The phenomenon of naming squares in Poland

Abstract

Although garden squares have existed in Polish cities for a long time, it was not until this century that they began to be given proper names. In August 2023 there were nearly one and a half thousand such named objects in Poland, while in November 2024 their number exceeds 1550 and is steadily increasing. The banks of names waiting to be used, kept by local authorities, are ever increasing as well. Observing this process of nomination constitutes a kind of natural social experiment, in which an urban name is largely freed from the pragmatic function traditionally ascribed to it so far and from the limitations that this function entails, such as length, ease of articulation, consistency with the semantic nest, or unambiguity in the postal address function. The subject of the article is a synchronic analysis of all the names of garden squares of Poland, classified according to their location and by semantic categories. The text answers the questions of whether there are cities or voivodeships where garden squares are more popular and what motivational tendencies for their nomination prevail. The social perception of their creation and the controversies and disputes that sometimes accompany their name-giving process are also discussed, using selected examples. The authors consider what social needs are met in the creation of garden square names, and what the future and subsequent consequences of this new naming fashion may be.