Topics related to given names, surnames, and linguistic aspects of naming in English.
47
votes
2answers
2k views
Is there a single term for “nieces and nephews”?
I find it handy when talking about my sons and daughters I can just say my children. It's nice to say nieces instead of sibling's daughters. I wonder if there is a similar term for nieces and nephews ...
22
votes
3answers
737 views
Is there a word for refusing to call things by their name out of fear?
Some examples:
"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" or "You-Know-Who" for Voldemort of Harry Potter fame
Him in the Powerpuff Girls
Any of the various monikers for Yahweh
possibly "She Who Must Be Obeyed" for ...
20
votes
7answers
1k views
Why “Greater Toronto” rather than “Great Toronto”
Many big cities have their names preceded by Greater. Why not just Great? Does Greater indicate that the city is ambitious to expand itself?
Why is Greater not used for country names such as Great ...
19
votes
2answers
886 views
Why is there a “riding” in “Little Red Riding Hood”?
I get the little, the red and the hood... but how does the riding fit in there?
19
votes
3answers
1k views
Why do so many newspapers use the word “Times” in their names?
It seems that the word itself doesn't mean news or newspapers, but many newspapers use it in their names. Is there a historic reason?
18
votes
3answers
1k views
Is there an accepted rule for naming all of our various distant relatives (Kinship Terms)?
I’m going to the christening of my Cousin’s first son soon. What is the proper name for his relation to me?
2nd Nephew? Nephew once removed? Nothing?
Looking at the overall picture, whats the ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
If Christopher is a “carrier of Christ” then what is Jennifer carrying?
I was told in a Latin class that the name Christopher has Greek roots that mean "one who carries Christ". I assume that the Latin connection here is fero, which is the verb to carry.
With that in ...
17
votes
3answers
6k views
Changes in English names of people
Why is Robert called Bob and John called Jack sometimes? What is the history of or reason for this practice in changing the English names of people?
16
votes
1answer
264 views
I was raised being called “sister” by my family. What's the background on this usage?
I was called "sister", as a replacement for my name. (Oddly, my brother was not called "brother.") I never questioned this growing up in the 50's in a rural area. It says much about the culture I grew ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Why does the name 'John' have an 'h' in it?
I have always wondered this since I was little, and nobody seems to have asked or answered this before anywhere on the internet. What is the origin of the 'h', and why is it still with us?
13
votes
2answers
719 views
Family name pluralization
When pluralizing family (last) names that also happen to be common English words, does the pluralization follow the same rules as the common word?
For example, "the Smith family" can be pluralized as ...
11
votes
1answer
662 views
Is it true that yeast was once called “Godisgoode”?
In this article discussing beer, it is said that in medieval times yeast (possibly only brewer's yeast) was called godisgoode. Is that the case? (Searching on Google sheds very little light on the ...
11
votes
3answers
639 views
Term for adjectives attached after names
What is the term for adjectives attached after names? For example, there is terrible in Ivan the Terrible. Are these counted as post-positive adjectives?
11
votes
1answer
327 views
If we say “Socrates”, “Hippocrates”, etc, why don't we say “Aristoteles”? Why “Aristotle”?
If Σωκράτης is transliterated as "Socrates", and Ἱπποκράτης is transliterated as "Hippocrates", and other Greek names ending with -ης are transliterated as ending with "-es", why isn't Ἀριστοτέλης ...
10
votes
1answer
3k views
Which singular names ending in “s” form possessives with only a bare apostrophe?
Many questions already ask about this topic (What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in s? , Adding apostrophe-s to a singular noun already ending in “s”, etc.) and their answers vary, but ...
9
votes
3answers
476 views
Why one place on stack exchange is called “area51”?
Why this place on stack exchange is called "area51"? Is it a special idiom in English for some places where things are being developed? Does 51 have some special meaning besides being just a number?
...
9
votes
3answers
921 views
What's the meaning of the symbol ‡?
I am trying to get the meaning of the symbol ‡. I saw it a couple of times: as a tattoo in a little boy finger, and on Wikipedia.
How is this symbol called in English?
9
votes
3answers
951 views
Why is Ukraine often called “the Ukraine”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Using the definite article before a country/state name
Hearing the Ukraine used to make me unsure whether Ukraine was really a country. Now though I have realized ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
Should there be a space between name initials?
In writing authors' initials in research papers (either in the author by-line or the bibliography), should there be a space between intials?
R.P. Feynman
R. P. Feynman
What's the preferred way ...
8
votes
6answers
361 views
Catchall term for “Junior”, “Senior”, “the late”, “widow”, and the like?
I'm analyzing a bunch of late 16th century Hungarian names, and I need a word for those extra bits that sometimes get appended to names, like junior, senior, the late and the like. My "working title" ...
8
votes
6answers
3k views
How should I greet two people sharing the same first name in an email?
I'm sending an email to two persons with the same first name (Steve)
Greeting them by saying "Hi Steve, Steve" seems totally awkward.
Is there a good way of writing this, apart from the obvious "Hi" ...
8
votes
1answer
355 views
What does “week” mean in place names?
I visited darkest Devon recently, and happened to pass through a couple of places named "Week". On studying the map I found several others, such as James Week, Mary Week, Chawleigh Week, and so on.
...
7
votes
3answers
338 views
What is the plural form of trademarked product names, specifically of the term “WordPress”?
On the stackexchange site WordPress Answers, we recently discussed the plural form, or whether one exists at all, of the system we all use.
WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and a ...
7
votes
1answer
1k views
Do these river names mean anything?
I was planning a little trip the other day when I noticed that a number of rivers in Britain have common names. The ones I spotted were Avon, Ouse and Esk. Is there a reason for this? Are these names ...
7
votes
4answers
710 views
Origin & history of name “she oak” or “sheoak” (a Casuarina tree)
In wikipedia's Casuarinaceae article (and somewhat similarly in its Casuarina article), one finds:
The most widely used common name for Casuarinaceae species is sheoak or she-oak (a comparison of ...
7
votes
2answers
334 views
Why is the Dostoyevsky novel “The Brothers Karamazov” not translated “The Karamazov Brothers”?
In most cases I would say that the family name should come first, as in "the Ringling Brothers circus" or "the Bronte sisters", but then there is the Dostoyevsky novel "The Brothers Karamazov".
Why ...
7
votes
3answers
211 views
What could the word “thumbtick” mean?
I am trying to give a piece of software a name but for non-native English speakers it's sometimes hard to avoid awkward associations with names because you don't live with the language. Sometimes word ...
6
votes
5answers
794 views
keeping maiden name after marriage
If a woman keeps her maiden name what is the proper way to address her?
Mrs, Ms, or Miss?
I have seen it done multiple ways, but am unsure what is the proper way.
6
votes
3answers
4k views
Why do people pronounce “Naomi” as “Niomi”?
The Wikipedia page for "Naomi (given name)" says "pronounced nay-oh-mee" which is how I pronounce my daughter's name, but quite often people pronounce it "nigh-oh-mee" (that is, with a long "i" ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Pronunciation of names that end in “h”
In Britain (or perhaps just Scotland) the names "Sara" and "Sarah" are pronounced different.
Sara: Sah-rah ("a" as in "bat")
Sarah: Se-rah ("a" as in "air")
In the US and Canada, Sarah ...
6
votes
3answers
1k views
Different pronunciation between Thomas and Theodore
Disclaimer: I'm no native speaker.
Thomas gets pronounced with a starting "T" (the "h" is silent), while Theodore with a "Th". What rule is followed here?
6
votes
4answers
257 views
Pluralization of names
If I were to use the sentence "There are lots of John Smiths" in the world, would that be the correct use for saying that there are a lot of people named John Smith in the world?
I don't think there ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
How to pronounce New Orleans
I presume this must be an exception to "pronounce it like the locals", since what I hear is something like 'Norlin'. Or is this just the movies?
Is it a mistake to attempt to pronounce it like a ...
6
votes
1answer
118 views
Club's entry - “chain”
What is the name of the "chain" that can be found near club's entry?
e.g. http://www.vegasvipservices.com/nightclubs/bank/club-the-bank-entrance.jpg
6
votes
3answers
531 views
When to put “River” before or after its name and why?
Unlike mountain names, where "Mount" always precedes its name, e.g. Mount Everest, I've noticed that some rivers have "River" before its name, e.g. the River Nile but others have it after, e.g. the ...
6
votes
1answer
181 views
Is there a name for adjectives that are based around someone's name?
Some examples would include:
Shakespearean
Christian
Mesmerized
Pavlovian
Newtonian
Boolean
Darwinian
6
votes
2answers
235 views
When does the name prefix “Mc” take stress?
Mc (or Mac) is often used as a prefix in Gaelic-derived names.
In one class containing most such names, prefixing Mc does not affect the position of the accent somewhere on the base name. Thus Mc is ...
6
votes
1answer
345 views
What is the origin of surnames based on color?
I understand the background of names such as Baker, Carver and Hammer but, what are the origins of names such as Black, Blue, Brown, Green and White? Are they based on some common structure or do they ...
5
votes
3answers
582 views
Objects with no name, like “the Sun”
This morning I was pondering the things in the English language which have not been given a name, such as 'the Sun' or 'the Moon'. These do not seem to fall into the same category as 'the ground' or ...
5
votes
3answers
238 views
Why is it that John Chrysostom is almost never referred to as “John Golden Mouth” in English?
Why is it that the sainted John Chrysostom (b. 347?, d. 407; Archbishop of Constantinople, 397–407) is almost never referred to as "John Golden Mouth" in English? ("Chrysostom" means "Golden Mouth" in ...
5
votes
8answers
666 views
Should Philip have P. or Ph. as an initial?
In the context of scientific articles and technical white papers, references to other publications typically include the author’s surname with, depending on the format of the specific publication, ...
5
votes
6answers
3k views
Why are people from Sunderland called “mackems”?
In the north-east of England, if nowhere else, people from Sunderland are called "mackems". Does anyone know why this should be? Wikipedia suggests a number of possibilities. Are any of these correct?
...
5
votes
1answer
7k views
What is the name for this “…” punctuation?
When I am writing, and I want to leave something out, so that it gives an implied effect, I use this: ...
What is it called?
5
votes
3answers
585 views
What is the name for a person who raises turkeys?
Some agricultural professions have specific names assigned to them. For example, a person who raises sheep is a shepherd and a person who raises cattle is a rancher. What would a person who raises ...
5
votes
3answers
526 views
Abbreviating names that start with a vowel
What are the rules about abbreviating names that start with a vowel? Would abbreviating "Alanis Morissette" to "A. Morissette" be correct or should it be "Al. Morissette"?
5
votes
3answers
749 views
Why is the letter J so common in names of people who go by their initials? [closed]
I've met a number of people who use their initials as a name. Almost all of the ones I've met have a "J" as one of the initials. I've asked a few friends, and so far, anecdotally, it seems that this ...
5
votes
2answers
285 views
How would a native British speaker say “Betteredge”?
I am reading Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, and a prominent character in the story has the name of Betteredge. My question is (since I like to imagine the dialogue in a British-English book as if ...
5
votes
1answer
464 views
What is the term for a person with same first and last name?
What is it called when a person has the exact same first and last name (and same spelling), whether named by parents or as a result of marriage? For example, Thomas Thomas.
5
votes
5answers
223 views
Is using the last name of a person without a title an accepted way of addressing?
I always heard people use Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms before people's names and that is how, I thought, it was done until I watched one of those Harry Potter films in which Malfoy (Sr) addresses Albus Dumbledore ...
5
votes
1answer
200 views
Was Christian a proper name before Pilgrim's Progress?
I was going to ask this on Christianity.SE but it's not really a Christian Doctrine question; hope it fits here.
I was reading John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress where almost everyone is named for a ...
