Name of the Day: Ansel
February 20
Photographer Ansel Easton Adams was born on February 20, 1902 in San Francisco. Known for his black-and-white photos of the American West, Ansel played a key role in developing a system of image-making called the Zone System.
Ansel was also an avid environmentalist advocate, and his photography was deeply influenced by his activism. In 1980, Ansel was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his photography contributions helping to expand the national parks.
Adams was named after his uncle, Ansel Easton. Eighty eight years later, actor Ansel Elgort — the son of photographer Arthur Elgort — was named after Adams.
Ansel is a medieval Germanic name meaning “with divine protection” that was in and out of the US Top 1000 until the 1920s. The pronunciation of Ansel is provided here by Forvo.
In 2022, the name Ansel was given to 144 baby boys, sitting not too far outside the Top 1000. As boy names like Abel, Asa, and Axel regain their footing, it may soon be the charming vintage Ansel’s time to shine.
In case you missed these Names of the Day:
Harrison
The United States celebrates President’s Day on February 19 each year — the date of the first President George Washington’s birthday. There are a number of presidential baby names ripe for choosing, one of the most stylish today being Harrison. Harrison is the last name of
Name of the Week: Lumi
This week’s Name of the Week was nominated by @rosemary.luella99! If you would like to nominate a name yourself, you can head over to the name of the day thread on our forums. Here in upstate New York we are enjoying a beautiful snowfall today, and so what better name for this week than Lumi — a