The American Name Society (ANS) is a non-profit organization founded in 1951 to promote

onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An ''orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, w ...

, the study of names and naming practices, both in the United States and abroad. The organization investigates cultural insights, settlement history, and linguistic characteristics revealed in names. The ANS runs an annual conference for name scholars and enthusiasts, and it is the largest scholarly society dedicated to "the investigation of names and how they develop". Since 1952, the ANS has produced the journal ''

Names A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

'', which publishes articles on names. The

American Dialect Society The American Dialect Society (ADS), founded in 1889, is a learned society "dedicated to the study of the English language in North America, and of other languages, or dialects of other languages, influencing it or influenced by it." The Society ...

was the parent organization of ANS. It has also been associated with the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

.Leonard R. N. Ashley (2002) The American Name Society: The First Fifty Years, Names, 50:1, 63-72, DOI: 10.1179/nam.2002.50.1.63

History

In the early 1950s, members of the American Dialect Society felt that there ought to be another organization focused on the function of proper nouns. On December 29, 1951, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, a group of academics voted to create the American Name Society, which would focus on onomastics and publish a quarterly journal with content written by society members. The founders appointed a Sponsoring Committee with 29 members and elected a president, Elsdon C. Smith. The first meeting was held on December 27, 1952, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The ANS has had a broad scope since its inception, and attracts specialists from a variety of fields.

''Names''

In March 1953, the ANS began publishing ''

'', "a journal of onomastics." The first volume of ''Names'', the journal published by ANS, was published in March 1953, edited by Erwin Gudde.

George R. Stewart George Rippey Stewart (May 31, 1895 – August 22, 1980) was an American historian, toponymist, novelist, and a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. His 1959 book, ''Pickett's Charge'', a detailed history of the final ...

, a founding member of the ANS, described his vision for using ''Names'' to define the field of onomastics. Individuals who subscribe to and receive a print version of ''Names'' also receive membership to the ANS. As of January 2021, all current and archived issues of ''Names'' became available for free via the Open Access program at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

Awards

Emerging Scholar award

The Emerging Scholar award recognizes names researchers in the early stages of their academic or professional careers. The awardee receives recognition at the annual meeting and mentoring by a senior onomastics scholar who will assist the awardee in preparing his/her paper for submission and possible publication in NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics.

Best Article in Names: A Journal of Onomastics

The Best Article in Names: A Journal of Onomastics Award is given to only one article per year according to the significance of the article and its relevance to the science of onomastics. The award committee of three reviewers operates independently of the editors.

Name of the Year

Since 2004, the ANS has declared a Name of the Year. Each year, the public can nominate a name by contacting the Name of the Year election coordinator with justification for the name's inclusion. ANS members can also nominate names at the annual meeting. Nominated names are judged on three criteria: linguistic innovation, potential to impact language use, and ability to capture national attention. Since 2008, the ANS has voted on the top personal name, place name, trade name, and fictional name at its annual conference.

Related organizations

The American Name Society is allied with the

(MLA).

Sister Societies

The American Name Society is a member of a group of sister societies that meet concurrently with the

Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...

:"Meeting Handbook"
(PDF). Linguistic Society of America. Retrieved 8 April 2018. *

(ADS) * North American Association for the History of Language Sciences (NAAHoLS) * Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics (SPCL) *

Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA) is an international organization founded in 1981 devoted to the study of the indigenous languages of North, Central, and South America. SSILA has an annual winter meeti ...

(SSILA) * The Association for Linguistic Evidence (TALE) * The North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics (NARNiHS)

References

External links

*
Names: A Journal of Onomastics
{{authority control Linguistic societies American English Learned societies of the United States Onomastics 1952 establishments in the United States