Houses in reconstructed Anglian village at Jarrow Hall
Discover routes into names and name studies with the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
Exploring Names
Welcome!
Welcome to the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland’s Exploring Names website. Whether you are new to name studies or already hooked, we hope that the resources we are building here will give you some insights into the names that are all around us, the fascinating stories they tell about languages, peoples and landscapes, and the tools and methods that are used to study them.
Where to begin?
Some of the material on this website has been written as an introduction to name studies. If you want to find out more about different types of names and how they are interpreted, have a look at Introducing names and Interpreting names.
If you’d prefer, you can start by diving into some fascinating case studies of place-names and family names in Name stories.
Who are we?
The Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland (SNSBI) exists to promote the study of place-names, personal names, and other names. It has members within and beyond Britain and Ireland, some of them academics (students or staff) in relevant fields, but most from other walks of life. The materials on this website have been produced by individual members of the Society.
Membership
Anyone passionate about studying names is invited to join the Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland. The Society publishes the journal Nomina and organises two conferences every year (an online day conference and a residential weekend conference). As part of your membership, you’ll receive editions of the Nomina journal, biannual newsletters, and discounted prices for our spring and autumn conferences.
Acknowledgements
The Exploring Names website in its present form (Summer 2024) has been devised and created by Diana Whaley, Ellie Rye and Keith Briggs, acting as a steering and editorial group. Warm thanks go to all who have contributed material: Keith Briggs, Richard Coates, Carole Hough, John Insley, Peter McClure, Ellie Rye, Nigel Suffield-Jones, Diana Whaley and Alasdair Whyte. We are also indebted to many members of SNSBI – too many to name — who took part in initial discussions and working groups; to Carole Hough, Peter McClure and Oliver Padel for reading selected drafts; to Dan Williams of Woodbridge Web for website design; and to the SNSBI Committee for their interest and support at all stages.