The International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) is an international academic organization of scholars with a special interest in onomastics, the scientific study of names (e.g. place-names, personal names, and proper names of all other kinds).
The work of the scholars of ICOS
Members research the origin and history of names, the personal name-systems used by different cultures, the demographic patterns of names in different societies, the use and significance of names of characters in literature, brand-name creation, and many related topics in the naming of persons, places, institutions, works of art, and other miscellaneous objects. They are also involved in practical projects such as the international standardization of geographical names. The aim of ICOS (as opposed to the many national societies for name-study) is the advancement, representation and co-ordination of name-research on an international level and in an interdisciplinary context. To that end, it is engaged in the publication of research and the development of research tools as described below. The Council's members are drawn from disciplines such as linguistics and philology, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, geography and literary research. This organization has replaced the former International Committee of Onomastic Sciences, which was a closed society consisting exclusively of co-opted representatives of countries. The former body was therefore not open to individual scholars as the present one is.
Official languages of ICOS
The official languages of ICOS are English, French and German.
ONOMA
ICOS publishes the annual journal ONOMA, which is its official publication. ONOMA is managed by a General Editor in conjunction with an Editorial Board. It contains topical research reports as well as basic theoretical articles concerning all areas of scholarly name research. Presently, each issue is thematic, and has a guest editor. It also publishes an irregular newsletter.
The ISSN of ONOMA is 0078-463-X.
Themes of recent issues of ONOMA
37: Nordic onomastics (2002)
38: Onomastics in North America (2003)
39: Name studies and teaching (2004)
40: Literary onomastics (2005; still to appear)
Working groups
ICOS has two active working groups, striving:
1. to create an international bibliography of name-study
2. to help create an internationally-agreed technical terminology for name-study
Congresses
The International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, which is normally held every three years, is a major academic conference organized on behalf of ICOS by one of its members. The General Assembly of ICOS, which also functions as its business meeting, and at which its officers are elected, is usually held at these congresses. The ordinary business of ICOS is transacted by the elected Board of Directors.
List of Congresses of ICOS
1. Paris, 1938
2. Paris, 1947
3. Bruxelles [Brussels], 1949
4. Uppsala, 1952
5. Salamanca, 1955
6. München [Munich], 1958
7. Firenze [Florence], 1961
8. Amsterdam, 1963
9. London, 1966
10. Wien [Vienna], 1969
11. Sofia, 1972
12. Bern, 1975
13. Kraków, 1978
14. Ann Arbor, 1981
15. Leipzig, 1984
16. Québec, 1987
17. Helsinki, 1990
18. Trier, 1993
19. Aberdeen, 1996
20. Santiago de Compostela, 1999
21. Uppsala, 2002
22. Pisa, 2005
23. York University, Toronto, 2008
The Proceedings of Congresses 1.-20. have been published, and those of 21. and 22. are in the course of being published.
Recent Presidents of ICOS
Professor Isolde Hausner (Vienna), 1999-2002
Dr Mats Wahlberg (Uppsala), 2002-5
Professor Maria Giovanna Arcamone (Pisa), 2005-8
Sources
There is no authoritative history of ICOS. This article is compiled from the Council's own records. The statutes may be viewed on the organization's web-site.
External links:
International Council of Onomastic Sciences; ONOMA
External links to related organizations:
American Name Society; Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
Internal links to related organizations: