On Jan. 21, 2017, 90,000 people gathered in Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki, to protest the inclusion of the word “Macedonia” in the name of the neighboring former Yugoslav republic. The rally was the first major protest since Greece and the Republic of Macedonia agreed to join United Nations-mediated talks this month to settle the 25-year disagreement.

Many Greeks argue that the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim to a region in the north of Greece with the same name; Thessaloniki is its capital.

To read more about this politically charged situation, click through to this articles at the New York Times.

A town in the United States has been named Santa Claus since the 19th Century – so what is life like there? The main street is called Christmas Boulevard. The main development – where most of the town’s 2,500 people live – is called Christmas Lake Village. In that gated community, which began in the 1960s, the main streets are named after the three wise men – Melchior, Balthazar, and Kaspar. Others roads are named after Rudolph’s reindeer – take a left down Prancer Drive and you hit Vixen Lane – while one street is simply called Chestnut by the Fire.

In general, the people of Santa Claus love living here. Click through to this in-depth article at BBC News to find out what makes this little town so Christmassy – 365 days of the year.

Kwaussie: The word refers to a person who is a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand, a New Zealander living in Australia, or a person of Australian and New Zealand descent. It was chosen as Word of the Year by the Australian National Dictionary Centre, because to the word has risen to newfound prominence during the dual citizenship crisis that has so far prevented six senators, one deputy prime minister, a senate president, and one MP from holding office.

But the citizenship mess was not the first time the word kwaussie had been used. One of its earliest citations labelled Russell Crowe a kwaussie, calling him “what you get when you cross a Kiwi who can’t decide whether they’re a Kiwi or an Aussie”.

Click through to the article at ABCNews to find out more about kwaussies and other Australian Words of 2017!

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is set to become simply Walmart. The change, which will officially take place beginning in February, is part of a years-long effort by the world’s largest retailer to get customers to think beyond its 11,600 stores. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Ark., was incorporated as Wal-Mart, Inc., in 1969. The following year, it went public and changed its name to Wal-Mart Stores. Today, the company operates businesses under nearly 60 banners, including Massmart in Africa, Asda in the United Kingdom and Seiyu in Japan.

The “Wal” in Walmart comes from the name of the founder, Sam Walton. On July 2, 1962, Walton opened the first Walmart Discount City store at 719 W. Walnut Street in Rogers, Arkansas. To find out more about the name change, click through to read the article at the Washington Post!

It is common for people to change their pets’ names. But won’t it confuse the animal? An animal behaviour specialist says it probably won’t because most pets already responded to a range of different names. The way one talks to a pet is just as important as what they are named. The tone of voice, body language, gestures and facial expressions are just as important.

This article at ABCNews summarizes a recent radio program that looks at the issue, featuring Dr Kersti Seksel who explains why it’s OK to change your pets’ name. Do read the comments on the article for fun anecdotes about pets and names!

And listener Ken messaged the station to say cat owners should not worry too much about changing their pet’s names. “It just doesn’t matter what you call a cat … they absolutely ignore you anyway.”

Nissan Gloria

At Forbes Asia, Peter Lyon has written a fun article about Japanese car names and how they are perceived in English. As he says, “Often you will come across a name that is simply unusable in an English setting but works in Japan.”

As an example, take the Mitsubishi Canter Guts (a real car). The word “guts” doesn’t have the intestinal nuance it does in English. It basically translates into Japanese as something with strength and power. In fact, it has a positive meaning in Japan. They even have the phrase “guts pose” which renders into English as “punch the air” or “fist pump.”

And what about the Toyota Isis? Launched in 2004, long before the militant group was formed in Iraq and Syria, the name Isis actually refers to a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion.

Want to know more? Click through to read on!

Professor Pascaline Faure (Pierre and Marie Curie School of Medicine, Sorbonne University, Paris, France) had an interview with Tom Whipple of the Times (London) about her forthcoming article in Names entitled “Natesto®. What Else? New Trends in Drug Naming”. In this article, Professor Faure discusses recent trends in drug names – some of which “sounded like espresso coffee machines, such as Ingrezza, Tagrisso, Natesto, Afrezza and Portrazza.”

You can download a scanned version of the article here.