2024 Award for Best Article in NAMES

At the start of each calendar year, the members of the NAMES Editorial Board review the articles that appeared in the previous volume to determine the winners of the Best Article of the Year. After careful reading of each article, the publications are judged across the following three criteria: (1) creativity and originality; (2) potential scholarly contribution to onomastics; and (3) writing style and organization. Per secret ballot, the reviewers independently select the three publications which they have assigned the highest ratings for each of these criteria. The ballots are collected and tallied by the NAMES Editor-in-Chief. In years past, the outcome of the election has been so close that it was necessary to have several rounds of voting to finally determine the top three papers. This year, however, the tallies yielded three clear winners. Although the onomastic subject area for each of the top papers was radically different, all three had one common feature which segregated them from the rest of the year’s submissions. Each demonstrated a remarkably innovative methodological approach which the Board members determined had the potential of making a significant and lasting contribution to future onomastic research.