User:BudjarnLambeth/Survey of named and unnamed commas

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Conducted Saturday 16 November, 2024.

Summary of findings:

• 52% of all named commas were named in the 2020s
• The person who named the most commas was Xenllium (143 commas, 19.5% of all named commas)
• The person who named the 2nd most commas was Gene Ward Smith (38 commas, 5% of all named commas)
• The most common things for commas to be named after (excluding systematic names) are:
  • The intervals they stack/equate (13%)
  • Their size as an interval (8%)
  • Composers/music theorists (7%)
  • Asteroids (8%)
  • The names of two temperaments combined into one word (5%)
  • Polymaths (4%)
  • Place names (4%)
  • A famous occurence of a number in the world (3.5%)
• 22.5% of named commas are named for unknown reasons/after an unknown thing
• 5% of commas with pages have no names at all except systematically generated names

Totals

• 551 comma pages counted.
• ~300 comma table entries without pages.
• ~850 commas indexed altogether.

By size

Includes unnamed and systematic-only named commas.

Excludes commas without pages.

• Large comma: 21 (4%)
• Medium comma: 91 (16%)
• Small comma: 220 (40%)
• Unnoticeable: 219 (40%)

By year named

Includes commas without pages.

Excludes unnamed and systematic-only named commas.

• 1870s: 2 (0%)
• 1880s: 0 (0%)

...

• 1970s: 0 (0%)
• 1980s: 0 (0%)
• 1990s: 2 (0%)
• 2000s: 57 (8%)
• 2010s: 53 (7%)
• 2020s: 378 (52%)

• Unknown: ~240 (33%)

Most prolific namers

Includes commas without pages.

Excludes unnamed and systematic-only named commas.

Every theorist who has named 4 or more commas:

1. Xenllium: 143 (19.5%)
2. Gene W Smith: 38 (5%)
3. Eliora: 30 (4%)
4. Dawson Berry: 26 (3.5%)
5. Flora Canou: 26 (3.5%)
6. Paul Erlich: 23 (3%)
7. Petr Pařízek: 23 (3%)
8. B Lambeth: 20 (3%)
9. Francium: 16 (2%)
10. Kaiveran: 14 (2%)
11. Jerdle: 12
12. CompactStar: 11
13. Margo Schulter: 10
14. Tristan Bay: 9
15. Flirora: 9
16. Godtone: 9
17. ArrowHead294: 8
18. Lériendil: 7
19. Stephen Weigel: 6
20. Akselai: 5
21. Douglas Blumeyer: 5
22. Mike Battaglia: 4
23. Scott Dakota: 4

Trivia: Xenllium has named as many commas as the next 5 theorists on the list combined.

Named after...

Includes unnamed and systematic-only named commas.

Excludes commas without pages.

• Regular temperament properties: 172 (31%)
  • The intervals the comma stacks: 73 (13%)
    • The periods per equave: 33 (6%)
      • Periodic table-based name: 11 (2%)
      • Other name: 12 (2%)
    • Other intervals: 40 (7%)
  • Combining two temperament names: 27 (5%)
  • The generator of the assoc. temperament: 7 (1%)
  • How the comma divides the fifth: 5 (1%)
  • How the comma divides the fourth: 3 (0.5%)
  • Other properties: 57 (10%)

• Individuals: ~115 (21%)
  • Music theorists: 40 (7%)
  • Composers: 39 (7%)
  • Polymaths: 22 (4%)
  • Fictional characters: 16 (3%)
  • Mathematicians: 8 (1.5%)
  • Creatives in other fields: 7 (1%)
  • Controversial individuals/groups: 6 (1%)
  • Mythology or folk characters: 4 (1%)
  • Other individuals: 17 (3%)

• The comma's interval size: 43 (8%)
• Asteroids: 32 (6%)
• Place names: 21 (4%)
• A famous occurrence of a number: 20 (3.5%)
• Non-English words: 17 (3%)
• Musical traditions: 16 (3%)
• Plays on the color name: 7 (1%)
• Personal events: 6 (1%)
• Pieces of music: 5 (1%)
• Something else: 17 (3%)

• Etymology unknown: 124 (22.5%)
• Systematic name only/not named: 29 (5%)

Trivia: There are two commas named after individual cats: the ampersand comma, and the junebug comma. They’re very good commas and deserve all the chin scritchies.

See also

Pages where you can discover further details:

• Medium comma
• Small comma
• Unnoticeable comma
• Category:Commas by name