Names and Naming ― People, Places, Perceptions and Power

This book explores international trends in naming and contributes to the growing field of onomastic enquiry. Naming practices are viewed here through a critical lens, demonstrating a high level of political and social engagement in relation to how we name people and places. The contributors to this publication examine why names are not only symbols of a person or place, but also manifestations of cultural, linguistic and social heritage in their own right. Presenting analyses of geographically and culturally diverse perspectives and case studies, the book investigates how names can represent deeper kinds of identity, act as objects of attachment and dependence, and reflect community mores and social customs while functioning as powerful predicators of inclusion and exclusion. The book will be of interest to researchers in onomastics, sociology, human geography, linguistics and history.

Guy Puzey is Lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His research interests include language policy, linguistic landscapes and geosemiotics, critical sociolinguistics and toponomastics, particularly in the contexts of Scotland and the Nordic countries.

Laura Kostanski is Director at Geonaming Solutions Pty Ltd & Address Exchange Pty Ltd, and is based in Australia. Her research interests include toponymy, human geography, geospatial systems, crowd sourcing, government policy and Indigenous cultural heritage.