Sunday, March 31, 2013

The 47th Meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names





The Society is a member of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CFHSS or FedCan) http://www.ideas-idees.ca/



and traditionally holds its annual meeting in conjunction with the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (formerly the Learned Societies): http://www.congress2013.ca/program/events/meeting-canadian-society-study-names 

At the meeting, members may present papers in formal theme sessions, participate in a toponymic fieldtrip and attend the annual general meeting of the Society.


In 2013, the CSSN will meet as part of the Congress of the Humanites and Social Sciences to be held at University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, June 1 and 2.




Congress Theme: On the Edge 

http://www.csj.ualberta.ca/sco/index.php/home/meeting-of-the-canadian-society-for-the-study-of-names/



Co-organisators of the Meeting are: 


  • the vice president Diane Dechief (Toronto) elected for the three-year period 2012-2015 

  • President of CSSN-SCO is Carol J. Léonard (Edmonton), 

  • secretary-treasurer Léo La Brie (Ottawa), 

  • coordinator of the journal "Onomastica Canadiana" Marie Thériault (Montréal), 

  • and the editor of the Newsletter William Davey (Cape Breton, Senior Scholar).





(in French)

Réunion de la Société canadienne d’onomastique 

Thème du congrès: À la fine pointe

La Société canadienne d’onomastique est membre de la Fédération canadienne des sciences humaines (FCSH) et elle tient depuis toujours sa réunion annuelle dans le cadre du Congrès des sciences humaines. Cette réunion comporte habituellement des sessions de communications savantes par des membres, une excursion toponymique et l’assemblée générale annuelle de la Société.
En 2013, la Société se réunira dans le cadre du Congrès des sciences humaines qui aura lieu à l’Université de Victoria, Victoria, Colombie-britannique, les 1 et 2 juin.

Name in the city

On 24 and 25 May 2013 German Society for of Onomastics (GfN) is organizing



in conjunction with the Onomastic Center of the University of Leipzig



its second scientific conference on "City and its names" (in German: "Die Stadt und ihre Namen").


In 22 papers whose titles are listed in the conference program (http://www.onomastikblog.de/fileadmin/gfn/uploads/gfn/PDF-Dateien/die_stadt_und_ihre_namen_II_02-01-2013.pdf), speakers will cover the time from the early Middle Ages to the present in the 21st century. Perspectives and research approahes to this complex subject are to be shown both from the linguistic and historic viewpoints.

From a spatial perspective, case studies are to be available across European cities, from Riga to Lisbon, etc. The organizers will welcome speakers from Germany, Russia, Latvia, Poland, Italy, Austria, and Switzerland.

A registration for the meeting is requested to be done till the 10th May 2013:


Prof. Dr. Dieter Kremer: kremer@uni-trier.de
or Dr. Dietlind Kremer: dkremer@uni-leipzig.de

in German info from here: http://www.onomastikblog.de/ankuendigungen/die_stadt_und_ihre_namen_ii/

Saturday, March 30, 2013

New Start-Up Company Name

https://www.elance.com/j/new-start-up-company-name-market-research-brand-ambassador-branding/39656778/?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=indeed&utm_campaign=indeed&rid=18J3T&utm_source=indeed&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=indeed 


Posted:      20h, 2m ago
Time Left:  2d, 3h
Location:   Anywhere
Start:         Immediately
Budget:      Less than $500


Can you help create a unique company name for a start-up? 

The new name will be used in digital and print mediums and is necessary in building top of mind awareness campaign for this new company, a special event catering company based in the U.S.

The company prepares the food for special events like wedding receptions, corporate meetings, business retreats, celebrations and parties, and more.

After we have a great name we will explore tag lines and logo development- this step is very crucial to the process, isn't it?

If you believe you can provide us with some unique and memorable names please bid for this project, as we expect to hastily make a decision!

Desired Skills

Market Research, Brand Ambassador, Branding






NameFreak!: Easter Special: Flower Names

NameFreak!: Easter Special: Flower Names: Photo by webeyer via Flickr Easter means different things to different people. To Christians, it is the anniversary of the resurrection...

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Creating a business Name

https://www.odesk.com/o/jobs/job/Creating-business-Name_~01677bb822043e23f1/


Job Description

I am looking for a business name that is catchy and easy to remember it can be a 3-4 letter acronym or one word, preferably two syllables ie. Google or Yahoo. My business is advertising cars online like Cars.com and autotrader.com however, I am not looking for a name that has to do with cars, trucks, SUV, or anything automotive. I want it to be catchy/memorable to only my site, like google is to google. Just how google is only known for "google" the search engine, I want my sites name to be original to only my site. So, this means the name I am looking for will most likely have to be a made up name. I am looking to hire a few people to work on this. I will hire for 3 hours at $5/hr and after 3 hours have been completed I want every name that you came up with submitted to me, The only names I want submitted to me are names that are available in a ".com". Use a web domain like www.Godaddy.com to check the availability of the name.


Job Overview

Type Hourly
Workload As needed - Less than 10 hrs/week
Duration Less than 1 month
Posted March 25 2013, 3:27 PM
Planned Start March 25 2013
Visibility Public
Category Sales & Marketing



Surnames and genetics = GENOMASTICS

I am getting used to call the research fusion between genetics and onomastics as GENOMASTICS. So, today I start to post on that transdisciplinary applied sub-onomastic field.


A general overview may be found in the article by Prof. Marc A. Jobling:



in the journal "Trends in Genetics" Vol. 17 No.6 June 2001

titled as

In the name of the father: surnames and genetics

Hereditary surnames contain information about relatedness within populations. They have been used as crude indicators of population structure and migration events, and to subdivide samples for epidemiological purposes. In societies that use patrilineal surnames, a surname should correlate with a type of Y chromosome, provided certain assumptions are met. Recent studies involving Y-chromosomal
haplotyping and surname analysis are promising and indicate that genealogists of the future could be turning to records written in DNA, as well as in paper archives, to solve their problems.

Keep reading here: http://www.le.ac.uk/ge/maj4/SurnamesForWeb.pdf


Trends in Toponymy 6

text from: http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/rose/forschung/trends_in_toponymy_6.html

Trends in Toponymy 6 will take place at the Heidelberg University (German: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)





from October 7th to 10th 2013.

As the name suggests, the conference is dedicated to both new approaches in toponomastic studies and research on current toponomastic phenomena. The main aim of the conference is the discussion and interdisciplinary exchange about current findings, theoretical innovations and work in progress.


They invite to submit proposals for panels, individual papers and posters regarding original and previously unpublished research addressing place names; the subject can be handled from different perspectives of toponomastics and confining disciplines such as sociolinguistics, geography as well as the social and political sciences.

Trends in Toponymy 4, 2010, Edinburgh


Call for papers

Papers should address one of the three following domains of place name research:

Traditional topics of toponomastic research, e.g. toponomastic-driven contributions on name theory, toponomastic typology and the epistemology of toponomastics.

Topics relating toponomastics and sociolinguistic research, e.g. place names in settings of language contact in multilingual societies and at language boundaries, attitudes towards place names, toponyms in discourse and conversation and research in linguistic landscape – an emergent field connecting sociolinguistics and onomastics.

Computerised presentation of toponomastic data, e.g. the documentation and visualisation of toponymic data via Geographic Information Systems.

This thematic list is not to be seen as exhaustive. Generally, diachronic as well as synchronic perspectives are welcome. PhD students are particularly encouraged to submit a paper based on their work. The abstract should express the central point(s) of the paper and give an outline of the handled subject. It should also include information on the empirical data and the theoretical framework. Only one abstract as single/first author and a second as co-author can be submitted by one person. Abstracts should not exceed 400 words including title and essential bibliography. The conference language is English.

Please send your abstract to trendsintoponymy6@rose.uni-heidelberg.de.

The abstract submission is open until April 30th 2013.



Deadlines and fees

Abstract submission: until April 30th 2013.
Notification of acceptance by May 31st 2013.
Preliminary programme by the end of June 2013.
Final programme by the end of August 2013.

Early bird registration (regular):                    180 EUR
Early bird registration (student):                   85 EUR
Full registration (regular):                              225 EUR
Full registration (student):                             130 EUR
One-day-registration (regular):                      80 EUR
One-day-registration (student):                     50 EUR
Conference Dinner (Tuesday evening):         60 EUR

Early bird registration is open from May 1st until June 30th 2013.

Full registration is open from July 1st until August 31st 2013.

Participants whose papers have been accepted should register by the end of June in order to complete the conference programme as soon as possible. Participation fees include: access to all sessions, programme/collection of abstracts, conference material, lunches and refreshments during the scheduled breaks.



Registration

Registration details will be updated by the end of April 2013.


Programme information

The programme of the conference will offer 3,5 complete workdays (Mon, Tue, Wed morning, Thu) with keynote lectures and paper/poster sessions. Tuesday evening, after the conclusion of the paper sessions we have organised the Conference Dinner at a typical restaurant-brewery in the old town of Heidelberg. We are also planning an excursion on Wednesday October 9th (details tba).



Info on precedent conferences:

Trends in Toponymy 5 (University of Berne) http://www.topotrends2012.org/



Trends in Toponymy 4 (University of Edinburgh) http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/literatures-languages-cultures/delc/conferences-seminars-events/conferences/trends-in-toponymy 




Photos from Trends in Toponymy 4: https://picasaweb.google.com/maimu.berezkina/TrendsInToponymy


Trends in Toponymy 3 (University of KwaZulu-Natal) within the 15th Name Congress of the Names Society of Southern Africa, 7-10 July 2009, Durban, South Africa : [http://nsa2009.ukzn.ac.za/] ???????

Trends in Toponymy 2 (University of Ballarat), November 2008, Australia  http://www.ballarat.edu.au/business/placenames2007 ???????

Trends in Toponymy 1 (Kárášjohka-Karasjok), August 2007, Norway.




I am already thinking of what I should present.... 

Mmmm...

It must be a bomb!!!




Tuesday, March 26, 2013

100 years of the oldest onomastic journal


The Swedish journal "Namn och bygd" (Names and Settlement) appeared in 1913 for the first time and therefore is the worldwide oldest journal specified on local name research.



The numbers of the current year are looking back at a full century of its existence.

http://www.kgaa.nu/tidskrift.php?id=4

The Journal had been founded by the Swedish linguist and onomatologist Jöran Sahlgren (http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6ran_Sahlgren)



For this reason Prof. em. Svante Strandberg (http://uadm.uu.se/ViewPage!renderDecoratedPage.action?siteNodeId=40204&languageId=3&contentId=-1)



 in the jubilee number gives an overview on trends and lines of development during the 100-year-old history of the journal within the northern local name research under the aegis of The Royal Gustavus Adolphus Academy (Swedish Kungliga Gustav Adolfs Akademien) - academy of Swedish national culture founded in 1932.



The author, and at the same time publisher of the journal, is a famous Scandinavian name researcher and professor emeritus at the Institute of Northern Languages of the University of Uppsala.

His Swedish "happy-birthday" and thanks are to be found here: http://www.gfn.name/fileadmin/gfn/uploads/gfn/Blog/Namn_och_bygd_CC.pdf

The German version appears in the next number of the "Namenkundlichen Informationen": http://www.namenkundliche-informationen.de/

on Wiki: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namn_och_bygd

My warmest congratulations for "Namn och bygd"

Passover Jewish baby namesBaby Name Blog - Nameberry

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Surname Space of the Czech Republic: Examining Population Structure by Network Analysis of Spatial Co-Occurrence of Surnames

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0048568

Abstract
In the majority of countries, surnames represent a ubiquitous cultural attribute inherited from an individual's ancestors and predominantly only altered through marriage. This paper utilises an innovative method, taken from economics, to offer unprecedented insights into the “surname space” of the Czech Republic. We construct this space as a network based on the pairwise probabilities of co-occurrence of surnames and find that the network representation has clear parallels with various ethno-cultural boundaries in the country. Our inductive approach therefore formalizes a simple assumption that the more frequently the bearers of two surnames concentrate in the same locations the higher the probability that these two surnames can be related (considering ethno-cultural relatedness, common co-ancestry or genetic relatedness, or some other type of relatedness). Using the Czech Republic as a case study this paper offers a fresh perspective on surnames as a quantitative data source and provides a methodology that can be easily incorporated within wider cultural, ethnic, geographic and population genetics studies already utilizing surnames.

Citation: Novotný J, Cheshire JA (2012) The Surname Space of the Czech Republic: Examining Population Structure by Network Analysis of Spatial Co-Occurrence of Surnames. PLoS ONE 7(10): e48568. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048568

e-Onomastics reaches 6000 all time visitors



The e-Onomastics blog reached more than 6000 visitors level in total. Although this is not a very big achievement, it seems to be quite a feat considering the fact that onomastics may seem boring and to theoretical (???). 

I have also not carried out any marketing or advertising activities focussed on this blog, but a bit of tweets, LinkedIn and Google+.

So, this has given me something to celebrate and has motivated me to posting forth.

One day I will make for myself a cake like http://onomastics.co.uk/ did:



Thanks for visiting!!!

Saturday, March 23, 2013

NameFreak!: Scotland and US Similarities

NameFreak!: Scotland and US Similarities: I have previously posted on the differences between the Top 100 lists in Scotland (2012) and in the United States (2011). Now let's ...

Friday, March 22, 2013

Urban Entanglements


Dear urban place name scholars,

The COLLeGIUM e-volume "Language, Space and Power: Urban Entanglements"
has been published on-line.

See the link:

http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/journal/volumes/volume_13/



The articles by Maggie Scott & by Jani Vuolteenaho and Sami Kolamo deal specifically
with urban place naming.


Capitalising on the City: Edinburgh's Linguistic Identities

Maggie Scott

https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/38602/13_06_scott.pdf?sequence=1


Textually Produced Landscape Spectacles? A Debordian Reading of Finnish Namescapes and English Soccerscapes

Jani Vuolteenaho & Sami Kolamo

https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/38603/13_07_vuolteenaho-kolamo.pdf?sequence=1

info from



Jani Vuolteenaho, Research Fellow
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
P.O. Box 4
FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
Finland
GSM +358-40-757 8168
E-mail: jani.vuolteenaho@helsinki.fi
http://www.helsinki.fi/collegium/english/staff/Vuolteenaho/vuolteenaho.htm

Competition launched to name London King's Cross streets

repost from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21883690

A competition has been launched to name 10 new streets in a redeveloped area of central London's King's Cross.

Around 50 new buildings and 2,000 new homes are being constructed on the 67-acre site.
Entrants can submit as many street name suggestions as they wish by completing an online form or by filling in a form at one of Camden's public libraries.

The competition will run until the end of May and a shortlist will be announced later this year.
Construction began five years ago and last July, the first residents moved into Rubicon Court, while 5,000 staff and students of Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design moved to a new campus in the Grade II-listed Granary Complex.


'Imagination'
By 2016, it is predicted more than 30,000 people will be working in the area.
The project has already created a number of new streets, including King's Boulevard, Handyside Street, Stable Street, Beaconsfield Street and Tapper Walk.

The public will now have the opportunity to make suggestions for up to 10 further streets.
King's Cross Central Limited Partnership director Robert Evans said: "We very much hope that local people in particular will get involved in this competition and come up with engaging and interesting names that will stand the test of time.

"We hope this competition will fire people's imagination, creativity and interest in all things King's Cross."

#FF for e-Onomastics

We have been given a twitter #FF (Follow Friday) from the part of https://twitter.com/onomastics_couk 


Thanks a lot! It's a pleasure!!!

Business Name Suggestions



https://www.odesk.com/o/jobs/job/Business-Name-Suggestions_~015354be1f51c08536/

Job Description

I am working with a dermatology client in the midwest and we are in search of a practice name. We are calling for all candidates that are interested in submitting suggestions to us! Details can be available upon request.
The chosen name that the client uses with get you a quick 100 dollars for your effort. The name must not already be used in the target area. The more suggestions you have the more chance for us to pick your suggestion!
Please contact me for more info!
Put your creative thinking cap on and lets name a medical practice!

We will only pay out to the name that our client picks and we will let you know before you start the few names that are already up for consideration as they will not be able to be considered in the contest.

Job Overview

Type Fixed-Price
Budget $100.00
Posted March 22 2013, 1:29 AM
Planned Start March 22 2013
Delivery Date March 22 2013
 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

NameFreak!: Tops for the Scots

NameFreak!: Tops for the Scots: My brother and his family are moving to Scotland today! In honor of their new adventure, I decided to compare Scotland's Top 100 in 2...

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

What's in a name? New pope Jorge Mario Bergoglio selects Francis as papal name


textual repost from http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/03/new_pope_new_name_jorge_mario.html

By Caleb Bell

Once Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected as the new leader of the Catholic Church, he had a big initial decision to make: what his new papal name would be.

Bergoglio chose Francis as his new name, the first pope to select that moniker.

Choosing a new name is a decision that's tied up in history, tradition and more than a little symbolic value.

In papal tradition, newly elected pontiffs choose a name to identify themselves during their reigns. The tradition has been around for centuries, even though no law or rule requires that a pope pick a new name.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/03/13/what-name-will-the-new-pope-choose-some-clues-in-this-infographic/

Chester Gillis, a professor of theology at Georgetown University, said that the pope's choice of name offers an early indicator of what his papacy might be like.

"The pope's choice will reflect his own personal spirituality, but he knows it will send a political message," Gillis said.
Gillis said the pope's new name could also indicate the theological direction he wants to take during his reign. Popes usually choose names to honor a predecessor or to symbolically link their reigns with that of a past pontiff.
http://www.indecisionforever.com/blog/2013/03/12/march-madness-the-papal-names-tournament

"Whatever name is chosen, there will be spiritual logic to it," said Michele Dillon, a Catholic scholar at the University of New Hampshire. "There's a pattern whereby the pope takes the name of someone who was spiritually significant to that person."

Benedict XVII was an unlikely choice because it could have caused confusion between the current pope and the pope emeritus, Benedict XVI.

There was a chance the new pope could have adopted the name John XXIV due to the Catholic Church's emphasis on "new evangelization." Pope John XXIII is already on the path to sainthood, is known as "Good Pope John" and was a revolutionary figure who convened the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) that modernized the church.

Benedict XVI took the name of Benedict XV, who guided the Catholic Church through World War I. "Treading in his footsteps, I would like to place my ministry at the service of reconciliation and harmony between persons and peoples," Benedict XVI said in his first general audience.

Benedict XVI also sought to honor St. Benedict, a major influence in early European Christianity.

Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became John Paul II in 1978 to honor his short-lived predecessor John Paul I, who had picked his name from his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI.

Adopting a papal name became common in the 10th century, though there are examples of popes changing their names centuries before.
John II was the first pope to change his name, in 533. His birth name was Mercury, but in order to avoid naming a pagan god the head of the Holy See, he changed it.

The last pope to use his own birth name was Marcellus II in 1555.

One name, however, is off-limits: Peter is considered sacrosanct in honor of the first pope, who tradition holds was also the longest-serving.

Here's a list of the most popular papal names:
1. John (23)
2. Benedict (16)
3. Gregory (16)
4. Clement (14)
5. Leo (13)
6. Innocent (13)
7. Pius (12)
8. Stephen (9, although some debate 10)
9. Boniface (9)
10. Alexander and Urban (tied at 8 each)

The 10 Most Unique Papal Names
1. Telesphorus (c. 125-136 A.D.)
2. Eleutherius (c. 174-189 A.D.)
3. Zephyrinus (198-217 A.D.)
4. Eutychian (275-283 A.D.)
5. Miltiades (311-314 A.D.)
6. Hormisdas (514-523 A.D.)
7. Zosimus (417-418 A.D.)
8. Symmachus (498-514 A.D.)
9. Simplicius (468-483 A.D.)
10. Vigilius (537-555 A.D.)

But, as we know, the New Pope has choosen a name of Francis. Why?



Bob Cartier (Rockville) noticed http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-pope-20130319,0,7848056.story:
I was delighted to read that the new pope chose for himself the name of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals ("Pope Francis' calling," March 15). Both Catholic and Anglican churches hold ceremonies blessing animals on his feast day Oct. 4.


On one of his walks through nature, Francis reportedly preached to the birds, and he is often portrayed with a bird in his hand. On another occasion, Francis concluded a pact with a ferocious wolf that was terrorizing local town folk. He got the wolf to quit preying on the town's sheep in exchange for being fed regularly. He even persuaded the town's dogs to stop harassing the wolf.

In other stories, Francis freed a rabbit from a trap, returned fish that had been caught to their stream and fed a colony of half-frozen bees one bitter winter.

I hope Pope Francis will inspire Catholics and all people of goodwill to show non-human animals the respect and compassion they deserve, particularly when it comes to subsidizing their slaughter for food. Joining the Meatless Mondays trend would be a good start.

But there is another opinion: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/pope-name

 Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, the new pope, is breaking historic ground by choosing the name Francis.

It's the first time the name is being used by a pope, said CNN Vatican expert John Allen.
Pope Francis chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi because he is a lover of the poor, said Vatican deputy spokesman Thomas Rosica.

"Cardinal Bergoglio had a special place in his heart and his ministry for the poor, for the disenfranchised, for those living on the fringes and facing injustice," Rosica said.
St. Francis, one of the most venerated figures in the Roman Catholic Church, was known for connecting with fellow Christians, Rosica added.

Allen described the name selection as "the most stunning" choice and "precedent shattering."
 "There are cornerstone figures in Catholicism," such as St. Francis, Allen said. Figures of such stature as St. Francis of Assisi seem "irrepeatable -- that there can be only one Francis," he added.

The name symbolizes "poverty, humility, simplicity and rebuilding the Catholic Church," Allen said. "The new pope is sending a signal that this will not be business as usual."
In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI recounted how St. Francis was born in 1181 or 1182 as the son of a rich Italian cloth merchant, according to the Vatican website.
After "a carefree adolescence and youth," Francis joined the military and was taken prisoner. He was freed after becoming ill, and when he returned to Assisi, Italy, a spiritual conversion began. He abandoned his worldly lifestyle.
In a famous episode, Christ on the Cross came to life three times in the small Church of St. Damian and told him: "Go, Francis, and repair my Church in ruins," Pope Benedict XVI said, according to the Vatican's website.

"At that moment St. Francis was called to repair the small church, but the ruinous state of the building was a symbol of the dramatic and disquieting situation of the Church herself," Pope Benedict XVI said. "At that time the Church had a superficial faith which did not shape or transform life, a scarcely zealous clergy, and a chilling of love."
Pope Francis succeeds Benedict, who retired.

On some speculations you may read here: http://www.npr.org/2013/03/13/174231265/new-popes-selection-of-francis-name-surprises-some