name – News Stories About name - Page 1

No One Knows How to Say Ron DeSantis' Name— Including DeSantis

DeSantis Keeps
Switching How He
Says His Name

THE RUNDOWN

Jun 1, 2023 8:41 AM CDT

DeSantis Keeps Switching How He Says His Name

Yearslong puzzle on how to pronounce surname reignites now that he's running for president

(Newser) - Now that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has officially jumped into the 2024 presidential race, people have lots of questions on what he plans to do if he's elected to the Oval Office. But another question has emerged of late, and it's a more personal one: How the heck...

Metal Band Named Omicron Says It Won't Change Its Name

Death-Metal Band's Name
Has Unfortunate Timing

Death-Metal Band's Name Has Unfortunate Timing

Belgian group Omicron says it's named after a constellation, not the latest coronavirus variant

(Newser) - Even bad publicity is supposedly good publicity, but whoever coined that phrase likely wasn't part of a death-metal band that shared its name with a coronavirus variant. Such a band formed two years ago, before COVID had overtaken the globe, and now the little-known Belgian group Omicron (which has...

Space Force Has
Completed a
'Momentous
Responsibility'

Dec 19, 2020 6:00 AM CST

Space Force Has Completed a 'Momentous Responsibility'

Troops have been officially named 'guardians,' Mike Pence announced Friday

(Newser) - If "troops" seemed too boring of a way to refer to the members of Space Force, never fear—there's a new label for those in service to the latest US military branch. "It is my honor, on behalf of the president of the United States, to announce...

Wait, That's
Where Beyonce's
Name Came From?

Sep 17, 2020 6:11 AM CDT

Wait, That's Where Beyonce's Name Came From?

It's her mom's maiden name, and she should've been Beyince instead

(Newser) - Lots of people name their kids after family members, or even use surnames from further up the family tree. Yet somehow the world is reeling from finding out that's exactly how one of our most famous celebrities got her own moniker. Per USA Today , Tina Knowles-Lawson, the mother of...

New Boeing Plane Name
May Be Subtle PR Move

Aug 20, 2020 11:10 AM CDT

New Boeing Plane Name May Be Subtle PR Move

737 Max is called 737-8 in new announcement from Boeing, but it's not clear if that's an official rebrand

(Newser) - Boeing announced an order Wednesday from Polish airline Enter Air for up to four 737-8 airplanes, with the airline's general director asserting he's "convinced it will be the best aircraft in the world for many years to come." For those curious what this new jet is...

A Dear Abby Answer
on Names Sparks Outrage

Oct 19, 2018 6:33 AM CDT

A Dear Abby Answer on Names Sparks Outrage

Padma Lakshmi calls column 'deeply racist'

(Newser) - The "Dear Abby" advice column has been appearing in newspapers since 1956—and after a recent response to a question about "foreign names," critics accused it of being stuck in that year. Columnist Jeanne Phillips was accused of racism after telling a reader he was right to...

NASA Needs Your Help to
Nickname Tiny World

Nov 8, 2017 12:12 PM CST

NASA Needs Your Help to Nickname Tiny World

'2014 MU69' just not that catchy

(Newser) - Heads up, armchair travelers. NASA is seeking a nickname for a tiny, icy world on the edge of the solar system that's the next destination for New Horizons, the spacecraft that surveyed Pluto. New Horizons whipped past Pluto two years ago, and now it's headed for 2014 MU69—...

Diddy: I Was Just Kidding
About That New Name

UPDATED

Nov 7, 2017 2:38 PM CST

Diddy: I Was Just Kidding About That New Name

He originally said he wanted to be called Love or Brother Love

(Newser) - The artist who has been known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, Diddy, and so forth appeared to have given himself yet another name change for his 48th birthday—but he's since revealed it was just a joke. The rapper and media mogul, who was born Sean Combs, tweeted...

Celeb Chef Alters Restaurant
Name After Disturbing Find

Celeb Chef Alters Restaurant Name After Disturbing Find

Tom Colicchio says he didn't know about racial beliefs of men he named it after

(Newser) - A celebrity chef has spent tens of thousands of dollars to quietly change the name of his Manhattan restaurant after he discovered its meaning had racial undertones. Per the New York Times , Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on Bravo's Top Chef, originally called his eatery in the New York...

Internet Picks Name
for Albino Orangutan

May 16, 2017 2:40 AM CDT

Internet Picks Name for Albino Orangutan

It's not 'Orangutan McOrangutanface'

(Newser) - A rare albino orangutan rescued from captivity in a Borneo village has been given a new name with the help of online suggestions—and remarkably, it isn't "Orangutan McOrangutanface." The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, which received thousands of suggestions, says the 5-year-old female will be called "...

Noisy Shrimp Named
After Pink Floyd

Apr 12, 2017 12:15 PM CDT

Noisy Shrimp Named After Pink Floyd

Pistol shrimp's bright-pink claw makes such a loud sound it'll blow your mind

(Newser) - If you've ever been blown away by Pink Floyd, you'll get why scientists just named a similarly thunderous crustacean in its honor. Per a post in the Zootaxa journal , a species of pistol shrimp with an intensely colored red-pink claw, found in the Pacific Ocean near Panama, has...

Stranger Enjoys Free Trip to
Spain—Because of His Name

Apr 11, 2017 12:25 AM CDT

Stranger Enjoys Free Trip to Spain—Because of His Name

The 21-year-old joined a surprise 30th birthday trip

(Newser) - When a complete stranger messaged Joe McGrath on Facebook last week about a free trip to Spain, the 21-year-old in Manchester, England, thought it sounded like a hoax. But he says the invitation kept replaying in his head, and soon he found himself on the phone with a man who...

Royal Caribbean Asks
'Boaty McBoatface'
Guy to Help Name Ship

Apr 1, 2016 11:38 AM CDT

Royal Caribbean Asks 'Boaty McBoatface' Guy to Help Name Ship

He's offered a cruise as publicity stunt

(Newser) - Royal Caribbean has crowdsourced the public before to help it name its cruise ships, but it's tapping into a rather unusual source this time around: the guy who came up with "Boaty McBoatface." The company invited British bloke James Hand—whose "whimsical moniker," as a...

Most Common Name
in the US Is Identified

Most Common Name in the US Is Identified

It's James Smith, according to two groups of analysts

(Newser) - Statistical experts at FiveThirtyEight.com undertook a project last week to discover the most common name in the US. Based on an investigation of Social Security Administration first-name records, Census data on last names, adjusted probabilities, and a number of statistical steps, the site ultimately estimated that "James Smith"...

To Sound Smarter,
Use Your Middle Initial

study says

May 4, 2014 8:13 AM CDT

To Sound Smarter, Use Your Middle Initial

And if you want people to trust your kid, give him an easy-to-pronounce name: studies

(Newser) - Want to be seen as an intellectual? Here's an easy first step: Start using your middle initial in writing. Doing so, a study finds, boosts "positive evaluations of people's intellectual capacities and achievements." The study—run by researchers Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg and Eric R....

Guy Named 'God'
Has a Problem

Apr 11, 2014 12:18 PM CDT

Guy Named 'God' Has a Problem

He's had to file a lawsuit over credit reporting issue

(Newser) - If you thought Rainbow Aurora , Lyric Sonny Roads Goldberg , Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele , and whoever made these laws necessary had it bad, consider the plight of God Gazarov. The Russian-born Gazarov was named after his grandfather, and now lives in Brooklyn. But the 26-year-old businessman was recently rejected for an auto loan...

Parents Can Name Baby 'Messiah,' Judge Rules

Sep 18, 2013 1:59 PM CDT

Parents Can Name Baby 'Messiah,' Judge Rules

Says original judge acted unconstitutionally by ordering name change

(Newser) - A Tennessee woman will be allowed to name her 8-month-old son "Messiah," a judge ruled today, overturning an order from another judge who said the boy's name should be changed to Martin because "'Messiah' is a title that is held only by Jesus Christ."...

Hawaii Chops Woman's
Super-Long Last Name

Sep 12, 2013 12:41 PM CDT

Hawaii Chops Woman's Super-Long Last Name

It's 'Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele'

(Newser) - Janice Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele was used to her last name not fitting on her Hawaii driver's license, which drops the last letter (and must also exclude her first or middle name). But now her state ID—which she's always carried because it included her full name—also includes the shortened...

Tenn. Judge:
Baby Can't Be
Named 'Messiah'

Aug 12, 2013 7:36 AM CDT

Tenn. Judge: Baby Can't Be Named 'Messiah'

She names child 'Martin' instead

(Newser) - According to one Tennessee judge, only one person in history deserves the name "Messiah"—so on Thursday she changed a 7-month-old's name to Martin instead. "The word Messiah is a title and it's a title that has only been earned by one person and that...

Dolphins Have
Names for
Each Other

study says

Jul 23, 2013 2:00 AM CDT

Dolphins Have Names for Each Other

They respond to 'signature whistles': researchers

(Newser) - Sure, call him Flipper, but he's probably already got a name among his own kind. Bottlenose dolphins appear to have individual identifying whistles, researchers in Scotland find. The scientists recorded the "signature whistles" of several of the animals in a group, along with other sounds they make. The...