A hivatalos családnév-változtatások indokrendszerének vizsgálatáról

Absztrakt

On the motivational factors of official surname changes

This paper presents the most important motivational factors behind 19–20th century family name changes in Hungary. After briefly reviewing the crucial statements of the relevant literature the author discusses some general and basic principles of methodology that must be taken into consideration when examining official family name changes in any period of history. In this paper, the act of name changing is interpreted as an event involving the applicant, the authorities and the complexities of contemporary social and political factors. The author reveals changes in the statistics of motivational factors he compiled on the basis of a thorough examination of application forms handed in between 1933 and 1944, when an upsurge of family name changes could be observed in Hungary. The author adapts the method of representative sampling both in relation to the applicants in general and in relation to some characteristic ethnic and/or religious groups.