What is in a name? A Short Survey on the Sources and the Factors Affecting the Act of Name-Giving

Abstract

Today, nations are not only transferring goods, services, knowledge, and technologies but also cultures and values which may be points of conflict especially in multicultural societies. This entails creating understanding among nations, people, and ethnic groups through intercultural communication studies and research. An area of interest for many people, lay or expert, is the practice of name-giving; it is more than just an act of designation or an official registration. Names are expressions of cultural identity deeply imbedded in sociocultural contexts showing the underlying values and practices of people in an area. This paper aims at surveying and the factors, motives, and the reasons of name-giving patterns and classifying the sources based on which people choose names for their children. On the whole, fourteen common classes of sources and a short description of their subdivisions will be presented in the paper.