This past weekend I drove from Los Angeles to Tucson via Interstate-10, and took to noticing the names of the various ditches and washes that are spanned by the highway out in the middle of the high lonesome desert. There are a lot of them. Ghost Ditch, Taro Ditch, Larry Ditch, Stubby Wash, Fornat Wash, Itta Wash, Edom, Mccoy, Rollie, Bula, Sutro, Calotus, Esso, Arco, Teed, Turala, maybe a hundred between the ditches and the washes. The names don't seem to refer to nearby municipalities (there aren't any) or other geographical features, and are clearly part of the National Bridge Inventory. How were these 'waterways' named? Who named them? Were they named before the freeway required infrastructure to pass over them, or during the construction process, or when the NBI was implemented, or after the fact altogether?
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posted by carsonb
on May 14, 2013 -
7 answers
So my wife is pregnant. Hooray! (Still early enough that we don't know the gender). We're starting to think about names. It seems to me that the world's great hope and story of progress is the expansion of rights and consideration of the views & interests of an ever-widening swath of humanity. Which historical figures stand for pluralism, for rejecting provincialism, in word or deed? I've picked up, but haven't yet read
Kwame Anthony Appiah's Cosmopolitanism; I'd be grateful for suggestions of books or other resources that might be useful.
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posted by anonymous
on Mar 29, 2013 -
30 answers
Why do churches and banks -- and
only churches and banks -- name themselves "The First X" or "The First X of Y"? Especially when it's obvious they're not actually the first X ever built in Y?
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posted by Afroblanco
on Feb 9, 2012 -
16 answers
I live in Australia, and have noticed lot of the students I study with who are from somewhere in East Asia will adopt a Western name while they're over here, presumably to make things easier for thick-tongued Anglos. I'm curious about how these names are selected.
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posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot
on Jun 3, 2011 -
50 answers
I have always had a hard time naming things. Is there a process you go through when choosing a name? Categories of ideas or questions that you run through?
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posted by agropyron
on Jan 27, 2010 -
13 answers
What made-up names does your very young child call favorite movies, books, games, or television shows?
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posted by Mo Nickels
on Jun 6, 2009 -
33 answers
Does anyone know any obscure synonyms or industry-related terms for 'Special Bookings' or 'By Appointment Only'?
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posted by LongDrive
on Mar 1, 2009 -
5 answers
I'm looking for suggestions for monosyllabic girl names that are more unique/interesting than things like "Ann" or "Jane" or "Sue" but still familiar enough that my as-yet-unnamed fetus won't have to go through life spelling out BOTH her first and last names for people. (She'll have my husband's last name to deal with--something like Dziewolrgjeoaezkxyzski.)
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posted by mere
on Sep 6, 2008 -
83 answers
My recently married friend is having some doubts about her name change. If you or your spouse did a name change after you got married, could you offer some insights about her situation?
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posted by donnagirl
on Aug 19, 2008 -
14 answers
Here's a NameFilter for you: I've just started a new podcast. It's a chat show, with a focus on intelligent humor. We're trying to give it a name. Any ideas?
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posted by YoungAmerican
on Dec 8, 2006 -
27 answers
What's the story behind Indian (as in the country) last names that consist of a single letter?
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posted by mmascolino
on Aug 18, 2006 -
13 answers
Anyone remember a great interactive "naming" site, run in flash I think, where you could see how popular or not a name was over a period of time (even by country I think)? I have searched, I promise - but I just can't find it!
posted by dash_slot-
on Dec 8, 2005 -
9 answers
I'm looking for some naming help - to try to turn an individual's name into a collective. There are some obvious ones - "Steptoe & Son" "Will Vinton Studios" "The Jimi Hendrix Experience" as well as the typical "and associates" or "and partners" or "and Co."
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posted by stevil
on Jun 1, 2005 -
23 answers
Generational filter: I am trying to apply an age/birth year range to the following generations: Boomers, GenX, GenY, Nexter. I find conflicting information when I google. [mi]
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posted by suchatreat
on Jan 7, 2005 -
44 answers
