names

The Town That Fought Over Its Apostrophe

What happens when a local council tries to erase a single punctuation mark from a place name? In the English…

6 days ago

The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker

Ever wonder why so many English surnames sound like old jobs? This dive into linguistic history reveals how surnames like…

6 days ago

The Phonology of Brand Names

Ever wondered why so many successful brands have names that just *sound* right? From Google to Pepsi, the secret often…

1 month ago

When Did We Agree on Place Names?

Ever wondered why Bombay became Mumbai, or why The Netherlands is no longer called Holland? The names on our maps…

1 month ago

The Billion-Dollar Word: Naming Products for the Globe

What's in a name? For a global brand, it could be a billion dollars. This post explores the high-stakes world…

5 months ago

The Grammar of Nicknames

Ever wonder why William becomes Bill, but not Willam? Or how a Russian Aleksandr affectionately becomes Sashenka? Nicknames follow a…

5 months ago

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