XXIX International Congress of Onomastic Sciences

Vienna, Austria | 16-20 August 2027

Names as Condensed Narratives

The Austrian Academy of Sciences and the Austrian Geographical Society cordially invite you to the XXIX International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Vienna [Wien], Austria, 16-20 August 2027, organized under the auspices of the International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS).

Submit workshop or session open
Submit paper opens 1 July 2026
Register now opens 1 March 2027
Congress Image
Vienna seen from the Belvedere, 1759-1760, by Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto)
(Source: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien)

Program

Congress theme

The Congress theme "Names as condensed narratives" aims to highlight the importance and relevance of names and naming while leaving enough space for the whole variety of onomastic topics and scientific approaches.

Names can be regarded as 'condensed narratives' about the person or feature they denote, as well as about the name-giver(s). This can very well be exemplified by place names. With them, the attribute 'condensed narratives' applies most typically to descriptive names based on the assumption that every name has been given intentionally, i.e. with the intention of highlighting an essential or striking aspect of the feature.

Program outline

The week from August 16 to 20, 2027, will be dedicated to keynotes, paper and poster sessions. On Wednesday afternoon, a selection of excursions will be offered. Active participants are invited to select one of the following:

  1. Vienna city tour by bus
  2. Guided walking tour through the central part of the city
  3. Visits to art galleries
  4. Visits to the national library and museums

Additional excursions also during the rest of the week will be offered to accompanying persons. A social dinner and a reception will complement the program.

The ICOS Board could meet already Sunday afternoon before the Congress week and business meetings of working groups and the Onoma editorial board can be scheduled conveniently on the session days.

Important dates

  • January 2026: Call for workshop and session proposals
  • End of May 2026: Call for workshop and session proposals ends
  • End of June 2026: Information about workshop and session acceptance
  • July 2026: Call for session papers (that may also be attributed to workshops) opens
  • End of October 2026: Call for papers ends
  • End of January 2027: Information about paper acceptance
  • End of February 2027: Detailed Congress program available
  • 1 March 2027: Registration for the Congress starts

Note: The organizers do not take responsibility for force majeure reasons for cancellation of the event (natural disaster, outbreak of severe contagious epidemic, major strikes etc.). In such case, the Organizing Committee will decide upon refunding of paid fees.

Congress language

The Vienna Congress will not make use of all of ICOS' official languages, i.e. English, French, and German, but will admit only presentations in English, the most inclusive, by far dominant global trade language and the prevailing language of sciences of our days. Allowing German, for instance, would mean that – due to the fact that Austria is a German-speaking country, and many participants can also be expected from nearby Germany and the German-speaking part of Switzerland – very likely a larger share of sessions would be conducted in German with the effect of excluding non-German speakers, still the largest part of Congress participants. This would be detrimental both to the general aim of international congresses to provide for international communication and the aim of researchers in the German-speaking sphere to present themselves and their work to a wider global audience at this occasion present in Vienna.

Topics

Submissions for the Vienna Congress are invited to pay tribute to the Congress theme but are not obliged to do so. The papers and posters presented might cover (but are not limited to) also the following topics:

  • Names between heritage preservation and cultural change
  • Names in the focus of various sciences
  • The universal phenomena of names and naming
  • Names and naming in different parts of the world
  • Names as identity markers
  • Name changes
  • The endonym/exonym divide, not only with place names
  • Nick names
  • Commercial naming
  • Minority and indigenous names
  • Naming in the Global South
  • Names in literature
  • Urban toponymy
  • The juridical framework of naming
  • Place-name standardization
  • Toponomastics as a field of science
  • Toponymy in education
  • Names in social media

Location

Jesuit Church and Austrian Academy of Sciences
Jesuit Church and premises of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with its headquarters left (where the festive hall is located) (Source: Jordan)

The Congress will take place in the premises of the Austrian Academy located in Vienna's historical center with a festive hall for 300 persons and five additional conference rooms offering space for six parallel sessions and in total 500 participants.

Vienna is a top international meeting destination centrally located in Europe. Vienna Airport serves nearly 200 destinations; most European capitals are only 2–3 hours away by plane. Rail links provide an eco-friendly option. The city airport train CAT connects airport and city centre in 16 minutes only. The compact city is easy to navigate, and public transport (subway, tram, bus) is reliable. Accommodation ranges from luxury to budget.

Vienna is a science and business hub with world-class educational and university facilities, a UN headquarters city, 200+ major international corporations and a respected startup scene. The city is committed to sustainability (parks, climate efficiency, resource conservation) and pairs business with world-class art, culture, cafés, bars, restaurants and culinary delights.

Venue

Austrian Academy of Sciences

Vienna's historical center

Capacity

Festive hall: 300 persons

5 conference rooms: 6 parallel sessions

Total: 500 participants

Organizing & Scientific Committees

Organizing Committee

Chair

Peter Jordan, Ph.D.
Honorary and Associate Professor, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Urban and Regional Research; University of the Free State (South Africa), Faculty of Humanities; ICOS Vice-President

Core-team members

Fatemeh Akbari, Ph.D.
Terminology Committee, The Academy of Persian Language and Literature, ICOS Non-Executive Board Member

Philipp Stöckle, Ph.D.
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities

Members at large

  • Peter Ernst, Ph.D., Professor, University of Vienna, Institute of Germanistics
  • Isolde Hausner, Ph.D., retired staff member, Austrian Academy of Sciences, ICOS President 1999-2002
  • Karl Hohensinner, Ph.D., Adalbert Stifter Institute of the Federal Province Upper Austria
  • Martina Piko-Rustia, Ph.D., Director, Ethnographic Institute Urban Jarnik, Klagenfurt
  • Heinz-Dieter Pohl, Ph.D., Professor emeritus, University of Klagenfurt, Institute of Linguistics
  • Gerhard Rampl, Ph.D., University of Innsbruck, Department of Linguistics

Scientific Committee

Chair

Katalin Reszegi
University of Debrecen, Hungary, Past ICOS President, linguist

Members

  • Terhi Ainiala, Department of Finnish, Finno-Ugrian and Scandinavian Studies, linguist
  • Derek Alderman, University of Tennessee in Knoxville, USA, geographer
  • Emilia Aldrin, Halmstad University, Sweden, linguist
  • Maria del Mar Batlle, Institute of the Catalan Language in Barcelona, Spain, linguist
  • Harald Bichlmeier, University of Jena, Germany, linguist
  • Urszula Bijak, Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow, Poland, linguist
  • Andrea Bölcskei, Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, linguist
  • Luisa Caiazzo, University of Basilicata in Potenza, Italy, linguist
  • Andrea Cantile, Military Geographical Institute in Florence, Italy, cartographer
  • Sungjae Choo, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea, UNGEGN Vice-Chair, geographer
  • Richard Coates, University of Bristol, UK, linguist
  • Ivana Crljenko, University of Zadar, Croatia, sociolinguistics, geography, cartography
  • Žaneta Dvořáková, Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Czechia, linguist
  • Sheila Embleton, York University in Toronto, Canada, former ICOS President, linguist
  • Oliviu Felecan, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca in Baia Mare, Romania, linguist
  • Artur Gałkowski, University of Łódz, Poland, linguist
  • Matjaž Geršič, Slovenian Academy of Sciences in Ljubljana, Slovenia, geographer, cartographer
  • Lasse Hämäläinen, University of Helsinki, Finland, linguist
  • Milan Harvalík, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia, former ICOS President, linguist
  • Kaisa Rautio Helander, Sámi University of Applied Sciences in Guovdageaidnu, Norway, linguist
  • Carole Hough, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, former ICOS President, linguist
  • Helen Kerfoot, Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa, Canada (retired), former UNGEGN Chair, geographer
  • Tiina Laansalu, Institute of the Estonian Language in Talinn, Estonia, linguist
  • Unni Leino, Tampere University, Finland, linguist
  • Guido Lucarno, Catholic University of Milan, Italy, geographer
  • Iman Nick, University of Cologne, Germany, sociolinguist
  • Staffan Nyström, University of Uppsala, Sweden, ICOS President, linguist
  • Charles Pfukwa, Bindura University of Science Education in Bindura, Zimbabwe, linguist
  • Theodorus du Plessis, University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, linguist
  • Guy Puzey, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, linguist
  • Yaroslav Red'kva, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, linguist
  • Eduardo Tadeu Roque Amaral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil, linguist
  • Minna Saarelma, managing director of Almanac, Helsinki, Finland, linguist, sociologist
  • Paula Sjöblom, University of Turku, Finland, former ICOS President, linguist
  • Marcia Sipavicius Seide, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná in Cascavel, Brazil, linguist
  • Grant W. Smith, Eastern Washington University in Cheney, USA, linguist, philosopher
  • Joan Tort i Donada, University of Barcelona, Spain, geographer
  • Wojciech Włoskowicz, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, Poland, linguist
  • Christian Zschieschang, Sorabian Institute in Cottbus, Germany, historian

Workshop or session abstract upload

Submit your workshop or session proposal (200-300 words) for the XXIX International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. We welcome contributions that align with the congress theme "Names as condensed narratives" as well as other onomastic topics. (Note: workshop proposers/organizers invite paper presenters, although papers received through the general call may additionally be attributed to their workshop with their consent; sessions are composed of papers attributed to them by abstract submitters)

Submit workshop or session

Paper abstract upload

Submit your paper or poster proposal (200-300 words) for the XXIX International Congress of Onomastic Sciences. We welcome contributions that align with the congress theme "Names as condensed narratives" as well as other onomastic topics.

Upload abstract

Paper upload portal will be available in July 2026

Registration

Registration for the congress will start on 1 March 2027. Please check back for registration details and pricing information.

Register now

Registration opens on 1 March 2027