A few people have asked where we got the name Riis.
It started more than five years ago when we were trying to figure out a name for our first child. We decided that if we were going to have a boy we’d name him Riis and if we had a girl we’d name her Vienne. We had a girl.
Five years later we still loved the name. But considered a lot of others. But we kept coming back to the name Riis.
Riis (pronounced commonly as Reece) is actually a Danish surname. Specifically we came upon it through my interest in Jacob Riis a journalist and photographer who worked in New York in the late 1800s.
I’ve always been inspired by Riis’ commitment to social issues and his documentation of those issues.
So as a photographer the name Riis means a lot to me. But beyond that I have hope for my boy. A hope that that he makes a positive impact in this world. I hope that the name inspires him to challenge and bring light to any problems he encounters for the betterment of his fellow humans. I think this world could use more people that are compassionate and caring. Especially with the way things are going.
When we visited Denmark six years ago we visited the home town of Jacob Riis. His birthplace in Ribe, Denmark, is marked with a simple stone sign laid in to the brick. (Check out more of my pictures from Ribe.)