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Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names: Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names

Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names

Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names

 

The Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names is one of 50 state names authorities in the United States and is a member of the Council of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA).  The Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names is a voluntary group of subject matter experts who act in an advisory role when naming of geographic features (new names for unnamed geographic features, name or spelling changes, or changes in application) within the state of Tennessee are proposed and under review by the United States Board on Geographic Names (USBGN).  The USBGN has final approval authority for place naming for federal maps and products.  Information such as online forms for domestic naming proposals, member directory, and links to the websites of several other state names authorities can be found at the USBGN website.      

Please contact Peter Lemiszki, Chair, Tennessee Committee on Geographic Names, with any questions.

 

Committee Members

Jennifer Barnett                          Jennifer.Barnett@tn.gov

Allen Coggins                              cogginsanb@charter.net 

Steve Cotham                              scotham@knoxlib.org

Charles Crawford                        cwcrwfrd@memphis.edu

Jason Duke                                 Jason_Duke@fws.gov

Zada Law                                    Zada.Law@mtsu.edu

Peter Lemiszki (Chair)                 Peter.Lemiszki@tn.gov

Gregory March                            gmarch@utk.edu

Chris Meeks                                Chris.Meeks@tn.gov

Tiffany Momon                             tnmomon@sewanee.edu

Tammy Sellers                             Tammy.Sellers@tn.gov

Kurt Snider                                  Kurt_Snider@fws.gov

David Starnes                              d.starnes.2288@frontiernet.net

Chuck Sutherland                        csutherland@ucdd.org

Van West                                     cwest@mtsu.edu

Ronald Zurawski                          Ronald.Zurawski@tn.gov

Want to Propose a Domestic Naming?

People who want to propose a naming of a geographic feature can go to the USBGN Homepage and click on the Domestic Names link.  Click on the Propose or Change a Name link which will take you to the online form.  

Need to Query the GNIS?

The U.S. Board also maintains the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which serves as the official database for geographic names for the federal government. 

 

Council of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA)

The Council of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA) is an association of state and federal government agencies representing the official and recognized geographic names authorities in the United States who work to promote national standardization of the names of geographic features for official use throughout the country.  Please visit the COGNA website for more information.