anthroponymy

Anthroponymy is the branch of onomastics that studies human personal names: given names, surnames, and other forms used to identify individuals. It examines the origins, meanings, forms, transmission, and social uses of names, as well as the linguistic and cultural conventions that govern their creation and change.

Researchers analyze both historical records and contemporary data from censuses, birth registers, passports, and name databases. They study patterns such as patronymics and matronymics, occupational and descriptive surnames, locational names (toponyms), and nicknames, as well as the processes by which names are borrowed, altered, or adopted across languages and cultures.

Naming practices vary widely by culture and period. In many European societies, surnames arose from patronymics, occupations, or places; in East Asia, family names usually precede given names; in Arabic-speaking communities, name sequences can include lineage and honorifics. Names can signal gender, ethnicity, religion, social status, and family history, and they may change through marriage, immigration, legal reform, or personal choice. The study also considers the social meaning of names, such as prestige, stigma, and identity construction, and how naming is affected by migration and diaspora dynamics.

Applications include genealogy, historical demography, and forensic linguistics, as well as cultural and linguistic research into linguistic borrowing and contact. Recent work often emphasizes sociolinguistic variation, gendered naming trends, migration-driven change, and the impact of official name laws on personal identity.