A névadás motivációi Felső-Háromszéken és a név súlya az identitásjelölő faktorok rendszerében

Absztrakt

Motivations for name giving in Felső-Háromszék (Transylvania) and the importance of names among identity markers

This paper is based on the results of a 16-item questionnaire survey carried out in the small town of Kézdivásárhely as well as in four settlements in its surroundings in the district of Felső-Háromszék (Transylvania), a region that is predominantly inhabited by Hungarians. The author presents the name giving practices and naming fashions of four generations: she compares the motivational systems of naming practices in the successive generations, highlighting trends. The author also examines the importance of such ethnic symbols as family and Christian names among identity markers of minorities. This aspect of name giving and name use is less frequently analysed in onomastics, though it offers useful data for sociology, sociolinguistics and contact linguistics as well.