Reinfeldt and Röda Faran, Lättfot and Linneas Blomsterbod 

On the naming of crafts, businesses and more besides

This essay discusses names in the part of the onomasticon that is usually referred to as ‘Other names’, that is, names that are neither place-names nor personal names. Six groups are examined, including two in which naming is (at least partly) officially regulated, namely business names and ship names. A third group, names of aircrafts, is voluntary, but the names are on display on the machines.The other three groups consist of objects that are given individual names spontaneously, without official involvement: the names of individual vehicles, appliances in the home, and toys. To sum up the place of these groups (and others with names given spontaneously) in the onomasticon, they can be referred to as ‘Miscellaneous other names’.

It is shown that several of these groups often borrow names from other name categories, but also that, for both businesses and ships, various stocks of names have developed that are reused and used to create new ones. I also attempt to identify the factors promoting the naming of things that are neither people nor places. These factors include where there is a pronounced need to identify the ‘object’, where it is alive, or where it can be perceived to be alive because it is mobile. Earlier patterns can also give rise to naming, as too, of course, can a commercial or legal need for something to be named.