Name-giving motives in Lithuania and Brazil: a comparative view

Karolina Butkuvienė; Lolita Petrulionė; Marcia Sipavicius  Seide; Edita Valiulienė

doi:10.14393/DL46-v15n2a2021-6

Authors

Karolina Butkuvienė Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8959-6936
Lolita Petrulionė Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1201-5379
Marcia Sipavicius Seide UNIOESTE https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2859-1749
Edita Valiulienė Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6454-3800

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14393/DL46-v15n2a2021-6

Keywords:

Anthroponomastics, First name, Motive, Detraditionalization, Individuation

Abstract

TThis research aims at analysing and comparing the motives for choosing the first name of a child in Lithuania and Brazil in the years 1958-2016. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods and applying social and cultural approaches, it reveals that different countries and cultures have both similar and divergent trends in name-giving practices. The most remarkable similarity in both countries and cultures is both the predominance of an aesthetic motiveand the desire to honour a relative, a friend, or a famous person. These trends are presumably related to universal aspects of naming practices. The aesthetic motiveis related to processes of cultural globalization, while the honour-oriented motivepoints to the significance of traditional naming patterns. The greatest difference between Lithuanian and Brazilian data is in the frequency of name choices due to patriotism, religion, name uniqueness or naming a child after a fictional character. Such divergent results are explained by different social values in each society and different cultural and historical experiences. In addition, the research proves that the first names do have meaning; however, it is not purely conceptual or lexical, as they rather bear individual connotations.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Karolina Butkuvienė, Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy

Doctor in Humanities (Linguistics). Lecturer at Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy.

Lolita Petrulionė, Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy

Doctor in Humanities (Linguistics). Lecturer at Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy.

Marcia Sipavicius Seide, UNIOESTE

Doctor in Humanities (Portuguese Language and Philology). Professor at Western Paraná State University.

Edita Valiulienė, Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy

Doctor in Humanities (Linguistics). Lecturer at Vilnius University Šiauliai Academy.

References

AINIALA, T.; ÖSTMAN, J. O. Introduction: Socio-onomastics and pragmatics. In: AINIALA, T.; ÖSTMAN, J. O. (ed.) Socio-onomastics: The pragmatics of names. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2017. DOI https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.275

ALDRIN, E. Creating identities through the choice of first names. In: AINIALA, T.; ÖSTMAN, J. O. (ed.) Socio-onomastics: The pragmatics of names. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2017. DOI https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.275.03ald

ALHAUG, G.; SAARELMA, M. Naming of children in Finnish and Finnish Norwegian families in Norway. In: AINIALA, T.; ÖSTMAN, J. O. (ed.) Socio-onomastics: The pragmatics of names. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2017. DOI https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.275.04alh

BAUMAN, Z. Identity : Conversations with Benedetto Vecchi. Cambridge : Polity Press, 2004.

BECKER, B. Immigrants’ emotional identification with the host society. The example of Turkish parents’ naming practices in Germany. Ethnicities, v. 9(2), p. 200-225, 2009. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1468796809103460

DICK, M.V. de P. do A. Toponímia e Antroponímia no Brasil. Coletânea de estudos. São Paulo: Gráfica da FFLCH, USP, 1992.

DÖRNYEI, Z. Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed Methodologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.

ELCHARDUS, M.; SIONGERS, J. First Names as Collective Identifiers: An Empirical Analysis of the Social Meanings of First Names. Cultural Sociology, v. 5(3), p. 403-422, 2010. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1749975510390748

EMERY, H. B. “What’s In a Name?” American Parents’ Search for the Perfect Baby Name. A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology – the University of California, Berkeley, 2013.

FRAI, P. H. Tendências religiosas na antroponímia rondonense. Onomástica desde América Latina, v. 2(3), p. 82-100. Available at: v. 2, n. 3 (2021) (unioeste.br). Accessed on : 08 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.48075/odal.v0i0.25725

FREEMAN, O. Invitation to Sociology: A Humanistic Perspective. Waltham Abbey Essex: ED-Tech Press, 2019.

FREITAS, A. N. Estrangeirismos de língua inglesa (o caso dos antropônimos). Soletras, v. 7(14). São Gonçalo, p. 129-161, 2007.

GERHARDS, J.; HACKENBROFF, R. Trends and Causes of Cultural Modernization. An Empirical Study of First Names. International Sociology, v. 15(3), p. 501-531, 2000. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/026858000015003004

GRISWOLD, W. Cultures and Societies in a Changing World. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2013.

GUDAVIČIUS, A. Etnolingvistika. Šiauliai: Šiaulių universiteto leidykla, 2009.

GUDAVIČIUS, A. – ГУДАВИЧЮС, А. Природа в системе литовских личных имен. Вопросы ономастики, no. 2(15), 2013.

HAJDÚ, M. The History of Onomastics. Onomastica Uralica, v. 2, p. 7-45, 2002. Available at: http://nevtan.arts.unideb.hu/nevtan/tagozat/06hajdu.pdf. Accessed on: 19 Nov. 2018.

KISEL, O. V.; ZERKINA, N. N.; SAVINOVA, Y. A.; ZALAVINA, T. Y.; KOZHUSHKOVA, N. V.; MIKHAYLOV V. V. Linguistic and social aspects of name giving motivation. Espaço plural, v. 18(36), p. 297-316, 2017.

LEIBRING, K. 2016. Given Names in European Naming Systems. In: HOUGH, C. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199656431.013.51

LINDSAY, J.; DEMPSEY, D. First names and social distinction: Middle-class naming practices in Australia. Journal of Sociology, v. 53(3), p. 577–591, 2017. DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783317690925

LOWER, M. A. English Surnames. London: John Russel Smith, 1849. Available at: https://archive.org/details/englishsurnames01lowe/page/2. Accessed on: 19 Dec. 2018.

MICKIENĖ, I.; BALČIŪNAITĖ-LAUŽINIENĖ, L. Onomastikos įžvalgos. Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas, 2013. Available at:

https://www.knf.vu.lt/dokumentai/failai/katedru/lietuviu/Onomastikos_izvalgos_Mickiene_Baciunaite-Luziniene_2013.pdf. Accessed on: 11 Jan. 2019.

MILL, J. S. A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive, 2009. Available at:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/27942/27942-pdf.pdf. Accessed on: 10 Jan. 2019. DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139149839

NYSTROM, S. Names and Meaning. In: HOUGH, C. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199656431.013.26

PENSIN, T. G. Uma revisão do perfil nomeador dos habitantes de Toledo, Paraná: tradicional ou inovador ? Onomástica desde América Latina, v. 1(1), p. 199-221, 2020. Available at: v. 1, n. 1 (2020) (unioeste.br). Accessed on: 08 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.48075/odal.v1i1.24168

SAARELMA-MAUNUMAA, M. Edhina Ekogidho – Names as Links: The Encounter between African and European Anthroponymic Systems among the Ambo People in Namibia. PhD thesis – Department of Finnish, University of Helsinki, 2003. DOI https://doi.org/10.21435/sflin.11

SAKALLI, E. New Trends in Name-Giving in Turkey. Voprosy onomastiki, v. 13(1), p. 171-177, 2016. DOI https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2016.13.1.010

SARDAR, Z. Introducing Cultural Studies. Cambridge: Icon Books, 1999.

SEABRA, M. C. T. da C.; ISQUERDO, M. A. N. Onomastics in Different Perspectives: Research Results. Revista de Estudos de Linguagem, v. 26, n.3, p. 993-1000, 2018. Available at:

http://periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/relin/article/view/13700/pdf_1. Accessed on: 21 March, 2019.

SEIDE, M. A identidade religiosa na antroponímia de Marechal Cândido Rondon. Revista de Estudos da Linguagem , v. 24, n. 1, p. 167-186, 2016. Available at:

http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/relin/article/view/6310. Accessed on: 28 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.17851/2237-2083.24.1.167-186

SEIDE, M. A Antroponomástica Comparada. Onomástica desde América Latina, v. 2(3), p. 83-102, 2020 Available at: v. 1, n. 2 (2020) (unioeste.br). Accessed on: 28 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.48075/odal.v1i2.25488

SEIDE, M. ; PETRULIONĖ, L. Between Languages and Cultures: an Exploratory Comparative Study of Usage of Lithuanian and Brazilian Masculine Anthroponyms / Entre línguas e culturas: um estudo exploratório sobre os usos de antropônimos masculinos lituanos e brasileiros. Revista de Estudos da Linguagem , v. 26, n. 3, p. 1201-1226, 2018. Available at :

http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/relin/article/view/12745.

Accessed on: 28 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.17851/2237-2083.26.3.1201-1226

SHOKHENMAYER, E. Comparative Study of the 100 Most Frequent Russian, French, German and British Surnames. In: HOUGH, C.; IZDEBSKA, D. (ed.) Names and Their Environment. Proceedings of the 25th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Glasgow, 25–29 August 2014. v. 3. Anthroponomastics. Glasgow: University of Glasgow, 2016.

SPENCER-OATEY, H. What is Culture? A compilation of quotations, 2012. Available at:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/globalpad/openhouse/interculturalskills/global_pad_-_what_is_culture.pdf. Accessed on: 20 Feb. 2019.

STOREY, J. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. London/New York: Routledge, 2009.

RISAGER, K. Language and Culture: Global Flows and Local Complexity. New York: Multilingual Masters, 2006. DOI https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853598609

VALENTINE, T.; BRENNEN, T.; BREDART, S. The Cognitive Psychology of Proper Names: On the Importance of Being Earnest. London/New York: Routledge, 1996. DOI https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203285763

VAN LANGENDONCK, W.; VAN DE VELDE, M. Names and grammar. In: HOUGH, C. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Names and Naming. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199656431.013.21

VESCOVI, J. P. Eventos históricos e os impactos antroponímicos : influência da era da Hortelã na antroponímia de Palontina, Paraná. Onomástica desde América Latina, v. 2(3), p. 30-58. Available at: v. 2, n. 3 (2021) (unioeste.br). Accessed on: 08 Jan. 2021. DOI https://doi.org/10.48075/odal.v0i0.25970

WIERZBICKA, A. Understanding Cultures through their Key Words: English, Russian, Polish, German, and Japanese. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.