Questions tagged [names]

Questions related to the history of terms used for identification, for people, places, things, concepts, times or ages, events, professions, systems, sciences, or any other real or imaginary items which have been or can be identified with identifying terminology.

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Was the Apostle the first Peter?

Is there an attested use of the Greek word "petros" (meaning 'stone') as a given name, before it was given to Peter the Apostle? Note: The name Jesus gave to Peter was most likely 'Kepha,' since ...
kingledion's user avatar
5 votes
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399 views

When was the name of the Mexican war changed to Mexican-American war?

I learned recently (by having an answer marked wrong in Pub Quiz) that the conflict which was called the Mexican War when I was in school is now called the Mexican-American War. My question: When, ...
bof's user avatar
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In what period were signature rubrics used?

A rubric is a flourish embellishing a signature; it's both decorative and a security feature. At least with regard to European languages, signatures are still used but rubrics were, as far as I can ...
Aaron Brick's user avatar
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Is there an example from Classical antiquity of mixing up cities based on their names?

Is there an example from Classical antiquity of mixing up cities based on their names? Say, an army landed at the wrong town, or a traveler gave wrong directions, based on the names. That last part is ...
cmw's user avatar
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3 votes
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What's the first mention of امّان and سومالی in Persian texts?

I am Iranian. As you know the country has been influenced very much by Islam and Arabic language since the conquer of Sassanid Empire by Muslim Arabs. Even the Persian alphabet wasn't prone to the ...
Etack Sxchange's user avatar
3 votes
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155 views

Why were so very similar names chosen for the European Council and Council of the European Union?

There are two official EU institutions which have very similar names but do very different things: The European Council, which is a strategic body comprised of the heads of state or government of the ...
Heinzi's user avatar
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Was the name "War of the League of Augsburg" or "War of the Grand Alliance" used within the Alliance?

The recent question "Has anyone ever named a war after their own country or faction?" led me to mention that The War of the Grand Alliance (also known as "The War of the League of Augsburg" or "The ...
reirab's user avatar
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2 votes
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Is there any documented evidence that these three North American cities were named due to the locations of their namesakes?

Two years ago, I was studying an online atlas of the world and I happened to notice that there are three cities located in North America which have a geographical similarity with three cities located ...
user57467's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
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How did Hawai'ian surnames work during Kamehameha's Act to Regulate Names?

I was wondering how family names were inherited during the Act to Regulate Names in Hawai'i. There's some conflicting info: some sources seem to say that the given name of the father of the person in ...
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1 vote
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Was Wahshi Wahshi ibn Harb's real name?

I was reading the Wikipedia article for Wahshi ibn Harb. Wahshi ibn Harb ("The Savage, Son of War"), also known as Abu Dusmah was a former slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im before becoming a ...
Etack Sxchange's user avatar
1 vote
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135 views

Why did many Hellenic or Hellenized names in antiquity end in -bazos or -dates?

Ancient names ending with bazos (or bazus), eg megabazos(great-x), Artabazos (again great-x), Pharnabazos. And Dates (Mithradates, Tiridates). I know Mithra was a deity, what does the second half of ...
Mankind1023's user avatar
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Which person is Burani named after?

In this article I found two persons as whom Burani (a Middle Eastern dish) is named after: According to Naḵjavānī (p. 145), the term būrānī is derived from the name of Būrān, daughter of Ḥasan b. ...
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Are there any in-depth accounts on the history of the so-called 'city name statues' phenomenon?

A few years ago, Amsterdam had a big collection of statues consisting of letters that spelled 'I amsterdam': The letters were removed because a majority the city council associated them with ...
Max Muller's user avatar
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Was Vespucci born as Amerigo?

In a youtube video, it is stated that Vespucci's original first name was "Alberto". The name by which he is popularly known, "Amerigo", was only assigned to him after reaching the ...
floydundzeit's user avatar