The American Name Society mourns the death of one of its leading lights. W.F.H (Bill) Nicolaisen died on February 15, 2016 in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Bill was born on June 13, 1927 in Halle/Salle, in east-central Germany, near Leipzig. A prolific author in all areas of onomastics, he also published extensively in folklore studies. In fact, in addition to having served as the president of the American Name Society, he is the only folklorist to have been president of both the American Folklore Society and the Folklore Society (Great Britain). The author of over 600 journal articles, perhaps Bill’s most widely-known onomastic works are the 1976 Scottish Place-Names (London: B.T. Batsford), The Names of Towns and Cities in Britain (with M. Gelling and M. Richards) (London: B.T. Batsford), and “Place Names in Bilingual Communities” (Names 23: 167-74).

Bill is survived by his wife, four daughters, many grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. He will be greatly missed.

Spain is slowly moving away from the time of Franco. The Madrid City council recently agreed to rename a street of Franco-era association after an anarchist known as the Red Angel, Melchor Rodriguez Garcia. This is one of many such street name changes planned to move Madrid toward pluralism and diversity.

The University of North Dakota (UND) has joined a growing number of American institutions deciding to end their use of potentially disparaging Native American names. According to university officials, the team once known as “the Fighting Sioux” will now be called “the Fighting Hawks”. In an interview with the local news, UND President Robert Kelley explained that the change in name policy expresses “our state spirit and the fact that UND continues to ascend to newer heights.”

The Zika virus of the Flaviviridae family derived its name in 1947 from the Zika Forest in Uganda where it was first identified in a rhesus monkey. Since that initial isolation, viral outbreaks among humans have been tracked in Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, and most recently the Americas and Europe.

Given the spread of the virus and the possible link to life-threatening birth defects, African residents of the Zika Forest are worried that negative onomastic associations will endanger their vital tourist industry. Other toponyms which have served as the basis for disease monikers include the West Nile; and Lime, Connecticut.

Number one ranked tennis star, Novak Djokovic, is using the power of names to prepare himself for the upcoming French Open. As a part of his motivational strategy, the winner of 11 Grand slam trophies has devised a name for his goal to take the French Open: “the Djoker Slam”. Djokovic, or “Djoker” as he is called by friends, is not the first player to use this linguistic technique. Tennis legend, Serena Williams, called her 21st Grad Slam title, the “Serena Slam”.