Former names you use without meaning to

[sdmichael]

The artist once again known as Prince

That would be "The artist formerly known as "the artist formerly known as Prince"".

[1995hoo]

"Washington National Airport", rather than "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport"

Do you really do that *without* meaning to?

I make a point of calling it Reagan Airport just to annoy people who think the word "National" was meant in the sense of "the national airport," like the National Zoo or the National Gallery of Art or the like.

[Pete from Boston]

"Washington National Airport", rather than "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport"

Do you really do that *without* meaning to?

What's your point?  Most people simply call it National without a second thought.

[NE2]

I guess the implication I got from the thread title is that you would use the new name if you remembered to, but you slip up and use the old name.

[Pete from Boston]

Well, the thread has wandered around.  I meant any former name people use without going out of one's way to do so, like the new name never fully registered in your head even if every sign with it changed.

For example, it took a long time people who were here at the height of Star Market to adapt fully to saying "Shaw's" when the latter absorbed most of the stores with the Star brand (which sort of happened one by one over a decade or so). 

It took me years to stop thinking "Star Market," and then when I finally got my head around "Shaw's," most of them around me started changing back to Star Market.  Now I just waffle back and forth.  It's not a good idea to confuse the consumer like this.

[kphoger]

Millenium station in Chicago (Metra) still referred to as Randolph and Water.

Wait, what? This is getting out of hand. Is anything in downtown Chicago still named what I remember it being named? Is that big lake still named Michigan?

[J N Winkler]

In Wichita we get to trip ourselves up trying to remember to say "Eisenhower Airport" instead of "Wichita Mid-Continent."

[vtk]

The artist once again known as Prince

That would be "The artist formerly known as "the artist formerly known as Prince"".

I abbreviate that as TAFKA TAFKA Prince.  It's easier to say.

[roadman65]

How about John Cougar Mellencamp?   I think many people slip up and use the Cougar name still, not to be rude, but out of habit.

However speaking of Prince, many people have become sort of weary too, that John Mellencamp changed his name three times since his first album.  He was John Cougar at conception, then he added on his real last name to it, and the last time he just dropped the Cougar to be his real name.  So many may say the whole Cougar thing just out of spite.

[Big John]

The artist once again known as Prince

That would be "The artist formerly known as "the artist formerly known as Prince"".

I abbreviate that as TAFKA TAFKA Prince.  It's easier to say.

He went back to Prince after a media member kept calling him TAFKAP, then Taffy for short.

[1995hoo]

How about John Cougar Mellencamp?   I think many people slip up and use the Cougar name still, not to be rude, but out of habit.

However speaking of Prince, many people have become sort of weary too, that John Mellencamp changed his name three times since his first album.  He was John Cougar at conception, then he added on his real last name to it, and the last time he just dropped the Cougar to be his real name.  So many may say the whole Cougar thing just out of spite.

John Fill-in-the-Blank.

[kphoger]

In Wichita we get to trip ourselves up trying to remember to say "Eisenhower Airport" instead of "Wichita Mid-Continent."

This is literally the first time I had heard of the name change.  But, looking into it, I gather the name is only paper thus far.  We should change it to IATA=IKE while we're at it!

[kphoger]

How about John Cougar Mellencamp?   I think many people slip up and use the Cougar name still, not to be rude, but out of habit.

However speaking of Prince, many people have become sort of weary too, that John Mellencamp changed his name three times since his first album.  He was John Cougar at conception, then he added on his real last name to it, and the last time he just dropped the Cougar to be his real name.  So many may say the whole Cougar thing just out of spite.

John Fill-in-the-Blank.

I refer to him as John Cougar Mellencamp because I really don't feel like trying to remember what he changed it to, plus everyone knows who I'm talking about that way.  In fact, since reading the last several posts, a call came in at work and I promptly forgot the history of his name; I am not going to re-read it to find out; I'm going to keep referring to him as John Cougar Mellencamp.

[J N Winkler]

This is literally the first time I had heard of the name change.  But, looking into it, I gather the name is only paper thus far.  We should change it to IATA=IKE while we're at it!

It was talked about last year (covered fairly heavily in the Wichita Eagle--not sure about the local TV stations since I don't watch TV news).  The rationale is that "Mid-Continent" is an early 1970's hand-me-down from Kansas City, whose passenger airport was the original Mid-Continent and still has the MCI airport code.

Personally, I kind of liked the fact that we had our airport named after our broad geographical location rather than yet another dead President (even one as good as Eisenhower), but then people like me never get labelled boosters.

The signs still say "Mid-Continent" (the cost to change them over was actually part of the airport renaming controversy), but the RWIS camera labels have been updated to reflect the fact that the US 54 airport connector is now "Ike Parkway":

[kphoger]

Figures.  We don't have cable or subscribe to a newspaper.  Still, though, nobody at work or church or anywhere has mentioned it to me.

[hbelkins]

Reminded of this by the Hess-Speedway thread. I still want to call some Speedway stores SuperAmerica because that's what they were before Speedway bought them out. Sometimes I still even call it SaveMart, because that's what they were before they became SuperAmerica.

[1995hoo]

How about John Cougar Mellencamp?   I think many people slip up and use the Cougar name still, not to be rude, but out of habit.

However speaking of Prince, many people have become sort of weary too, that John Mellencamp changed his name three times since his first album.  He was John Cougar at conception, then he added on his real last name to it, and the last time he just dropped the Cougar to be his real name.  So many may say the whole Cougar thing just out of spite.

John Fill-in-the-Blank.

I refer to him as John Cougar Mellencamp because I really don't feel like trying to remember what he changed it to, plus everyone knows who I'm talking about that way.  In fact, since reading the last several posts, a call came in at work and I promptly forgot the history of his name; I am not going to re-read it to find out; I'm going to keep referring to him as John Cougar Mellencamp.

I just call him "Mellencamp" without either of the other two words, though that's not unique to him because I refer to Springsteen, Buffett, and McCartney the same way (though the same principle doesn't apply to everyone; Billy Joel or Mark Knopfler would be two examples where I don't use just the last name).

[kphoger]

Knopfler wouldn't raise too many eyebrows, but I hope you wouldn't expect me to know who you're talking about by using just the name Joel.

[roadman65]

With Wham and George Michael I do the opposite.  I always refer to a Wham song as being sung by George Michael.

I guess people do the same for Phil Collins with Genesis.  There are some that think that In Too Deep by Genesis is a Phil Collins song considering that most solo PC songs sound just like Genesis with the instruments.  I Don't Care Anymore has the same keyboard used as Man On The Corner.  The former is PC and the latter is the trio.  Plus out of habit people consider the two synonymous because Phil Collins, of course is the vocalist of Genesis anyway.

[roadman65]

Oh Sand Lake Hospital still slips out as that is the former name for present day Dr. P Phillips Hospital in Orlando.

[Big John]

I-43 bridge in Green Bay - I use Tower Drive Bridge instead of its replacement moniker of (Leo) Frigo Bridge.

[Brandon]

With Wham and George Michael I do the opposite.  I always refer to a Wham song as being sung by George Michael.

George who?  Oh, you mean that bloke who sang in Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley.

[amroad17]

I still refer to the two Busch Gardens as "The Old Country" (Europe in Williamsburg, VA) and "The Dark Continent" (Africa in Tampa).

As far as arenas and stadiums...

      - before being imploded, the RCA Dome was always the Hoosier Dome to me
      - I still call the Rogers Centre the Skydome
      - Market Square Arena instead of whatever it is called now (or did the Pacers move to a new arena?)
      - Rosemont Horizon instead of Allstate Arena

[tdindy88]

Market Square Arena has been gone since 1999 and the site was parking lots up to this year where the land's finally being developed for condos and a corporate headquarters. The new arena is Bankers Life Fieldhouse but used to be called Conseco Fieldhouse, I bet there are still some people who call it that.

[jwolfer]

All those cities in India that were renamed (Madras, Calcutta, Bombay, Bangalore)- it's not that I'm opposed to using the new names, I just never remember that the names were changed.

Sort of like China.. Peping--->Peking--->Being.. The powers that be changed the official English translation