Names function as a people's cultural heritage that links the present to the past. Hence I propose that a comprehensive study of LP for naming needs to take into account socio-political context critically. My discussion of the case of Taiwan covers two social domains affected by LP for naming. In the public domain, I examine the change in the linguistic landscape of placenames in Taiwan. In the private domain, I review how people are affected by policies concerning personal names. I also include some examples of bottom-up analysis in addition to the more common top-down analysis of LP. (Contains 11 notes.)