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ArchivesCall for Nominations for Names of the Year
Here is this year's call. Please feel free to spread this wherever you wish.
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE ANNUAL
NAMES OF THE YEAR
The American Name Society requests nominations for the “Names of the Year for 2015”. The names selected will be ones that best illustrates, through their creation and/or use during the past 12 months, important trends in the culture of the United States and Canada.
Nominations are called for in the four following categories:
Personal Names: Names or nicknames of individual real people, animals, or hurricanes.
Place Names: Names or nicknames of any real geographical location, including all natural features, political subdivisions, streets, and buildings. Names of national or ethnic groups would be included here.
Trade Names: Names of real commercial products, as well as names of both for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations, including businesses, universities, and political parties.
Fictional/Literary Names: Names of fictional persons, places, or institutions, in any written, oral, or visual medium, as well as titles of art works, books, plays, television programs, or movies.
Winners will be chosen in each category, and then a final vote will determine the overall Name of the Year for 2015. Anyone may nominate a name. All members of the American Name Society attending the annual meeting will select the winner from among the nominees at the annual ANS meeting in Washington, D. C. on January 8, 2016. The winner will be announced that evening at a joint celebration with the American Dialect Society.
Advance nominations must be received before January 5, 2016, though nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting. Please send your nominations, along with a brief rationale, by surface mail or e-mail to:
Dr. Cleveland K. Evans
Psychology Department
Bellevue University
1000 Galvin Road South
Bellevue, NE 68005-3098
cevans@bellevue.edu
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE ANNUAL
NAMES OF THE YEAR
The American Name Society requests nominations for the “Names of the Year for 2015”. The names selected will be ones that best illustrates, through their creation and/or use during the past 12 months, important trends in the culture of the United States and Canada.
Nominations are called for in the four following categories:
Personal Names: Names or nicknames of individual real people, animals, or hurricanes.
Place Names: Names or nicknames of any real geographical location, including all natural features, political subdivisions, streets, and buildings. Names of national or ethnic groups would be included here.
Trade Names: Names of real commercial products, as well as names of both for-profit and non-profit companies and organizations, including businesses, universities, and political parties.
Fictional/Literary Names: Names of fictional persons, places, or institutions, in any written, oral, or visual medium, as well as titles of art works, books, plays, television programs, or movies.
Winners will be chosen in each category, and then a final vote will determine the overall Name of the Year for 2015. Anyone may nominate a name. All members of the American Name Society attending the annual meeting will select the winner from among the nominees at the annual ANS meeting in Washington, D. C. on January 8, 2016. The winner will be announced that evening at a joint celebration with the American Dialect Society.
Advance nominations must be received before January 5, 2016, though nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the annual meeting. Please send your nominations, along with a brief rationale, by surface mail or e-mail to:
Dr. Cleveland K. Evans
Psychology Department
Bellevue University
1000 Galvin Road South
Bellevue, NE 68005-3098
cevans@bellevue.edu
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Replies
I won't be sending in to the address, but I think the given name of the year should be Saint. I see it being used all over by celebrities on male and female children. It illustrates the trend of naming your child in a self-indulgent way.
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I have a hard time with the concept "Name of the Year." I enjoy cleverly constructed/coined names in all of the given arenas, but choosing one or even a short list (ea.) feels like choosing a color or flavor of the year.
Sometimes, two individual given names might be unimpressive by themselves, but take on a certain charm when paired as first and middle names.
Sometimes, two individual given names might be unimpressive by themselves, but take on a certain charm when paired as first and middle names.
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It might be useful to read through previous years' nominees to understand the general intent: http://www.americannamesociety.org/category/name-of-the-year/
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I take this as a kind of light-weight game and a test of cultural knowledge. Since the name of the year should somehow reflect the year, what names were significant for 2015?
A similar question is raised on http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2015/11/whats-your-choice-for-name-of-the-year where I nominated Charlie for the French magazine Charlie Hebdo (attacked by terrorists in January this year) and the hashtag #jesuischarlie. Other readers nominated Caitlyn, Atticus, or ISIS.
A similar question is raised on http://www.babynamewizard.com/archives/2015/11/whats-your-choice-for-name-of-the-year where I nominated Charlie for the French magazine Charlie Hebdo (attacked by terrorists in January this year) and the hashtag #jesuischarlie. Other readers nominated Caitlyn, Atticus, or ISIS.
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