Surname dynamics in avian nomenclature

Abstract

This article begins by explaining the roles surnames play in formal scientific nomenclature, where surnames may appear in both the vernacular names (Wahlberg’s Eagle) and the scientific names (Aquila walbergi) of birds, as well as in the descriptions of the formal naming process found in ornithological publications. The article explains the former usage as honouring someone in the ornithological world, while the latter usage refers to the person who first identified and named a new species of bird. The article goes on to note that both those who do the naming of new species of birds and they who are honoured for their contribution to ornithology by having new species of birds named after them belong to the same closed world, with the result that often the same surnames crop up in both onomastic roles: honouree and namer. Looked at diachronically, such surname usage creates distinct dynamics. The second half of the article looks at other types of surname dynamics: immigrants changing their surnames on arriving in a new country, the rebranding of film stars and singers, the use of noms-de-plume, and surname change (or exchange) on marriage. The article concludes by situating surname usage in avian nomenclature within a wider context of surname dynamics, and suggests that ornithologists and onomasticians see these surnames from considerably different perspectives.