ANS Bulletin 2026, No. 1 Now Available!

The American Name Society is pleased to bring you our Bulletin 2026, No. 1 Click here to download the ANS Bulletin 2026, no. 1 In this issue, you will find: Call For Papers: 2027 American Name Society Annual Meeting 2025 Names of the Year And the Winner is. . . 2025 NAMES Best Article of the Year Award Virtual ANS Panel at 2027 MLA Conference…

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Call for Papers: 2027 Annual Meeting of the ANS, February 20, 2027 (Online, via Zoom)

Call for Papers The 2027 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society ONLINE (via Zoom) 20 February 2027 The American Name Society is now inviting proposals for papers for its next annual conference. The one-day event will be held virtually via Zoom, allowing for the attendance of onomastics scholars from around theworld. The 2027 ANS conference will not be held in conjunction with the Linguistics Society of America conference.

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CfP: Medieval Onomastics (International Medieval Congress)

Onomastics, the study of names and naming, has long proved a fruitful approach for medievalists. Following successes in 2024 - 2026, the panel on medieval onomastics is returning for 2027. We're looking for 20-minute papers on the role of names and naming within the medieval period, from any geographical region, covering either personal names or place names. Papers exploring the theme of the conference - …

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Repost: Call for Papers: Academics on Fire: Controversies over (Re)Naming Educational Institutions (ANS Panel @ LSA 2027, San Francisco, 6-9 January 2027)

Call for Papers Academics on Fire: Controversies over (Re)Naming Educational Institutions an organized session at the 2027 annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America San Francisco, California 6-9 January 2027 The American Name Society is now inviting proposals for an organized session at the 2027 annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. Throughout the world, names have been strategically used by decision-makers to communicate important messages to members and visitors about the unique history, culture, and values of their educational institutions.

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A Call for Book Chapter Proposals on Names, Crime, and the Law

One of the most fascinating areas of interdisciplinary research involving onomastics,  criminology, and the law is forensic onomastics. The current call for book chapter proposals is for an upcoming publication in the Bloomsbury book series, “Names and Naming in the Social Sciences and Humanities”.   Possible topics of interest include but are not limited to the following: Names of crimes, criminals, victims, and/or law enforcement agencies…

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“What’s in a Name?” – Dr. Cleveland Evans interviewed on Vox Podcast “Explain it to Me”

“In American culture, individualism is so strong. What I hear most often from parents is we want to find a name which is different, but not too different,” Dr. Cleveland Evans shared on Vox's Podcast "Explain It to Me" “A lot of people are picking names which are unusual to them because they don’t know anybody their own age or their parents’ age with the name.”

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Call for Papers: Academics on Fire: Controversies over (Re)Naming Educational Institutions (ANS Panel @ LSA 2027, San Francisco, 6-9 January 2027)

Call for Papers Academics on Fire: Controversies over (Re)Naming Educational Institutions an organized session at the 2027 annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America San Francisco, California 6-9 January 2027 The American Name Society is now inviting proposals for an organized session at the 2027 annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. Throughout the world, names have been strategically used by decision-makers to communicate important messages to members and visitors about the unique history, culture, and values of their educational institutions.

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Call for Papers: Onoma 62 (2027)

Call for Papers: Onoma 62 (2027) Theme: Names in Fiction Guest editors: Lasse Hämäläinen & Milla Juhonen(University of Helsinki) Names of characters, locations, and other entities often have several important functions in fictional stories. Especially characters’ proper names have been seen as an essential part of the characterization, describing for example nature, appearance, or the inner world of the characters (Cavill 2016).

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Announcement: Best Article of the Year 2025 in NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics

In the Winter of each year, the members of the NAMES Editorial Board review and select the best article of the year.  Articles are judged across three criteria: 1.) creativity and originality; 2.) potential scholarly contribution to onomastics; and 3.) writing style and organization. For 2025, the international team of onomastic experts on the NAMES Board selected “Mapping Place Names” for the prestigious award. 

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American Name Society Annual Meeting 2026 Tomorrow! (Virtual, February 21, 2026)

ANS 2026 will be held virtually tomorrow, February 21, 2026. Registration is now open here. There is a new conference fee structure that is discounted based on annual income. Read more about the conference fee structure here. Event Details The American Name Society Annual Meeting for 2026 will be held online on February 21, 2026 using the Zoom platform.

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Names, Identity, and Social Meaning Panel (21 February 2026, ANS Annual Meeting, Virtual)

Join us for a panel on names, identity, and social meaning at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Name Society. Papers in this panel include: “One name, two names, red names, blue names” by Mary Ann Walter, University of the Virgin Islands, USA This study investigates the correlation of politically-inflected personal names with previously-identified phonetic variables which sociolinguistically index ‘femininity’ (higher ratios of open syllables and vowels with respect to consonants, high front vowels compared to others, and sonorant consonants compared to others).

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American Name Society Annual Meeting 2026 Registration and Schedule (Via Zoom, February 21, 2026)

The 2026 ANS Annual Conference will be held online, via Zoom, on 21 February 2026. Registration is now open here. There is a new conference fee structure that is discounted based on annual income. Read more about the conference fee structure here. Event Details The American Name Society Annual Meeting for 2026 will be held online on February 21, 2026 using the Zoom platform.

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Call for Papers: Names That Reveal; Names That Conceal: Onomastic Sleight of Hand in Global Literature (MLA 2027)

The American Name Society Call for Papers for the ANS virtual panel at the Modern Language Association (MLA) Convention #mla27 7-10 January 2027, Los Angeles, California Names That Reveal; Names That Conceal Onomastic Sleight of Hand in Global Literature Espionage novels and allegories often use names to conceal motives or plot twists or to reveal character or caricature. How have authors, poets, playwrights, screenwriters, lyricists and other wordsmiths used names of characters, places, corporations, institutions, movements, etc., to effect onomastic sleight of hand?

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“Slop” is the American Dialect Society’s 2025 Word of the Year

The American Dialect Society, in its 36th annual words-of-the-year vote, selected slop as the Word of the Year for 2025. More than three hundred attendees took part in the deliberations and voting, in an event hosted in conjunction with the Linguistic Society of America’s annual meeting. The word slop was recognized for its widespread use for low-quality, high-quantity content, most typically produced by generative AI.

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“No Kings” is the ANS Name of the Year for 2025

“No Kings” was chosen as the winner of the Name of the Year for 2025 by the American Name Society at its annual Name of the Year discussion and vote on January 8, 2026. This political demonstration name was selected for its direct communicative power, its linguistic brevity, and its extensions during the protests, in forms such as “no thrones” and “no crowns”.

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Nominations Wanted for Names of the Year 2025

The American Name Society is requesting nominations for the “Names of the Year for 2025”. The names selected will be ones that best illustrate, through their creation and/or use during the past 12 months, important trends in the culture of the United States. It is not necessary, however, for a nominated name to have originated in the US. Any name can be nominated as long as it has been prominent in North American cultural discourse during the past year. 

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About Names: Dr. Cleveland Evans on the name “Marlon”

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his December 28th column, he discusses the name "Marlon". Marlon brings in Omaha’s new year with laughs next weekend. Marlon Wayans, first featured on older brother Keenen Ivory Wayans’ sketch comedy show, “In Living Color” (1992-1993), became a star with brother Shawn on “The Wayans Bros.” (1995-1999). He headlines at Omaha’s Funny Bone Comedy Club Jan.

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About Names: Dr. Cleveland Evans on the name “Ebenezer”

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his December 14th column, he discusses the name "Ebenezer". Ebenezer learns to love Christmas in Omaha for another week. “A Christmas Carol,” based on Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella where skinflint, Christmas-hating Ebenezer Scrooge transforms into a generous Christmas-lover after visits from four ghosts, concludes its 50th anniversary run at Omaha Community Playhouse on Dec.

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Call for Papers: Canadian Society for the Study of Names Annual Meeting (Virtual, 6-7 June 2026)

The general theme of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names (CSSN) for its 2026 annual meeting (virtual) is “Onomastics and Toponymy as Reflections of Our World’’. The 2026 CSSN conference will not be held in conjunction with the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) of Canada and will take place entirely online. Papers on any onomastic or toponymic topic are welcome, from any discipline, perspective, or field of study, including but not limited to linguistics, geography, history, economics, literature, archaeology, ethnology, politics, genealogy, administration, taxonomy, and related areas.

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Registration Opens: ANS Name of the Year 2025 Discussion and Vote (Virtual, 8 January 2026)

ANS Name of the Year 2025 Discussion and Vote Thursday, January 8, 2026 on Zoom, 12 - 2pm PST REGISTRATION is now open! Click here to register for the discussion and vote. Join us for our annual Name of the Year discussion! We will be nominating, discussing, and voting on eligible names in the following categories: Personal Names: Names of groups or individuals, including nicknames, given names, surnames, or a combination of these.

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Registration Opens: ANS Name of the Year 2025 Discussion and Vote (Virtual, 8 January 2026)

ANS Name of the Year 2025 Discussion and Vote Thursday, January 8, 2026 on Zoom, 12 - 2pm PST REGISTRATION is now open! Click here to register for the discussion and vote. Join us for our annual Name of the Year discussion! We will be nominating, discussing, and voting on eligible names in the following categories: Personal Names: Names of groups or individuals, including nicknames, given names, surnames, or a combination of these.

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Onomastica Canadiana welcomes submissions

The editorial board of Onomastica Canadiana, the bilingual peer-reviewed journal of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names (CSSN) / Société canadienne d’onomastique (SCO), invites submissions of scholarly manuscripts for publication in its new online series in open access. Onomastica Canadiana publishes original research articles, review essays, and critical notes, written in English or French, on all aspects of onomastics — the study of names and naming practices or trends in all languages, cultures, periods, and areas.

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About Names: Dr. Cleveland Evans on the name “Chester”

Dr. Cleveland Evans writes about names for the Omaha World-Herald. In his October 5th column, he discusses the name "Chester". Chester A. Arthur became president in 1881 after James Garfield’s assassination. Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886) was born 196 years ago today. Elected vice president in 1884, he became president on Sept. 19, 1881 after James Garfield’s assassination. Chester Arthur was a protégé of Roscoe Conkling’s corrupt New York Republican machine.

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Call for Papers: Forensic Onomastics Special Issue of NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics

The American Name Society (ANS) is now issuing its first call for abstracts for an upcoming Special issue of the Society’s journal, NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics. One of the most fascinating areas of interdisciplinary research involving onomastics,  criminology, and the law is forensic onomastics. The current call for paper proposals for original pieces of research for an upcoming Special Issue of NAMES devoted to this branch of onomastic investigation.   

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