The rare name Anansa first popped up in the U.S. baby name data in 1979:
- 1981: unlisted
- 1980: unlisted
- 1979: 5 baby girls named Anansa [debut]
- 1978: unlisted
- 1977: unlisted
Why?
Because of a celebrity baby, or a movie character, or both.
Fashion model Beverly Johnson made her acting debut in the late ’70s adventure film Ashanti, in which she and Michael Caine portrayed married medical doctors named Anansa and David Linderby. Ashanti was shot largely in Africa during 1978.
The same year, in late December, Johnson gave birth to a baby girl — her first and only child.
In January of 1979, Jet magazine published a photo of Johnson and her newborn daughter, who’d been named Anansa.
“I loved the name,” she beamed, “and I was pregnant with her during [filming]. I even told the producers that if I had a girl I would name her Anansa.”
Several months later, in April, Ashanti finally came out in theaters.
The movie clearly gave the baby name Ashanti a boost in 1979:
- 1981: 89 baby girls named Ashanti
- 1980: 191 baby girls named Ashanti
- 1979: 175 baby girls named Ashanti
- 1978: 53 baby girls named Ashanti
- 1977: 44 baby girls named Ashanti
But I’m not sure if it was the primary reason for the debut of Anansa, considering that Jet magazine has a long history of influencing U.S. baby names (e.g., Nasiya, Kushana, Nkenge, Charlayne, Tondalaya).
Ashanti was based on the Spanish-language novel Ébano (1974) by Alberto Vázquez-Figueroa. In the book, the protagonists were named David and Nadia Alexander (and neither one was a doctor).
I don’t know how the screenwriters came up with the name Anansa, but it does remind me of Anansi — the name of a spider character in the folktales of the Ashanti (and other Akan peoples).
What are your thoughts on the name Anansa?
P.S. Beverly Johnson became the first African-American model featured on the cover of American Vogue in 1974 — eight years after Donyale Luna appeared on the cover of British Vogue, in 1966.
Sources:
- Beverly Johnson – Wikipedia
- Ashanti (1979 film) – Wikipedia
- “Movie Star-Model Beverly Johnson Has A Baby Girl.” Jet 18 Jan. 1979: 14.
- SSA
Images: Screenshot of Ashanti; clipping from Jet magazine (18 Jan. 1979).
It’s pretty. Anansi was my first thought, too. It would be a good name for a Halloween baby, for the parents who do not fear arachnids (or who respect them more than they fear them).
Anansa is nice enough, but I do like Ashanti better.
I do like the likely connection to Anansi. My mother read the Anansi stories to me and while I loved the stories, it did not make me like spiders any better which I think was definitely one of her goals (same with a Cricket in Times Square). I tolerate them now (mostly), but still would rather not be around them. But I still like Anansi.