About the ANS

Join the ANS

The American Name Society was founded in 1951 to promote onomastics, the study of names and naming practices, both in the United States and abroad. It is a non-profit organization that seeks to find out what really is in a name, and to investigate cultural insights, settlement history, and linguistic characteristics revealed in names. Read more about the history of the ANS, and view the complete list of ANS Presidents.

Focusing on the understanding of names in all forms, the Society provides members with several vehicles for the discussion and publication of onomastic theory, views and concepts.

Executive Council

Brandon Simonson, ANS President

ANS Officers

Dr. Brandon Simonson, President, Boston University (USA)
Dr. Star Vanguri, Secretary, Nova Southeastern University (USA)
Dr. Anne Anderson, Allied Conference Coordinator, Independent Researcher/Scholar (USA)
Dr. Saundra Wright, Treasurer, California State University, Chico (USA)
Dr. Sharon Obasi, Membership Officer, University of Nebraska Kearney (USA)
Dr. I.M. Nick, Editor-in-Chief of Names: A Journal of Onomastics, Germanic  Society for Forensic Linguistics (GERMANY)
Dr. Christine De Vinne, Book Review Editor of NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics, Ursuline College (USA)
Dr. T.K. Alphey, Information Officer, University of Oxford (UK)
Ms. Laurel Sutton, Coordinator of the Name of the Year Election, Catchword Branding (USA)
Ms. Laurel Sutton, Immediate Past President, Catchword Branding (USA)

Members at Large

Dr. Terhi Ainiala, University of Helsinki (FINLAND): 2025-2027
Dr. Rebekah Ingram, Carleton University (CANADA): 2025-2027
Dr. David Wade, Wade Research Foundation (USA): 2025-2027

Auxiliary Officers

Facebook Special Interest Group Coordinators

Personal Names: Dr. Maryann Parada, California State University, Bakersfield (USA)
Place Names: Dr. Sharon Obasi, University of Nebraska Kearney (USA)
Trade Names: Dr. Mirko Casagranda, University of Calabria (ITALY)
Literary Names: Dr. Susan Behrens, Marymount Manhattan College (USA)

Awards

American Name Society Emerging Scholar Award (ANSESA)

The Emerging Scholar Award recognizes the outstanding scholarship of a names researcher in the early stages of his/her academic or professional career.

To be eligible for this award, applicants must meet the following criteria: (1) be an entry-level professional, an untenured academic, or a student; (2) have had his/her single-authored abstract accepted for presentation at the ANS annual conference; and (3) be a member of the ANS.

When submitting a paper, please refer to the ESA Style Guidelines.

The awardee receives recognition at the annual meeting, a cash prize of $250, one year of membership in the ANS.

Contact ANS at info[@]AmericanNameSociety.org for additional information.

View past ANSESA Winners

Best Article in Names: A Journal of Onomastics

The Best Article in Names: A Journal of Onomastics is given to the one article per year that the journal Editorial Board selects as demonstrating the highest level of methodological innovation, exhibiting exemplary style and organization; and promising to make the most significant contribution to the scholarly investigation of names and naming.

Contact ANS at info[@]AmericanNameSociety.org for additional information.

View the most recent Best Article in Names Winner

Allied Societies

The American Name Society is allied with the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA).

Sister Societies

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

Society Bylaws

Read the ANS Bylaws here and the Constitution here (PDF)

Copyright Notification

Read the ANS Copyright Notification here.