Onomastics

Onomastics is the branch of lexicology which studies proper names of all kinds, history and the origins of names, from the Greek word onoma, `name'. Onomastics studies different kinds of names such as names of people (e.g. first names, middle names, surnames, nicknames), names of places (e.g. countries, districts, cities, towns, villages), names of landscape features (e.g. seas, rivers, streams, lakes, mountains, hills, valleys, forests, woods, moors, marshes), names of buildings (e.g. houses, churches, pubs, schools, airports, hotels, railway stations), names of routeways (e.g. roads, streets, paths, tracks, bridges, fords, canals, shipping routes), names of animals (e.g. pets, greyhounds, racehorses, cows), names of ethnic and social groups (e.g. nations, tribes, political parties, clubs, sports teams), names of events (e.g. competitions, fairs, races), names of astronomical features (e.g. planets, stars), names of vehicles (e.g. aircrafts, locomotives, ships), names of commercial products (e.g. chocolates, lipsticks, wines), names of creative works (e.g. books, films, plays, poems), names in fiction as well as in the real world – the list goes on and on.