ALTHOUGH "PLACE-NAMING" IS A BASIC HUMAN FUNCTION, THE STUDY OF THE ORIGIN OF PROPER NAMES OF PERSONS AND PLACES (ONOMASTICS) HAS BEEN LARGELY IGNORED BY AMERICAN PHILOLOGISTS AND TEACHERS OF ENGLISH. DESPITE A PAUCITY OF RESEARCH, HOWEVER, ANY ENGLISH TEACHER WHO WANTS TO INTEREST STUDENTS IN ONOMASTIC INVESTIGATION CAN EXPLOIT THE GREAT BODY OF LOCAL PLACE NAMES. THIS STUDY OF PROPER NAMES IN THE CLASSROOM CAN GIVE STUDENTS (1) A CURIOSITY ABOUT NAMES OF PERSONS AND PLACES, (2) THE PLEASURE EVOKED BY THE DISCOVERY OF THE WHIMSICAL PROCESSES INVOLVED IN NAMING PLACES, (3) A TECHNIQUE BY WHICH TO OVERCOME LIMITED RESOURCES THROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL HISTORIANS AND SEARCHES OF PRIMARY DOCUMENTS IN VILLAGE RECORDS AND COLLEGE LIBRARIES, (4) EXPERIENCE IN INTEGRATING SEVERAL DISCIPLINES SUCH AS HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, LINGUISTICS, SOCIOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGY, AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES, (5) INFORMATION ON HOW LANGUAGE CHANGES AND ON HOW PLACE NAMES BECOME IMPORTANT IN HISTORICAL POLITICAL CONTEXTS, (6) AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCOVER THE COLORFUL HISTORY OF THEIR OWN COMMUNITY AND TO ELIMINATE LOCAL FICTIONS, AND (7) A MEANS OF CONTRIBUTING TO GROWING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF ONOMASTICS. ( A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF BOOKS AND ARTICLES IN THE AREA OF NAME STUDY IS INCLUDED.) THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE 1967 NCTE ANNUAL CONVENTION. (JB)