An Enterprise-Naming Inspiration in the United States
The Geographical Panhandle
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10304168 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael D Sublett (0000-0001-6896-9940, Illinois State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 32-45 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-16 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Names (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0027-7738 • E-ISSN: 1756-2279 |
| Publisher | University Library System, University of Pittsburgh (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.5195/names.2025.2790 |
| OpenAlex | W4411331262 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
Enterprises, be they businesses, nonprofit organizations, or organized events, need memorable names to differentiate themselves from other enterprises. In the United States, geographical panhandles have provided a distinguishing word around which to build an enterprise name that appeals to people having affection for or a connection to a particular panhandle. This essay seeks to uncover the extent of the panhandle-naming phenomenon, trace panhandle namegiving back through time, and create a corpus of panhandle-named enterprises. Data collection tools involved standard online searches; Google’s predictive searching algorithm; business and nonprofit searching tools on the websites of the states’ secretaries of state; and several subscription databases, including Newspapers.com. Florida’s panhandle has inspired, thus far, more than 2,400 panhandle-named enterprises, with Texas coming in second, at 1,600. Four other states turned up with more than two hundred each: Idaho, West Virginia, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. In total, the research yielded a from-scratch corpus of just over 6,200 panhandle-named enterprises
| Highly cited | No |
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