Armsagettin'

I recently drove by a local building sporting the name Destiny Arms. Why such a name? The "Destiny" part is easy. The owners of the residential complex are trying to associate the place with destiny usa, the nearby mall. But what about "Arms"? Where does that naming convention come from?

Why arms, and not some other appendage?  

Use your fertile imagination.

To be honest, arms evokes some pleasing and primal emotions. Loving arms. Mother's arms. Arms to hold you. Held in your arms.

In 1945 a researcher named Arthur Minton published "Apartment-House Names" in the journal American Speech. Minton found that in the five boroughs of New York City many apartments had formal names that ended with titles such as Court, Hall, Terrace, Gardens, Towers, Plaza -- or Arms. Minton noted that Hall, Court, and Arms arose from a British tradition that sought to lend an air of grandeur or nobility to rather ordinary digs. ("Digs." How did that come to refer to a residence?) He ultimately traced the use of "arms" to the coat of arms of noble families, so that the place could be associated with such lineage, even if falsely.

I wonder how we can update or modify this nomenclature tradition to reflect other perspectives. Yes, people still avidly follow the royals, in England as well as its former colony. But other embedded statements or associations are possible. For example, if we were to advocate for gun culture, we might call an apartment complex Remington Arms; alternatively, for those at the other end of the spectrum: Remington Disarms.

Some others:

• egalitarianism: Remington Commons
• elitism: Remington Rise
• vegetarianism: Remington Leaves (posted at all points of egress)
• agnosticism: Remington, Really?
• hedonism: Remington Raunch
• dairy farmers: Remington Moos
• artists/writers: Remington Muse
• cat lovers: Remington Meows
• contrarianism: Remington Row

Help me out here. What else do you have for us?