Baia Mare, Romania | September 9-11, 2026
In a world shadowed by conflict, climate crisis, and uncertainty, humour remains one of humanity's most resilient gifts - a beacon of hope that makes hardship bearable and connects us across cultures. From September 9-11, 2026, the Seventh International Conference on Onomastics "Name and Naming" (ICONN 7) will bring together scholars from around the world to explore a delightfully unconventional topic: the intersection of names and humour.
Why Names and Humour?
Humour is everywhere in onomastics, yet it remains surprisingly understudied. Consider:
Anthroponymy: When Names Make Us Laugh
Personal names can be unintentionally hilarious or deliberately witty. In Romania, historical family names like Cârnaț ('sausage') and Gâlceavă ('bickering') originated as nicknames but became permanent surnames, preserving ancestral humour across generations. First names sometimes emerge from surprising choices: Romanian civil registers document cases like Poliția ('the police') and Semafor ('traffic lights') - names that leave us wondering what the parents were thinking!
Then there are nicknames - perhaps the purest form of onomastic humour. Whether affectionate or mocking, nicknames like Broscoiu ('the toad') or the grandiose Tutankhamun (given to an ordinary person) reveal how communities use humour to negotiate identity, hierarchy, and affection.
Toponymy: Landscapes of Laughter
Even place names can be funny - though often unintentionally so. Traditional toponyms sometimes preserve a ancestral sense of humour whose origins are lost to time. Romania boasts geographical features like Cascada Pișetoarea ('Pissing Falls') and Curu dealului ('the ass of the hill') - names that make modern visitors chuckle but likely had straightforward descriptive origins for their original namers.
Commercial Names: Marketing with a Wink
Business names often deploy humour as a marketing strategy. Romanian examples include restaurants like La cățeaua leșinată ('at the passed-out bitch') and the formally registered company SC Bună ziua Doamne ajută SRL ('Good day, God bless Ltd.') - names designed to attract attention through their audacity or absurdity. Even unintentionally, names like Cool Cat or Dirty Habit invite humorous interpretations depending on context.
Sports clubs push this further: AS Atletic Orbeasca plays on the globally famous Atlético Madrid by attaching it to Orbeasca, a Romanian village whose name contains the root of a orbi ('to blind'). Real Rio Cocoșești layers three references - Real Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and the Romanian village Cocoșești (where the toponym evokes slang meanings related to being cocky or sexual innuendo). These names showcase how local communities use humour to claim global cultural capital while asserting their own identity.
Literary Names: Characters Born to Amuse
Writers have long understood the power of humorous names. Romanian playwright I.L. Caragiale created unforgettable characters whose names alone telegraph their personalities. In English literature, Charles Dickens mastered this art with charactonyms like Baron Koëldwethout, Dowager Marchioness Publicash, Lady Coldveal, Lord Verisopht, and Sir Arrogant Numskull - names that make readers laugh before the characters even speak.
William Shakespeare filled his comedies with humorous names: Bottom, Flute, Quince, Snug, and Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream are not just names but jokes about the characters' trades and personalities. Contemporary fantasy author Terry Pratchett continued this tradition with creations like Captain Mayonnaise Quirke, Deranged Lord Harmoni, Laughing Lord Scapula, and Mad Lord Snapcase - names that signal the absurdist humour pervading his Discworld series.
The amusement may come from sonority (how a name sounds), semantic associations (what it means or evokes), or the incongruity between a name and its bearer. ICONN 7 will explore all these dimensions.
Conference Structure: Three Thematic Sections
ICONN 7 is organized into three complementary sections, each exploring a different facet of onomastic humour:
1. Anthroponymy and Humour
How do personal names - first names, surnames, nicknames, pseudonyms - generate humour? What are the social functions of funny names? How do communities use humorous naming to negotiate power, affection, or mockery? Papers might examine:
- Historical funny surnames and their origins
- Accidental humour in first-name choices
- Nickname practices across cultures and generations
- Humorous stage names and pseudonyms
- The psychology of naming for comic effect
2. Toponymy and Humour
What makes a place name funny? Are "shameful" or "embarrassing" toponyms evidence of ancestral humour, descriptive accuracy, or modern misinterpretation? Topics could include:
- Traditional toponyms with humorous interpretations
- Deliberately funny place names (towns, streets, geographical features)
- Taboo toponymy and cultural attitudes toward "improper" names
- The role of local legend and folklore in toponymic humour
- Modern renaming debates involving humorous traditional names
3. Humour in Names in Public Space
How do commercial names, brand names, organization names, and other chrematonyms deploy humour? What are the marketing, legal, and cultural implications? Papers might address:
- Humorous business names as marketing strategy
- Parodic or satirical names in sports clubs, associations, NGOs
- Magazine and publication names that play with language
- Cultural differences in what counts as "funny" in commercial naming
- Legal boundaries: when does humorous naming cross into offensive territory?
Why Attend ICONN 7?
1. Cutting-Edge Research in an Understudied Area
Despite humour's ubiquity in naming practices, it has received relatively little systematic scholarly attention. ICONN 7 offers a rare opportunity to engage with emerging research at the intersection of onomastics, humour studies, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies.
2. Interdisciplinary Dialogue
The conference welcomes scholars from diverse fields: linguistics, literature, anthropology, sociology, marketing, folklore, and more. This interdisciplinary mix promises rich discussions about how humour functions in naming across contexts.
3. International Community
ICONN 7 supports six official languages (Romanian, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish), fostering truly international exchange. Previous ICONN conferences have attracted participants from five continents, creating a vibrant scholarly network.
4. Hybrid Format: In-Person and Online
Whether you attend in person in beautiful Baia Mare or join via Zoom, you'll have full access to presentations, discussions, and networking. The conference uses breakout rooms for each section, ensuring focused thematic discussions regardless of how you participate.
5. Publication Opportunities
Full papers submitted by October 10, 2026 will be considered for publication in the conference proceedings, continuing ICONN's tradition of producing high-quality onomastic scholarship. Previous ICONN volumes are widely cited and have contributed significantly to the field.
Practical Information
Key Dates
- January 10 – April 9, 2026: Abstract submission (max 150 words) via registration form
- April 10, 2026: Notification of acceptance
- May 10, 2026: Early registration deadline (RON 600 / EUR 120)
- June 10, 2026: Second circular with draft programme
- August 10, 2026: Final programme release
- September 9-11, 2026: Conference dates
- October 10, 2026: Full paper submission deadline
Presentation Format
Each paper receives 25 minutes (20 minutes presentation + 5 minutes discussion). Presenters may use PowerPoint slides (save as .ppt/.pptx for compatibility with Windows 11/Microsoft Office systems at the venue).
Venue
"Petre Dulfu" County Library, Baia Mare city centre
- All rooms equipped with computers and projectors
- WiFi available throughout the venue
- Walking distance (max 10 minutes) from all accommodation options
Online Participation via Zoom
Why Baia Mare?
The city of Baia Mare, located in the picturesque Maramureș region of northern Romania, offers a perfect setting for ICONN 7. Known for its medieval architecture, vibrant cultural scene, and proximity to the stunning Carpathian Mountains, Baia Mare combines scholarly atmosphere with tourist appeal. The "Petre Dulfu" County Library, a cultural landmark in the city centre, provides a historic yet fully equipped venue for international academic exchange.
A Beacon of Hope in Challenging Times
The conference organisers write: "In a world living under the threat of war, natural disasters, pandemics, and all other kinds of tragedies, humour acts as a beacon of hope and makes almost any hardship easier to bear."
This framing is more than rhetoric - it's a scholarly commitment. By studying how humour functions in names, we explore one of humanity's most universal coping mechanisms. We investigate how communities use laughter to build solidarity, negotiate difference, assert identity, and survive difficult times. We recognize that even in the driest academic topic - onomastics - there is room for joy, playfulness, and connection.
ICONN 7 invites you to join this project. Whether you're an established onomastician, a graduate student exploring humour studies, a literary scholar interested in charactonyms, or simply someone who's ever wondered why a business would name itself "at the passed-out bitch," this conference has a place for you.
How to Participate
- Submit your abstract (max 150 words) between January 10 and April 9, 2026 via the conference website registration form
- Wait for acceptance notification on April 10, 2026
- Register early (by May 10) to secure the reduced rate (EUR 120 / RON 600)
- Prepare your presentation for 20 minutes + 5 minutes discussion
- Join us in Baia Mare or online September 9-11, 2026
- Submit your full paper by October 10, 2026 for proceedings publication
Contact and Further Information
Conference Website: ICONN7
Online Participation Technical Support:
Dr. Minodora Barbul
Email: doramino@yahoo.com
Final Thoughts: The Serious Study of Silly Names
There's something wonderfully subversive about devoting a three-day international academic conference to funny names. It acknowledges that scholarship doesn't always have to be solemn, that language play is a legitimate object of study, and that humour - even in something as "trivial" as what we call a sausage shop or a village stream - reveals profound truths about human culture.
As Salvatore Attardo writes in The Linguistics of Humour (2020), humour is not frivolous - it's fundamental to how we communicate, think, and construct social reality. Names are no exception. The sausage-surnamed Cârnaț family, the unfortunate child named Semafor, the cheeky pub called La cățeaua leșinată, the football club Real Rio Cocoșești - each represents a moment where naming met creativity, constraint, or accident, and produced something that makes us smile.
ICONN 7 will explore why we smile, what that smile means, and how the playful side of onomastics can teach us about language, culture, and what it means to be human.
See you in Baia Mare - or online - in September 2026!
Keywords: onomastics, humour, anthroponymy, toponymy, chrematonyms, charactonyms, nicknames, commercial names, ICONN 7, Baia Mare, Romania, international conference, hybrid conference
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