Human societies place great value and significance on naming things and therefore we have a name for almost everything. From the fold of skin under the beak of a turkey (a wattle) to a circle of upright monoliths (a cromlech), if you can talk about it, we have given it a name.

If you have a child, you get to name her. If you discover a comet or a new plant species, you get to name your discovery. Cities have names; mountains have names; birds and flowers and stars have names. So it is not surprising that groups of years have names.

The years between 2000 and 2009 were referred to as the aughts (although some call them the naughts) because they begin with a zero. The years between 2013 and 2019 will be called the teens. But what do we call this year, 2010, and the two to follow 2011, 2012?

Have we given a name to this group of three years? If so, what is the name?

How do you pronounce this year, 2010? Do you say Twenty Ten or Two thousand Ten?

Whatever we call it, best wishes to all for a Happy New Year and may 2010 bring Peace on Earth.