Mongolian names
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mongolian names have undergone a number of changes in the
history of Mongolia Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (3rd century BC–1st century AD), the Xianbei state ( AD 93–234), the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First Turkic Khaganate, First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and oth ...
, both with regard to their meaning and their source languages. In
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...
, naming customs are now similar to
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
but with some differences.


Historical evolution

Mongolian names traditionally have an important symbolic character—a name with
auspicious Auspicious is a Latin-derived word originally pertaining to the taking of 'auspices' by the augurs of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck * Auspicious number in numerology * Eight auspicious symbols; see Ashtamangala * Auspicious wedding date * ...
connotations being thought to bring good fortune to its bearer. The naming of children was usually done by the parents or a respected elder of the family or religious figures. For example, it is said that in the 13th century, the prominent shaman, Teb-tengeri, saw in the stars a great future for Tolui's eldest son and bestowed on the child the name Möngke (meaning "eternal" in the Mongolian language). Nowadays most parents give Mongolian names to their children, often in the form of compounds consisting of two
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
s or
adjective In linguistics, an adjective (list of glossing abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that generally grammatical modifier, modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun. Tra ...
s, representing qualities such as solidity and strength for boys or beauty in the case of girls. Generally, the Mongols, distinct from other cultures in East Asia, have only one personal name, which remains the same throughout their lives. While clan organization remained important among the Mongols into the 17th century, clan names were not linked with the personal name in a family name system. Clan name is still important among the Buryats and to a lesser extent among Kalmyks today. While the personal name of the living ruler was not originally tabooed, as in China, the names of deceased rulers were tabooed for several generations. In the past this prohibition was even stronger. In Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, the Mongols also use clan names.


Middle Ages

The most common category of Mongol names were those of auspicious or (for boys) manly things, such as gold ( altan), eternity (Möngke), surplus (
hulagu Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
), blue (köke), white (chagha’an), good health (
esen Esen may refer to: Given name * Esen Buqa I (1310 - c. 1318), Khan of the Chagatai Khanate * Esen Buqa II (1429–1462), Khan of Moghulistan * Esen Taishi, 15th-century Oirat leader of Northern Yuan dynasty Surname * Aydin Esen (born 1962), Turk ...
), uncle ( abaqa), firmness ( batu), stability ( toqto'a), bulls (
buqa Buqa (or Bugha) (died January 16, 1289) was a Mongol lord and chancellor who was instrumental in sweeping Arghun to power as the fourth Il-Khan of Iran in 1284 and became his chief minister (vizier) and advisor, succeeding Shams ad-Din Juvayni who ...
, for men), iron ( temür), steel (
bolad Bolad ( Mongolian: , , , d.1313), was an ethnic Mongol minister of the Yuan dynasty of China, and later served in the Ilkhanate as the representative of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and cultural adviser to the Ilkhans. He also provided valua ...
), black (qara), hardness (
berke Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...
) or nine (yisü). Such names were often combined with suffixes used only for personal names, such as -''dai'', -''ge''/''gei'', and -''der'' for boys and -''jin'', -''tani'', and -''lun'' for girls. However,
Temüjin ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
's -''jin'' is a form of the occupational derivational suffix -''cin'', but not a feminine suffix: ''temür'' 'iron' + -''cin'' = ''temüjin'' 'smith'. Other names were based on either conquests or clan names. For example, Sartaq (merchants of western Asian or western Central Asian origin), ''Hasi'' (Mongolian form of Tangut-led
Western Xia dynasty The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
), Orus (
Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...
), Asudai (
Alani The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern ...
) and so on. Clan-based personal names did not relate to the person's own clan or tribe. For example, Eljigidey was not from Iljigin (Eljigin) tribe and the Mongol general Mangghudai was a Tatar (not to be confused with the modern Turkic people of the
Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
in Europe), but not a Manghud. One finds a number of degrading or inauspicious names during the 13–14th centuries such as Sorqaqtani, “Pox girl,” or Nohai (~Nokai) "dog", obviously in an attempt to fool bad spirits or disease into thinking it had already afflicted them. This tradition is still preserved in
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
in modern times. Symbolic names that express frustration can be found such as the not uncommon girls’ name Oghul-qaimish (
Middle Turkic Middle Turkic (''Türki'' or ''Türkçe'') refers to a phase in the development of the Turkic language family, covering much of the Middle Ages (c. 900–1500 CE). In particular the term is used by linguists to refer to a group of Karluk and Og ...
"next time a boy"), while the name '' Jochi'' “Guest” indicated doubts about the child's paternity. Turkic names were common among Mongols (such as Oghul-qaimish, Abishqa, Qutlugh and so on). However, names of other foreign origin were introduced when the Mongol Empire expanded all over Eurasia, increasing international trade and cultural connections and also partly due to religious dignity.
Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes archaically spelled as Casanus by the Westerners) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of A ...
, Kharbanda, or Toghus (
peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
) are not Mongol words.
Christian name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...
s also existed among the Turkic and Mongol peoples (especially Onguts and Keraits) on the Mongolian Plateau. The Ilkhan Öljeitü's name at birth was ''Nicholas''. Some Mongols had Chinese names. For example, the Buddhist monk, Haiyun, bestowed the name Zhenjin (True-gold) to Khubilai and Chabi's eldest son. In the late 13th century, many newborn children in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
were named after Mongol rulers, including ''Hülegü''. From the mid-13th century
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
, Uyghur, and
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
names ( Ananda (the Yuan prince), Dorji (Khubilai's son) or ''Wachir'' (a Yuan official), ''Gammala'' (Khubilai's son), ''Irinchin'' (the Ilkhanid general), etc.) granted by Tibetan teachers became common in the royal family and the aristocratic clans. In the west some Mongols took Islamic names such as ''Bū Sa'īd'' (misspelled as Abu Sa'id) or ''Khwaja'' after they converted, although many kept their Mongolian names. After the expulsion of the Mongol regime from China, the Sanskrit names in the imperial family soon disappeared. Christian names appeared occasionally before disappearing ( Markörgis Khan). Muslim and Turkic names also declined ( Akbarjin, Ismayil or Arghun), leaving primarily the auspicious Mongolian names similar to those in the early empire. For example, some of the later Mongolian Emperors' names include Batumöngke, Buyan, Esen, Toγtoγa Buqa and Manduul. Mongol name customs also affected the nations under Mongol rule. The Jurchens (ancestors of Manchus) in
Ming China The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
often used Mongolian names.
Sayyid Ajjal Shams al-Din Omar Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din Omar al-Bukhari ( fa, سید اجل شمس‌الدین عمر بخاری; ; 1211–1279) was Yunnan's first provincial governor, appointed by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. Life Shams al-Din was of Central Asian ...
's great-grandson was given the name ''Bayan'' "rich".


Late Middle Ages and early modern period

With the beginning of the new wave of Buddhism in 1575, however, Buddhist and Tibetan names were reintroduced into Mongolia. By 1700 the vast majority of Mongols had Buddhist names, usually Tibetan, but also sometimes Sanskrit or from Mongolian Buddhist terminology. A number of Mongolian-language names survived, particularly with more pacific elements designating peace (''Engke'', ''Amur''), happiness (''Jirgal''), long life (''Nasu''), and blessing (''Öljei'', ''Kesig''). Buddhist names were granted according to several different principles. The most common for laymen are based on the Tibetan or Sanskrit names of powerful deities: ''Damdin/Damrin'' (
Hayagriva Hayagriva, also spelled Hayagreeva ( sa, हयग्रीव IAST , ), is a Hindu deity, the horse-headed avatar of Vishnu. The purpose of this incarnation was to slay a danava also named Hayagriva (A descendant of Kashyapa and Danu), who ...
), ''Dulma/Dari'' ( Tara), ''Gombo'' ( Mahākāla), Cagdur/Shagdur (
Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also c ...
), Jamsrang (
Begtse Begtse (; "Begtse the Great Coat of Mail") is a dharmapala and the lord of war in Tibetan Buddhism, originally a pre-Buddhist war god of the Mongols. Name The name Begtse () is a loanword from Mongolian , meaning "coat of mail". He is also give ...
), Jamyang (
Manjusri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārab ...
), etc. Another type of Buddhist name derives from the Tibetan days of the week, themselves named after the Sun, Moon, and five visible planets (Nima, Dawa, Migmar, Lhagba, Pürbü, Basang, Bimba). Another astrological scheme divides the days of the month into five classes, each under an element: ''Dorji'' ( power bolt), ''Badma'' (
lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...
), and ''Sangjai'' (
Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...
). The suffixes -''jab'' (Tibetan ''skyabs'' “protecting”) and -''sürüng'' (Tibetan - “guarding”) were commonly added to these Buddhist names. Finally, some names, particularly for monks, were based on Tibetan words for desired qualities or aspects of the religion: ''Lubsang'' “good intellect”, ''Agwang'' “powerful in speech”, ''Danzin'' “instruction keeper”, ''Dashi/Rashi'', “blessed.” A number of Buddhist terms exist in multiple forms transmitted from Old Uyghur, Tibetan, and Sanskrit: thus, ''Wachir/Ochir'', ''Dorji'', and ''Bazar'' all mean “power bolt,” while ''Erdeni'', ''Rinchin'', and ''Radna'' all mean “jewel”. A distinctive type of Mongolian name that flourished in this period and is still common in the countryside is the avoidance name, designed to avert misfortune from the child: ''Nergüi'' “No Name”, ''Enebish'' “Not This”, ''Terbish'' "Not That".


Modern


Mongolia

In the 20th century, when Mongolia had close ties to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, Mongols were sometimes given Russian names like ''Alexander'' or ''Sasha'', or mixed ones like ''Ivaanjav'' consisting of the Russian ''Ivan'' and the Tibetan ''-jav''. Politically active parents may have chosen ''Oktyabr'' (October), ''Seseer'' ( SSR), ''Mart'' (March) and even ''Molotov'' as names for their offspring. One such example is ''Melschoi'', composed of the first letters of Marx,
Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
''
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
, Stalin and Choibalsan. Today male names still include the names of old Mongolian elements such as 'iron' or 'steel', or other words denoting strength, such as 'hero', 'strong', or 'ax': some examples are ''Gansükh'' 'steel-ax', ''Batsaikhan'' 'strong-nice', or ''Tömörbaatar'' 'iron-hero', ''Chuluunbold'' 'stone-steel'. Temujin, Borte, Yisu and other old names are commonly given to newborn children after 1990. Women's names commonly refer to fine colours or flowers, the sun and moon, or may be made up of any other word with positive connotations using the feminine
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
''-maa'' (Tib. 'mother'): some common examples are ''Altantsetseg'' 'golden-flower', ''Narantuyaa'' 'sun-beam', ''Uranchimeg'' 'artistic-decoration', ''Sarangerel'' 'moon-light', ''Erdenetungalag'' 'jewel-clear', and ''Tsetsegmaa'' 'flower'. Many gender-neutral name components refer to auspicious qualities such as eternity or happiness: some examples are ''Mönkh'' 'eternal', ''Erdene'' 'jewel', ''Oyuun'' 'mind', ''Altan'' 'golden', ''Saikhan'' 'fine' and ''Enkh'' 'peace'. Many names include the names of places, including mountains, rivers etc., e.g. '' Altai'' or ''
Tuul , , "to wade through" , nickname = Queen Tuul , image = Tuul River Mongolia.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Tuul flowing through the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park , map = Toula (rivi ...
''. Mongolians do not use
surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
s in the way that most Westerners, Chinese or Japanese do. Since the socialist period, patronymics — at that time called , now known as — are used instead of a surname. If the father's name is not legally established (i.e., by marriage) or altogether unknown, a matronymic is used. The patro- or matronymic is written before the given name. Therefore, if a man with given name Tsakhia has a son, and gives the son the name ''Elbegdorj'', the son's full name, as it appears in passports and the like, is ''Tsakhia Elbegdorj''. Very frequently, as in texts and speech, the patronymic is given in
genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...
case, i.e. ''Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj'', with (in this case) -giin being the genitive suffix. However, the patronymic is rather insignificant in everyday use and usually just abbreviated to an initial - ''Ts. Elbegdorj''. People are normally just referred to and addressed by their given name (''Elbegdorj guai'' - 'Mr. Elbegdorj'), and the patronymic is only used to distinguish two people with a common given name. Even then, they are usually just distinguished by their initials, not by the full patronymic. There are cases in which a matronymic has been legally bestowed for one or the other reason, while a patronymic is known. If the patronymic is to be conveyed anyway, this can take a form like with the patronymic preceding the word ovog that takes the suffix ''-t'' 'having'. The basic differences between Mongolian and European names, in connection with trying to fit Mongolian names into foreign schemata, frequently lead to confusion. For example,
Otryadyn Gündegmaa Otryadyn Gündegmaa ( mn, Отрядын Гүндэгмаа; born 23 May 1978), is a Mongolian sport shooter. She competed in 10 m and 25 m pistol events at the 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (o ...
, a Mongolian shooter, is often incorrectly referred to as Otryad, i.e. by the (given) name of her father. Since 2000, Mongolians have been officially using clan names — ''ovog'', the same word that was used for the patronymics during the socialist period — on their ID cards (the clan name is also referred to as ''urgiin ovog'', meaning lineage name, among general use, to distinguish from the patro- or matronymic). Many people chose the names of the ancient clans and tribes such
Borjigin A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with Bo ...
, Besud, Jalair, etc. Others chose the names of the native places of their ancestors, or the names of their most ancient known ancestor. Some just decided to pass their own given names (or modifications of their given names) to their descendants as clan names. A few chose other attributes of their lives as surnames; Mongolia's first cosmonaut Gürragchaa chose 'Sansar' (Outer space). Clan names precede the patronymics and given names, as in ''Besud Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj''. In practice, these clan names seem to have had no significant effect — nor are they included in Mongolian passports.


Inner Mongolia

In Inner Mongolia, Chinese names are quite common, as are Mongolian names. Mongolian names of Tibetan origin are usually restricted to people in their 50s and older. Because China does not recognize Mongolian clan names,
Mongols in China Mongols in China or Mongolian Chinese () are ethnic Mongols who were integrated into the nation-building of the Republic of China (1912–1949) after the fall of Qing Empire (1636–1911). Those not integrated broke away in the Mongolian Revolut ...
who have acquired their passports since 2001 have "XXX" printed in place of their surnames, while before not only "XXX" but also a syllable from an individual's given name or the first syllable of the patronymic was used in place of the Chinese surname. Also, for some individuals, "XXX" is printed in the slot for the given name, while the given name is printed in the slot for the surname. Some Mongolians in China do have surnames because their parents are
Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
,
Hui The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
,
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
etc. Some others use an abbreviation (like ''Bao'' 'Borjigin') of their clan name. Officially, Mongolian names in China are transcribed with the SASM/GNC/SRC transcriptions (e.g. Ulanhu), but this system is rarely used. Generally, the names in Chinese passports are given in the
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
form of the Chinese character transcription of the original Mongolian. For example, ''Mengkebateer'' (from ) would be used instead of ''Möngkebaghatur'' (
Mongolian script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946. It is traditionally writte ...
), ''Mөnghebagatur'' (Mongolian pinyin) or ''Munkhbaatar'' (approximate English pronunciation). Sometimes in such
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
transcriptions of Mongolian names, the first syllable is sometimes reanalyzed as the surname, i.e.
Ulanhu Ulanhu or Ulanfu ( 23 December 1907 – 8 December 1988), born Yun Ze (), was the founding Chairman of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, serving from 1947 to 1966. An ethnic Tumed Mongol, he took the nom de guerre Ulanhu () and had n ...
becomes Wu Lanfu.
Onset Onset may refer to: *Onset (audio), the beginning of a musical note or sound *Onset, Massachusetts, village in the United States **Onset Island (Massachusetts), a small island located at the western end of the Cape Cod Canal *Interonset interval, ...
(if available) and
nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucle ...
of the first
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "bu ...
of the father's name can be used for disambiguation, but have no official status, e.g. ''Na. Gereltü''. Rarely, the onset is used on its own, e.g. ''L. Toγtambayar''.


Siblings

Siblings are sometimes given names containing similar
morpheme A morpheme is the smallest meaningful Constituent (linguistics), constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistics, linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology (linguistics), morphology. In English, morphemes are ...
s, like ''Gan-Ochir'', ''Gantömör'' etc., or names related to the same theme, like ''Naran'' ('Sun'), ''Saran'' ('Moon'), ''Tsolmon'' ('Morning star').


Taboo names

There is also a tradition of giving names with unpleasant qualities to children born to a couple whose previous children have died, in the belief that the unpleasant name will mislead evil spirits seeking to steal the child. ''Muunokhoi'' 'Vicious Dog' may seem a strange name, but Mongolians have traditionally been given such taboo names to avoid misfortune and confuse evil spirits. Other examples include ''Nekhii'' 'Sheepskin', ''Nergüi'' 'No Name', ''Medekhgüi'', 'I Don't Know', ''Khünbish'' 'Not A Human Being', ''Khenbish'' 'Nobody', ''Ogtbish'' 'Not At All', ''Enebish'' 'Not This One', ''Terbish'' 'Not That One'. Couples whose previous boys have died would give female names to their son to mislead the evil spirits, and vice versa. Synchronically, taboo meaning may be stronger or obliterated: ''Nergüi'', for example, is very common and does not immediately raise any association, while ''Khünbish'' might semantically be perceived as ''khün bish'' (cf. the same phenomenon in German with the unremarkable ''Burkhart'' (lit. 'castle-strong') versus the unusual ''Fürchtegott'' ('fear-God')).


Nicknames

When addressing a familiar person, names are shortened, most commonly by choosing one of the parts of the name and adding a vowel, melting it into one or adding the suffix ''-ka''. E.g., a woman named ''Delgerzayaa'' might be called ''Delgree'', ''Zayaa'' or ''Deegii'', a man named ''Arslandorj'' might become ''Askaa'', or his sister ''Idertuyaa'' could become ''Idree'', and so might her boyfriend ''Iderbayar''.


Name structure

In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, there were no patronymics, but clan names were sometimes used in a particular morphological form.


List of common names

In Mongolia, as of 2012, the 20 most common names were:Бат-Эрдэнэ нэртэн 13473 байна
retrieved 2018-09-09


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* Atwood, Christopher P. 2004. ''Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire''. New York, NY: Facts on File. * * Jackson, Peter. 2005. ''The Mongols and the West''. Harlow: Pearson Longman. * Pelliot, Paul. 1959-1963 (posthumous). ''Notes on Marco Polo''. Paris: Imprimerie nationale, librairie Adrien-Maisonneuve. Vols. I-III.


Further reading

* Bürinbilig, Č. Sarana. 2003. Monggγul kümün-ü ner-e-yin delgeremel kögǰil-ün aǰiġlalta ("Observations on the development of Mongolian personal names"). In: ''Mongγul kele utq-a ǰokiyal 2003/4'': 75–78. * Manduqu. 2005. Monggγul kelen-ü obuγ ner-e-yin učir ("On Mongolian names"). In: ''Öbür mongγul-un ündüsüten-ü yeke surγaγuli 2005/2'': 2-14.
Монгол бичгийн нэрийн толь
name dictionary in both Cyrillic and traditional Mongolian script (containing more than 28000 names) * Rybatzki, Volker. 2006.
Die Personennamen und Titel der mittelmongolischen Dokumente - Eine lexikalische Untersuchung''
Helsinki: University of Helsinki. * Serjee, Jambaldorjiin. 2010. ''Orchin cagiin Mongol helnii onooson neriin sudalgaa'' ("A study of given names in contemporary Mongolian"). Ulaanbaatar: Bembi San. * Taube, Manfred. 1995. Mongolische Namen. In: ''Namenforschung: ein internationales Handbuch zur Onomastik'', 1. Teilband. Berlin: de Gruyter: 916–918. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mongolian Name Names by culture Mongolian words and phrases