Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names

Megan Taylor
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  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Do you ever wonder how and why things get their names? On Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names, we'll dive into anything and everything related to names. If you're an onomastics aficionado, this is the place for you!

  1. Of Pilgrims and Puritans

    11/19/2024

    Of Pilgrims and Puritans

    What's the difference between a Pilgrim and a Puritan? And what do they have to do with Thanksgiving anyway?? We'll look at the roots of a beloved American holiday and how they connect with the Protestant Revolution.  Raise your drumsticks in a hearty Huzzah!

    28 min
  2. Easter, Eoster & Ishtar

    04/07/2023

    Easter, Eoster & Ishtar

    Here comes Peter Cottontail! It's almost time for Easter!  But what does Easter mean? How did it get its name? Did the Catholics just piggy-back off a holiday for an ancient goddess?? Let's "hunt" down the answer together!

    21 min
  3. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Caoimhin)

    10/13/2022

    We Need to Talk About Kevin (Caoimhin)

    I bet you know a lot of Kevins, but when was the last time you saw a baby named Kevin? Today we explore Kevins journey from Celtic Saint to American scamp. Learn just how popular (or unpopular) this name really is! Sources: Articles Children's names: Why rich parents set the trend, not celebrities - BBC News The Ossianic Society on JSTOR  What’s In A Name: The Surprising Rise And Fall (And Rise) Of ‘Kevin’ | by The Establishment | The Establishment | Medium Saint Kevin | patron of Dublin | Britannica Saint Kevin - Glendalough - World Cultures European (irishcultureandcustoms.com) Gaelic Revival | Encyclopedia.com Trace your Irish roots - traditional Irish naming pattern (irishcentral.com) http://manchesterhistorian.com/2021/what-led-to-the-19th-century-gaelic-revival-by-erin-kilker/  Irish Free State declared - HISTORY  Irish in Washington -- The Early Years (1840s to 1890) - HistoryLink.org Apparently, Some Countries Really Hate The Name ‘Kevin’ | HuffPost Weird News  The Strange German Disease Called "Kevinism": Can a Lame Name Mess Up Your Life? | Discover Magazine Digitized Records Annals of the Four Masters (ucc.ie)  The Annals of Ulster (ucc.ie)  Irish Genealogy Books

    18 min
  4. Oranges: Fruit or Color?

    08/21/2022

    Oranges: Fruit or Color?

    After a stupidly long hiatus we are back with more naming fun! Join us this episode for an in-depth look at the journey of orange, both the color and the fruit! Links: The Citrus Route Revealed: From Southeast Asia into the Mediterranean in: HortScience Volume 52 Issue 6 (2017) (ashs.org) orange | Search Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com) The Origin of Oranges (arcgis.com) Oranges - Google Books Al Masudi – History of Islam William the Silent (mcgill.ca) House of Orange | European dynasty | Britannica Golden Fruit - Google Books Hesperides: history of the culture and use of citrus fruits : Tolkowsky, S. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Trading Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes. From the Mediterranean to the Black Sea - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Orange | History, Geography, & Points of Interest | Britannica Francia Media:  Lorraine & Burgundy (friesian.com) Color or Fruit? On the Unlikely Etymology of “Orange” ‹ Literary Hub (lithub.com) Why does the Netherlands love orange? The full explainer – DutchReview Exploration and trade in Elizabethan England | The British Library (bl.uk) Spectrum - The Spectrum Of Light - Newton, Colors, Seven, and Experiment - JRank Articles Patriot Revolution | Encyclopedia.com Glorious Revolution - New World Encyclopedia https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-18769781

    21 min
  5. Did Shakespeare Invent Jessica?

    04/25/2022

    Did Shakespeare Invent Jessica?

    Ah the immortal Bard.  We can credit Shakespeare with many things: shaping the English language, bringing theatre to the common man, giving High School drama departments something to perform that's in the public domain. But can we credit Shakespeare for names like Jessica? We'll look at the complex (and racist) relationship between Britain and Judaism as we unravel the mystery behind  Shakespeare's Semitic ingenue. Sources: Articles: Barkey, K., & Katznelson, I. (2011). States, regimes, and decisions: why Jews were expelled from Medieval England and France. Theory and Society, 40(5), 475–503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9150-8 Halio, J. L., & Gross, J. (1993). Shylock: Four Hundred Years in the Life of a Legend. Shakespeare Quarterly, 44(3), 364. https://doi.org/10.2307/2871425 Books: Gross, K. (2006). Shylock Is Shakespeare (Annotated ed.). University of Chicago Press. Shapiro, J. (2016). Shakespeare and the Jews (twentieth anniversary edition). Columbia University Press. Websites: CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Giangiorgio Trissino (newadvent.org) www.etymologyonline.com Meet The Man Responsible For The Letter "J" - Dictionary.com Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Psalm 23 Toyohiko Santoh https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh  Bransle Gay Claude Gervais https://archive.org/details/lp_french-dances-of-the-renaissance-and-other_le-groupe-des-instruments-anciens-de-paris_0

    14 min
  6. Iceland and Greenland

    03/15/2022

    Iceland and Greenland

    It's an old story: The Vikings gave Greenland and Iceland their names to fool people. But is that actually true? Grab and oar on the dragon boat as we sail to the icy heart of this naming mystery! Sources: Articles: A BRIEF HISTORY OF GREENLAND - Local Histories Debunking the Naming of Iceland: How the Island Got its Name | The Horse and the Norse (wordpress.com) Erik The Red – The Raving, Red-Haired Lunatic Who Settled Greenland (allthatsinteresting.com) Eric the Red - discover of Greenland (greenlandbytopas.com)  Facts about Greenland - Naalakkersuisut Books: Bugge, A. (2022). THE NATIVE GREENLANDER - A BLENDING OF OLD AND NEW. Arctic. History, C. (2018). Erik the Red: A Captivating Guide to the Viking Who Founded the First Norse Settlement in Greenland (Captivating History). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Palsson, H., & Edwards, P. (2007). The Book of Settlements: Landnamabok (U of M Icelandic Series). University of Manitoba Press. Seaver, K. A. (1997). The Frozen Echo: Greenland and the Exploration of North America, ca. A.D. 1000–1500 (1st ed.). Stanford University Press. Websites: www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca www.britannica.com  Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 "Psalm 23" by Toyohiko Satoh Lute Music from the Netherlands, retrieved from archive.org https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh "Sækonungar" by Skald  Viking Memories, retrieved from archive.org  https://archive.org/details/skald-vikings_memories-vinyl

    16 min
  7. Princess Qajar: More than a Meme

    02/07/2022

    Princess Qajar: More than a Meme

    You've probably seen a meme circulating that shows the so-called "Princess Qajar."  It's a set of black and white photos showing an Iranian woman with a mustache, unibrow, and unusual clothes.  A typical caption reads something like: "this woman was a great beauty in her day. 13 men committed suicide after she spurned their advances!" We're meant to be shocked that this "uggo" could command such devotion.  But who is the real woman behind the pretty blatantly racist and sexist meme?  In this episode we dig into the lives of two women who saw Iran's attempted transformation from Western puppet to independent nation.  Esmat Al-Dawlha and Taj Al-Sultanah Sources: Articles: https://abitofhistoryblog.com/tag/esmat-al-dowleh/ http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/2018/07/princess-qajar.html https://positivenegativeimpact.com/princess-qajar https://historyofyesterday.com/the-beauty-symbol-from-the-19th-century-proves-that- beauty-is-determined-by-society-aa8e2a0260c0 Books: Al-Saltaneh, T., Neshati, A., Amanat, A., & Vanzan, A. (2021). Crowning Anguish: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to Modernity. Macmillan Publishers. Ingenito, D. (2020). Beholding Beauty Sadi of Shiraz and the Aesthetics of Desire in Medieval Persian Poetry (Brill Studies in Middle Eastern Literatures). BRILL. Keddie, N. R. (2012). Qajar Iran and the Rise of Reza Khan 1796–1925. Mazda Pub. Shah, N. A., Redhouse, J. W., Iran, S. O., & William, J. (2012). The diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia, during his tour through Europe in A.D. 1873. By J.W. Redhouse. A verbatim translation. Ulan Press. Websites: www.britannica.com www.qajarwomen.org www.biographypedia.com Music: Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Farda to miyaee by Houshmand Aghili https://www.easypersian.com/ Psalm 23 by Toyohiko Santoh www.archive.org

    14 min
  8. What is Barbie?

    01/17/2022

    What is Barbie?

    She's pink! She's fun! She's complicated! The world loves Barbie. She's a staple of American girlhood. But how did Barbie get her name? Is Barbie a person or a species? When/why did Barbie become a derogatory  term against women? fire up your pink convertibles, because we're getting into the history of Barbie and the impact of her name on culture. Sources: Articles: Biography of Ruth Handler, Inventor of Barbie Dolls (thoughtco.com) Fame Dogs 'Real' Barbie, Ken - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)  The Amazing Ruth Handler, The Woman Behind Barbie - Antique Trader  Real People Behind Big Names (oprah.com) Sad Clown | On the Media | WNYC Studios  BBC NEWS | Americas | Barbie loses battle over bimbo image  Books: Gerber, R. (2010). Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her (Illustrated ed.). Harper Business. Handler, R., & Shannon, J. (1995). Dream Doll: The Ruth Handler Story (1st ed.). Longmeadow Pr. Websites: www.etymologyonline.com www.behindthename.com Music: Toyohiko Santoh Psalm 23 Lute Music from the Netherlands https://archive.org/details/cd_lute-music-from-the-netherlands_toyohiko-satoh  www.archive.org Market by PeriTune | http://peritune.com Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

    13 min
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Do you ever wonder how and why things get their names? On Moniker: The Histories and Mysteries of Names, we'll dive into anything and everything related to names. If you're an onomastics aficionado, this is the place for you!

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