Naming
systems of the world
Countries A- G |
||||
Country/
|
Languages
|
Structure & (Example) Ethnic groups-Types - History
|
Women
(and
on marriage)
Children Society |
Terms of Address Further reading- Notes |
|
Afghanistan |
Dari (Afghan
Persian) Pashtu, Uzbek,Turkmen, and
other Turkic languages |
Ethnic groups: Pashtun,Tajik,Hazara,Uzbek,Aimak, Turkmen,
Baloch Unclassifiable No easy formula:
some bear surnames, some do not |
Generally adopt
husband’s name |
•Miran (1975) ‘Naming and address in Afghan society’ •Nabizoda (2003) ‘Ismlarimiz khosiiati’ Isbn
5635021786 [Uzbek] |
Africa
|
|
|
|
•Musere (1998) ‘African ethnics and personal names’ •Asante (1991) ‘The Book of African names’ •Adebayo, Bunmi et al (2005) ‘Dictionary of African
names : Vol 1- meanings,pronunciation and origins’ –isbn13-978-1-4208-4794-9 |
|
Albania |
Albanian Greek Vlach Romani |
Albanian,Greek,Serb,
Macedonian,Bulgarian,Other(Vlach,Gypsy) GN + FamN Agron
Leka |
|
Mr=Zoti, Mrs=Zonja, Miss=
Zonjusha •Stahl ed. (xxxx) ‘Names and social structure :
examples fron south east Europe’ Isbn- 0-88033-404-5 •Murati (1993) ‘Dëshmime onomastike per autoktonine
e shqiptarëve në trojet etnike të tyre në Maqedoni ‘ •Shpuza
(1998) ‘Vёzhgim pёr emrat familjarё tё
shqiptarёve’ Isbn 9992762322 |
|
Algeria |
Arabic=official (French
influential) Berber dialects |
Arab-Berber 99% European 1% GN + FamN (Hamid Kaddache) (both GN & FamN may be simple or compound) particles = al
, ibn (ignored in sort order). The traditional
nasab is retained, though preceded by ben and not ibn. FamN examples:- Akrama, Amara, Bahari, Beha,r
Belaouf, Belghazi , Benachenhou, Ben Bella, Benarbia, Bendjedid, Benhamou,
Benida-Merah, Benzai, Benzine,
Boudiaf, Boulmerka ,Boumedienne, Bourrouag,
Bourouiba, Chrayat, Gaid, Diop,
Essaid, Hacini, Hecini, Ilaes, Kaddache, Kateb,,Kelkal, Klouchi ,Krama,
Louahla, Mammeri, Matoub, Mazri, Merah ,Sahnine ,Saidi-Sief, Selmi, Tahar,
Yacine, Zeroual, Zidane, Zouabri |
Take husband’s
family name on marriage |
Arabic name form may change due to translation into
French, or transliteration from Arabic •Parzymies (1985) ‘Anthroponymie algérienne : noms
de famille modernes d'origine turque ‘ |
|
Andorra |
Catalan (Official). French &
Castillian Spanish +Portuguese spoken |
Spanish,Andorran, Portuguese, French |
|
|
|
Angola |
Portuguese (official), Bantu + other African languages |
Ovimbundu
,Kimbundu,Bakong,Mestico.European GNs + FamN José
Antonio Kiala |
|
|
|
Antigua and Barbuda |
English |
GN + FamN James Thomas |
|
|
Arabic
names
|
|
►Traditional to c 1800 Name elements { Khitāb :
Kunya : Ism : Nasab : Laqab : Nisba} -Khitāb = word +
honorific al-Din (“the faith”) -Kunya = relationship
compound, Abu (father of) or Umm (mother of) + PN -Ism =GN or PN -Nasab =PT compound;
part ibn +fPN (and part gfPN) -Laqab = nickname indicating
a personal quality (or lack) -Nisba = term indicating
origin, residence, trade ►Modern Arabic names Ism + other names {e.g. fPN and/or gdPN + Laqab/Nisbah} -Laqab = Tawfik Al-Hakim -Nisbah = Muhammad Al-Dīwanī -Ism = Nūr al-Din Sammūd |
The feminine ending
–(i)(y)e is commonly added to male names that are adjectives or nouns
to form female names e.g. Emin¦Emine, Habip¦Habibe, Sami¦Samiye Other feminine
element = ümmü (the mother
of) e.g. Ümmühan = ‘the mother of khan’ Whilst the elements
–addin and -abdül
only appear in male names e.g. Saadettin, Abdullah Arabic female PNs
tend to end with the /e/ and /a/ sounds; whilst male PNs with /i/
and /ü/ sounds |
See also – ‘Muslim’ entry •Beeston (1971) ‘Arabic
nomenclature a summary guide for beginners’ |
|
Argentina |
Spanish |
GN + fFamN+ mFamN Magdalena Rodríguez López Leading surnames: González,
Rodríguez, López, García, Gómez,
Pérez Other
examples: Alberdi, de Alvear, Calvo,Carcano,Castillo, Codovilla, Drago,
Echeverría, Güiraldes, Irigoyen, Larreta, Marmol, Naón, Torcuato,Urquiza |
Given:Father’s surname: de: husband’s surname Magdalena Rodríguez de López |
•Luca (1997) ‘Historia de los apellidos argentinos ‘
Isbn -9879707907 |
|
Armenia |
Armenian 98% Yezidi Russian (both c 1%) |
Armenian 98%,Yezidi (Kurd),Russian GN + PT + SN Hovhannes
Sahaki Isahakian Khnarik
Vahani Isahakian Most SNs end in –ian
(= son of..). Some in placename +
atsi (or just I) PT has masc and fem
forms But changing from
Russian patronymic system to Western form 36 letter Armenian
alphabet FamN
examples: Agojian, Balaayan, Chilingirian, Dakessian, Gasparian, Hadidian,
Kochar, Mechitar, Otian, Panosian, SarkawagTigranian, Yeghoian, Zamani |
Married women do not
take husband’s surname |
Mr= Paron,
Mrs= Teekeen, Miss= Oriort •CIA (1965)- ‘Armenian personal names’ •Awde (1999) ‘Armenian first names’ Isbn- 0781807506 •Ekmekdjian
(1992) ‘Les prénoms arméniens’ Isbn – 2863640682 •Avetisyan (2000) ‘Hayots azganunneri bažraran : 17051 azganun ‘ Isbn-
9993057223 |
|
Australia |
|
●Aboriginal usage Whole PN or GN + SN GN may be aboriginal, western or combined SN may be aboriginal, western or placename Big Arthur Albert Midilikari Djuwandayugu |
|
•Allen (1990) ‘Family names
in Australia & New Zealand’ Isbn-
0864172907 •Dynes (1984) ‘The complete Australian and New
Zealand book of names’ Isbn-0207148619 •Radion (1981) ‘Dictionary of Ukrainian surnames in
Australia’ |
|
Austria |
German |
GN + SN Oskar Magrutsch |
|
•Hornung (1989) ‘Lexikon österreichischer
Familiennamen’ (Dictionary of Austrian family names) •Finsterwalder (1978) ‘Tiroler Namenkunde’ |
|
Azerbaijan |
Azerbaijani |
GN + SN Kärim Mirzäjev Dëämilä Mirzäjeva (feminine) SNs have masc, fem or gender neutral forms (such as Mämmädli, and names ending in –zadä are also neutral e.g. Ismajylzadä) “li” , “lu” and zadä are Azerbaijani endings ●Azerbaijani Iranis Adopted FamNs influenced by location and profession as
well as relationship suffixes (-pour and –zadeh = born of) Many acquired
FamNs from cities e.g. (Tehrani, Tabrizi, Isfahani, Shirazi, Meshadi). Or
the names of their occupations (Kaffash-shoemaker, Ipakchi-silk trader, Faturachi-rope maker,
Damirchi-blacksmith, Chorakchi- bread maker, Attar-spice seller). Or abstract terms |
Feminine ending (-eva or ova) |
Azeri Tadd= Mr= Janab, Mrs/miss= Khanym Practice of general public assuming FamNs commenced in
1920’s, under Soviet rule. Forced adoption by adding Russian suffixes to fPN With independence came some dropping of Russian suffixes. Turkish influenced GNs popular e.g. Tura, Semra, Selma and
Aydan Also trad
classical Azerbaijani names like Leyla, Murad, Rustam, Tural,Seljan • Qurbanov (1990) ‘Azarbaijan dilinin onomalogiiasy’ • Mirzaiev (1986) ‘Adlarymyz ‘ |
|
Bangladesh |
Bengali (official) English |
Bengali 98%, tribal groups, non-Bengali
Muslims ●Bengali Muslims Name elements {GN: FamN : PT: PlN: Pseudonym: NN} Some combinations:- PN simple =Anwar Pasha GN + FamN =Muhammad Ali Chowdhury PT = Asad bin Fazl Compound name linking elements e.g. al, e, I, ud, ul,
ur, us, ush, uz: example = Nażrul Islãm
(Bengali merger of Nażr-ul- Islăm) ●Bengali Hindu PN or GN +FamN Some combinations: Simple or compound PN= Madhābāchārya PN + FamN = Nirmalchandra Sengupta The 2nd element to PN compounds is often
ornamentation e.g. –chandra, charan, -kānta, -kumār, mohan,
-nanda, -nāth, -ranjan etc FamN have anglicised forms of the Sankrit e.g. Banerji (for Bandyopadhyaya etc) Bose (for Basu, Vasu) Chatterji (for Chattopādhyaya etc) Mukherji (for Mukhopadhyaya etc) Tagore (for Thākur) ●Bengali Buddhist N (inc FamN)
or PN (or GN) + monastic title Nirodranjan Chākmā Thera Visuddhananda -------------------------------------------------------------- Leading Bangladeshi FamNs:- Ahmed, Alam, Chowdhury, Das, Hossain, Khan, Muhammad, Patwary, Roy, Rahman Roy and Sinha
are common amongst Bangladeshi Buddhists and Hindus. Chowdhury and Tālukdār
are names common to Buddhists, Hindus amd Muslims UK Leading Bangladeshi
FamNs: Uddin,
Ullah, Miah, Ali, Hossain, Ahmed, Gani Leading PN: Male: Tahir, Amjad, Abbas,Badsha, Salik, Nazrul, Abdul, Rahism Female- Zoreena, Rahima, Runa, Khaleda, Sabanna, Amina, Hasina Second Names: Male- Miah,
Uddin, Ali,Rahman, Karim, Khan Female- Begum, Bibi, Khatun, Akhtar, Nessa Akhtar can be both male and female (AhktarNessa is female
and Akhtar Ahmed is male) |
|
Muslim names prefixes: Janab (for men) and Begum (for married women) Male Suffix – Shaheb ------------------------------------------------ •Datta (1981) ‘A linguistic study of personal names
and surnames in Bengali ‘ •Ashrafi (1999) ‘Islame shishuder adhunik namkaran ‘ ------------------------------------------------- Hindi prefix Sri (men) : Srimati (married women) Male Suffix - Babu |
|
Barbados |
|
GN + SN John Sealy UK naming usage |
|
•Forde (2003) ‘Nicknames of Barbados’
Isbn-9768080132 |
|
Belarus |
Belarusian Russian |
Belarusian 81%,Russian 11%, Polish
4%,Ukrainian 2%, GN + PT + SN Aljaksej Aljaksandravič Kulakoŭski (masc) Surnames can be masculine, feminine or both. The ending –enak or –ak is distinctive FamN examples: Bič, Harun, Ipataŭ, Litvak, Paškievič,
Yaroš |
|
Mr=Spadar, Mrs=Spadarynya, Miss=
Spadarynya • Pauls (1969) ‘Type, structure and usage of surnames
in the Brest- Litovsk region’ Onoma Bulletin 14 • (2005) ‘Slo unik asabovykh ulasnykh imion’ --"Belaruskaia navuka", Isbn 9850806486 |
|
Belgium |
Official= French: German: Flemish |
GN + SN Maurice Walschap Leading surnames (all Flemish):- Peeters, Janssens, Maes, Jacobs,
Mertens, Willems,, Claes, Goossens, Wouters, De Smet Leading Walloon surnames:- Dubois, Lambert, Martin, Dupont,
Dumont, Leclercq, Simon, Laurent, Lejeune, Renard |
|
Reading: •Carnoy,
(1953) ‘Origines des noms de familles en Belgique’ •Vroonen, (1957) ‘Les noms de famille de Belgique :
essai d'anthroponymie belge.’ •Vincent (1952) ‘Les noms de familles de la
Belgique’ |
|
Belize |
|
GN + FamN |
|
|
|
Benin |
French (official) Fon Yoruba |
FamN + GN Dossov Paul Family names ending in –gno(e) usually signifies a
tribal line of descent FamN examples: Kerekou, Trudo, Zinsou |
|
|
|
Bhutan |
Official lang= Dzongkha, Nepal and English |
Bhote 50%, Ethnic Nepalese 35%
Indigenous/migrant tribes 15% Most people bear only 1 name A matriarchal society, with property passing through the
female line, so it is not important for a family name to pass through the
generations. However, the Educated are beginning to westernise their names |
|
|
|
Bolivia |
Spanish. Quechua, Aymara |
Quechua 30%, Mestizo 30%, Aymara 25%,
white 15% •Spanish GN + fFamN + mFamN Marta Bosacoma Campora FamN examples: Achá, Armaya, Ballivián, Belzú,
Campero, Córdova, Daza, Estenssoro, Friás, Galindo, Grosolé, Gutiérrez,
Lanzo, Linares, Melgarejo, Patiño, Paz, Quintanilla, Sorzano, Urriolagoitia,
Villaroel, Villazón |
Given: Father’s surname: De: Husband’s surname |
•Barúa (2001) ‘ "Semillas de estrellas" :
los nombres entre los wichí ‘ Isbn-9875188859 [Matatco indians –Bolivia] |
|
Bosnia & H |
Bosnian |
GN+ (prefix) + SN (Branko Hadžijanić) Forename + (prefix) + (Compound) surname Prefix now often incorporated into the surname [The compound could be a surname plus territorial name] |
Croatian/Muslim /Serb |
Mr==Gospodin Mrs= Gospodja Miss=
Gospodjica |
|
Botswana |
Setswana |
[Tribal name]: baptismal + surname Tebogo Kagiso Pule No prefixes or connecting article in Setswana words Compound names are made into unit words |
|
•Rapoo (2002) ‘Naming practices and gender bias in
the Setswana language’ Women and Language 25 •Herbert (1990) ‘Changes to Northern Sotho and
Tswana personal naming patterns’ Nomina Africana 4 •Gardner (xxxx) ‘Personal names as a neglected
sociolinguistic resource: use of English in Botswana’ Names •Mathangwane & Gardner (1998) ‘Language
attitudes as portrayed by the use of English and African names in
Botswana’ Nomina Africana 12 •Gardner, S. F. (1999) ‘From Molelowakgotla through Michael to Mpho: the role of English from an onomastic perspective’ Marang. Special Issue: Language Literacy and Society |
|
Brazil |
Portuguese |
GN + mFamN + fFamN José Dutra Azevedo Although now increasingly common just to have a paternal FN alone ……………………………………………………………. Leading surnames- Álvares, Amaral,
Andrade, Antunes, Azevedo, Bernardes, Borges, Branco, Brito, Cabral, Câmara,
Cardoso, Carvalho, Castro, Cavalcanti, Costa, Couto, Cruz, da Conceição, da
Mata, de Jesus, Dias, do Nascimento, Fagundes, Fernandes, Ferreira, Garcia,
Gil, Gomes, Henriques, Jaime, Lima, Lins, Lopes, Martins, Medeiros, Mendes,
Medonça, Menezes, Moniz, Moraes, Moreira, Neves, Nogueira, Oliveira, Pereira,
Pinto, Pires, Rego, Reis, Ribeiro, Rodrigues, Sá, Sanches, Sanrtos, Serrano,
Silva, Silveira, Soares, Souza, Tavares, Torres |
Maiden name: married surname: father’s surname Cont from left column… If a Black African slave’s name was unknown or unpronounceable,
assigned ‘Da Costa’ living near sea coast, ‘Da Silva” if inland.’,
‘Dos Santos’ was given to orphans |
•Azvedo & Fortuna (1983) ‘The reconstruction of
cultural history and racial mixing from the meaning of family names in Bahia,
Brazil’ Quaderni di Semantica:
Rivista Internazionale di Semantica Teorica e Applicata 4 •Barbosa (1986) ‘Dicionário de nomes próprios,
indígenas e afro-brasileiros’ •Barata (1999) ’Dicionário das famílias brasileiras’ •Ferreira (1998) ‘Dicionário poliglótico de sobrenomes’
Isbn-99886782 •Guério (1981)
‘Dicionário etimológico de nomes’ •Cavalcanti (1989) ‘ Nomes indígenas brasileiros :
seus significados, lendas e rituais’ •Dick (1986) ‘Toponímia e antroponímia no Brasil : coletânea de estudos ‘ •Hugh-Jones (2006) ‘The substance of north-west
Amazonian names’ in ‘The anthropology of names and naming’ 0521848636 •Thonus (1991) ‘The influence of English on female
names in Brazil’ Names 39 •Tôrres (1961) ‘ Vocabulário ortográfico de nomes
próprios ‘ |
|
Brunei |
|
•Brunei Moslems Arab naming forms •Brunei Chinese FamN + GN |
Moslems- Retains maiden name on marriage |
|
|
| ||||