Honoring Katharina Leibring for Her Contributions to Onomastics

 On May 5, 2025, Katharina Leibring was awarded the prestigious Erik Wellander Prize for her outstanding contributions to Swedish language care, with a particular focus on onomastics - the study of names. The award was presented by Professor Björn Melander at the annual Språkrådsdagen conference.

                                                   Photo: Kristoffer Henrysson/Isof.

Katharina Leibring, Associate Professor of Nordic Languages at Uppsala University and Senior Research Archivist at the Institute for Language and Folklore (Isof), has dedicated her career to researching Swedish names in a social perspective, both historically and in today’s multicultural society. Her work spans from personal names in 17th-century Sweden to modern naming practices shaped by migration and multilingualism.

Beyond academic research, Leibring has actively contributed to practical name care in Sweden. She has served on the Name Day Committee (Namnlängdskommittén) and frequently shares her expertise in media, helping the public navigate questions about names and their meanings. Notably, her research extends beyond personal names, offering valuable insights into animal names and their cultural significance.

The Erik Wellander Prize, established by the Erik Wellander Foundation, recognizes excellence in language care research and aims to support Swedish linguistic scholarship. This year’s award not only honors Leibring’s scholarly achievements but also highlights the vital role of onomastics in preserving and understanding Sweden’s linguistic heritage.

In a world of evolving identities, naming practices remain a powerful lens for studying culture, language, and belonging. Leibring’s work reminds us that names are more than words - they are carriers of history, identity, and community.

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🇸🇪 (Svenska): Katharina Leibring tilldelas Erik Wellanders pris för sin namnforskning

Den 5 maj 2025 tilldelades Katharina Leibring det prestigefyllda Erik Wellanders pris för sina framstående insatser inom svensk språkvård, med särskild betoning på onomastik-läran om namn. Priset delades ut av professor Björn Melander under den årliga konferensen Språkrådsdagen.

Katharina Leibring är docent i nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet och förste forskningsarkivarie vid Institutet för språk och folkminnen (Isof). Hennes forskning har fokuserat på svenska personnamn ur ett socialt perspektiv, både historiskt och i dagens mångspråkiga samhälle. Hon har studerat allt från 1600-talets namnbruk till samtida namnval präglade av migration och kulturell mångfald.

Förutom sin akademiska forskning har Leibring gjort viktiga insatser inom personnamnsvård i Sverige. Hon är medlem i Namnlängdskommittén och har regelbundet deltagit i media för att sprida kunskap om namn och deras betydelser. Hennes forskning omfattar också andra namnformer, särskilt djurnamn, där hon bidragit med viktiga insikter.

Erik Wellanders pris, instiftat av Stiftelsen Erik Wellanders fond, delas ut till forskare som gjort betydande insatser inom språkvårdens område. Årets pris belyser inte bara Leibrings akademiska meriter utan också den viktiga roll som onomastiken spelar för att bevara och förstå Sveriges språkliga och kulturella arv.

I en tid där identiteter och namnbruk ständigt förändras påminner Leibrings arbete oss om att namn är mer än ord - de bär på historia, identitet och gemenskap.

Recognizing Excellence in Toponymy: The 2025 Ignacio Guzmán Betancourt Award

 For researchers in the field of toponymy and onomastics, the Seminario Interinstitucional de Onomástica (SIO) has announced the 2025 Ignacio Guzmán Betancourt Award, an important recognition for outstanding theses in place name studies. This prestigious award honors research in geographical names and linguistic heritage, encouraging academic excellence in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as scholars from other regions who have contributed to Latin American
toponymy.

Who Can Participate?

The award is open to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students whose theses focus on toponymy and were successfully defended between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2024. Participants must have conducted research related to Latin American or Caribbean place names, although scholars from other regions who have worked on this subject are also eligible.

Categories and Requirements

The competition includes three categories:
✔ Best Undergraduate Thesis
✔ Best Master’s Thesis
✔ Best Doctoral Thesis

Each category may have up to two honorable mentions, depending on the jury’s decision. To enter, applicants must submit a PDF copy of their thesis along with supporting documents, including proof of identity, academic certification, recommendation letters, and a 250-word summary outlining the research’s significance.

How to Submit?

📅 Submission Deadline: June 2, 2025, at 24:00 (Mexico City time)
📩 Submission Email: premio.ignacioguzmanbetancourt@gmail.com
📜 Format: PDF only

Only complete applications will be considered. The SIO committee may request additional verification documents if necessary.

Award Ceremony and Recognition

The results will be announced via email and the official SIO website. The award ceremony is scheduled for October 22, 2025, at 10:00 AM at the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City. International winners may attend virtually.

Winners will receive a diploma, official recognition from leading onomastics experts, and, if possible, a publishing opportunity in academic journals or book series related to onomastics and toponymy.

Encouraging Innovation in Place Name Studies

The Ignacio Guzmán Betancourt Award represents a prestigious opportunity for students and scholars to have their work recognized by experts in the field. By promoting research in place names and linguistic heritage, the award helps preserve and advance the study of toponymy in the Spanish-speaking world.

For more details, visit the Seminario Interinstitucional de Onomástica (SIO) or contact the committee at premio.ignacioguzmanbetancourt@gmail.com.

The American Name Society Emerging Scholar Award

 Newsletter

In 2007, the American Name Society established the ANS Emerging Scholar Award (ANSESA) which recognizes the outstanding scholarship of a names researcher in the early stages of their academic or professional career. This special distinction is given to a young scholar whose work is judged by a panel of onomastic researchers to be of superior academic quality. This year’s selection committee is made up of Drs. Jan Tent (the ESA Committee Chair), Luisa Caiazzo, Dorothy Dodge Robbins, and Maggie Scott. 

To be eligible for the ANSESA award, applicants must be an entry-level professional, an untenured academic, or a student, and have their singleauthored abstract accepted for presentation at the ANS annual conference. They must also be a member of the ANS. Winners of the ANSESA will not only receive a cash prize, but will also be mentored by a senior onomastics scholar who will assist the awardee in preparing his/her paper for submission and possible publication in the ANS journal, Names: A Journal of Onomastics. The paper will also be designated as the prize-winning student paper in the ANS annual meeting program. 

How to Apply 

To be considered for this award, applicants must submit the full text of their paper by midnight (E.S.T.) the 15th of October 2021 to both ANS President Laurel Sutton (laurela.sutton@gmail.com) and this year’s ESA Chair, Dr. Jan Tent (jan.tent@mq.edu.au).

Submissions must be sent as an email attachment in either a .doc or .docx format. For ease of processing, please be sure to include the keyword “ESA2021” in the subject line of your email. 

Papers previously published are not eligible for consideration. However, papers based on unpublished theses or dissertations are eligible. The Emerging Scholar Award Selection Committee will judge all submissions for their methodological soundness, innovation, and potential contribution to the field of onomastic research. Past recipients of the Emerging Scholar award are eligible to re-apply for this award for an entirely new piece of scholarship. However, preference will be given to applicants who have not yet received the award. In addition, the Selection Committee reserves the right to refrain from giving this award in those years when no submission is deemed to have met the above-mentioned requirements.

Deadline for submissions: October 15, 2021 

ANSESA: Submission Guidelines All submissions should be prepared according to the guidelines provided at (https://ansnames.pitt.edu/ans/guidelines). Authors are asked to use the formatting rules listed in the official style sheet of Names, the journal of the American Name Society. This information is available at the journal website: (https://ansnames.pitt.edu/ans/StyleSheet). 

Submissions will not only be judged upon the quality of the writing and the scientific merit of the study presented, but also on their adherence to these formatting regulations.

Best Article 2017 in NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics

Bulletin of ANS

by Frank Nuessel

Award for Best Article 2017 For the ninth consecutive year, the independent Committee for the Best Article in NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics has evaluated all of the articles published in our journal according to explicit criteria (theoretical content, methodology, innovation, interdisciplinarity, documentation, writing style, objectivity, future impact, and overall quality of scholarship). At its annual meeting in San Francisco January 8-11, 2009, the American Name Society agreed to provide an annual award for the best article in Names.

The American Name Society is pleased to announce that this year’s winner is Jan Tent (Australian National University, Canberra) for his article entitled "Indigenous Toponyms in the Antipodes: A Gazetteer-based Study” published in the upcoming special issue of Names: A Journal of Onomastics 65(4). We would also like to express our gratitude to the three members of the committee for their hard work in making such a difficult decision: 1. Michael F. McGoff (Binghamton University, SUNY) 2. Kemp Williams (IBM) 3. Dorothy Dodge Robbins (Louisiana Tech University)