American Name Society

The American Name Society is a non-profit organisation founded in 1951 to promote onomastics, the study of names and naming practices, both in the United States and abroad. The Society investigates cultural insights, settlement history, and linguistic characteristics revealed in names. 

The ANS runs an annual conference for name scholars and enthusiasts, and is the largest scholarly society dedicated to "the investigation of names and how they develop".

The Emerging Scholar award recognizes names researchers in the early stages of their academic or professional careers. The awardee receives a cash prize 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.

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.

Since 2004, the ANS has voted on the year's top personal name, place name, trade name and fictional name at its annual conference. They also declare an overall Name of the Year.

Past Name of the Year winners include

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

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

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