon. Finalists for each week are selected by “The New Yorker” staff and the winner is picked by the readers. Interested in throwing your hat into the ring?
People of the Ancient World Conference, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, October 13-15, 2016
From the 13th to 15th of October, an International conference on “People of the Ancient World” will be held at the Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. The goal of the three-day conference is to bring together researchers whose work focuses on the Greco-Roman world. One of the official themes of the conference will be “Onomastics, naming practices, and name interpretation”. Further information about this conference can be obtained by emailing romans1by1[@]gmail.com.
Symposium of the RITerm2016, Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 18-21, 2016
Lexicographers with a specialization in the terminology of the Iberian Peninsula may be interested in attending the 10th annual symposium of the RITerm2016, which will be held in São Paulo, Brazil from the 18th to the 21st of October 2016. The official contact person for the event is Ieda Maria Alves.
Announcing the LEME Database for Lexicons of Early Modern English
LEME, of the Lexicons of Early Modern English, is a new data-base for researchers interested in historical linguistics. The data-base currently contains more than 750,000 word entries from the years 1480 to 1755. The primary sources used for the digitized compilation include lexicons from the Tudor, Stuart, Caroline, Commonwealth, and Restoration Periods. Users of the LEME can search for entries by date, title, author, subject, and genre.
How to Tell Someone’s Age When All You Know Is Her Name
What does your name tell strangers about your biological age? According to lovers of statistics and onomastics, perhaps more than you might imagine. In this interesting article, Nate Silber and Allison McCann explain how you can tell someone’s age, when all you have is their first name.
2016 Colloquium of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas, Cambridge, England, September 13-15, 2016
From the 13th to the 15th of September, Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge will be holding its 2016 Colloquium of the Henry Sweet Society for the History of Linguistic Ideas. The theme of this year’s colloquium is “Onomastics and its History.” Information on the conference lineup, accommodation, and fees, can be found at the conference website.