A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of
names
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...
by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a
word-group
In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very ...
, they all relate to that one individual. In many cultures, the term is synonymous with the ''
birth name
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' or ''
legal name
A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ...
'' of the individual. In
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
classification, personal names are studied within a specific
onomastic
Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use.
An ''alethonym'' ('true name') or an ''orthonym'' ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onom ...
discipline, called
anthroponymy
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'', 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'', 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and coll ...
.
In
Western culture
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
, nearly all individuals possess at least one ''
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
'' (also known as a ''first name'', ''forename'', or ''Christian name''), together with a ''
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
'' (also known as a ''last name'' or ''family name''). In the name "James Smith", for example, ''James'' is the first name and ''Smith'' is the surname. Surnames in the West generally indicate that the individual belongs to a family, a tribe, or a clan, although the exact relationships vary: they may be given at birth, taken upon adoption,
changed upon marriage, and so on. Where there are two or more given names, typically only one (in English-speaking cultures usually the first) is used in normal speech.
Another naming convention that is used mainly in the
Arabic culture
Arab culture is the culture of the Arabs, from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the east, in a region of the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab world. The various religions the Arabs have adopted throughout their ...
and in different other areas across Africa and Asia is connecting the person's given name with a chain of names, starting with the name of the person's father and then the father's father and so on, usually ending with the family name (tribe or clan name). However, the legal full name of a person usually contains the first three names (given name, father's name, father's father's name) and the family name at the end, to limit the name in government-issued ID. Men's names and women's names are constructed using the same convention, and a person's name is not altered if they are married.
Some cultures, including Western ones, also add (or once added)
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
s or
matronymic
A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...
s, for instance as a middle name as with
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
(whose father's given name was Ilya), or as a last name as with
Björk Guðmundsdóttir
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public pe ...
(whose father is named
Guðmundur) or
Heiðar Helguson
Heiðar Helguson (; born 22 August 1977) is an Icelandic former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Heiðar started his career in the Icelandic league system, with UMFS Dalvík and Þróttur. Following a one-season spell in Norw ...
(whose mother was named Helga). Similar concepts are present in
Eastern
Eastern or Easterns may refer to:
Transportation
Airlines
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
cultures. However, in some areas of the world, many people are known by a single name, and so are said to be
mononymous
A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person.
A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
. Still other cultures lack the concept of specific, fixed names designating people, either individually or collectively. Certain isolated tribes, such as the
Machiguenga of the Amazon, do not use personal names.
It is nearly universal for people to have names; the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...
declares that a child has the right to a name from birth.
Structure in humans
Common components of names given at birth can include:
* Personal name: The
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
(or acquired name in some cultures) can precede a
family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
(as in most European cultures), or it can come after the family name (as in some East Asian cultures and Hungary), or be used without a family name.
*
Patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
: A surname based on the given name of the father.
*
Matronymic
A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...
: A surname based on the given name of the mother.
*
Family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
: A name used by all members of a family. In China, surnames gradually came into common use beginning in the 3rd century BC (having been common only among the nobility before that). In some areas of East Asia (e.g. Korea and Vietnam), surnames developed in the next several centuries, while in other areas (like Japan), surnames did not become prevalent until the 19th century. In Europe, after the loss of the
Roman system, the common use of family names started quite early in some areas (France in the 13th century, and Germany in the 16th century), but it often did not happen until much later in areas that used a patronymic naming custom, such as the
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
n countries, Wales, and some areas of Germany, as well as Russia and Ukraine. The compulsory use of surnames varied greatly. France required a priest to write surnames in baptismal records in 1539 (but did not require surnames for Jews, who usually used
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
s, until 1808). On the other hand, surnames were not compulsory in the Scandinavian countries until the 19th or 20th century (1923 in Norway), and Iceland still
does not use surnames for its native inhabitants. In most of the cultures of the Middle East and South Asia, surnames were not generally used until European influence took hold in the 19th century.
In Spain and most Latin American countries, two surnames are used, one being the father's family name and the other being the mother's family name. In Spain, the second surname is sometimes informally used alone if the first one is too common to allow an easy identification. For example, former Spanish Prime Minister
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (; born 4 August 1960) is a Spanish politician and member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He was the Prime Minister of Spain being elected for two terms, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. O ...
is often called just ''Zapatero''. In Argentina, only the father's last name is used, in most cases.
In most Portuguese-speaking countries typically
two surnames are used, sometimes three or four, typically some or none inherited from the mother and some or all inherited from the father, in that order. Co-parental siblings most often share an identical string of surnames. For collation, shortening, and formal addressing, the last of these surnames is typically preferred. A Portuguese person named António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres would therefore be known commonly as
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
.
In
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, the first name and family name conform to the usual Western practice, but the middle name is
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
. Thus, all the children of Ivan Volkov would be named "
irst nameIvanovich Volkov" if male, or "
irst nameIvanovna Volkova" if female (-ovich meaning "son of", -ovna meaning "daughter of", and -a usually being appended to the surnames of girls). However, in formal Russian name order, the surname comes first, followed by the given name and patronymic, such as "Raskolnikov Rodion Romanovich".
In many families, single or multiple
middle name
In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname.
A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial.
A person may be given a middle ...
s are simply alternative names, names honoring an ancestor or relative, or, for married women, sometimes their maiden names. In some traditions, however, the roles of the first and middle given names are reversed, with the first given name being used to honor a family member and the middle name being used as the usual method to address someone informally. Many
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
families choose a
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
's name as their child's middle name or this can be left until the child's
confirmation
In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...
when they choose a saint's name for themselves. Cultures that use
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
s or
matronymic
A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...
s will often give middle names to distinguish between two similarly named people: e.g., Einar Karl Stefánsson and Einar Guðmundur Stefánsson. This is especially done in Iceland (as shown in example) where people are known and referred to almost exclusively by their given name/s.
Some people (called ''anonyms'') choose to be
anonymous
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anonym ...
, that is, to hide their true names, for fear of governmental prosecution or social ridicule of their works or actions. Another method to disguise one's identity is to employ a
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
.
For some people, their name is a single word, known as a
mononym
A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person.
A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
. This can be true from birth, or occur later in life. For example,
Teller, of the magician duo
Penn and Teller
Penn may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Penn'' (film), 1954 Tamil film starring Vyjayanthimala
* ''Penn'' (TV series), a 1991 Tamil mini-series
* ''Penn'' (TV series), a 2006 Tamil-language soap opera
* '' The Penn'', or ''The Stylus'', ...
, was named Raymond Joseph Teller at birth, but changed his name both legally and socially to be simply "Teller". In some official government documents, such as his
driver's license
A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...
, his given name is listed as ''NFN'', an initialism for "no first name".
The
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
believe that the
souls
The soul is the purported immaterial aspect or essence of a living being. It is typically believed to be immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that describe the relationship between the soul and the bod ...
of the
namesake
A namesake is a person, place, or thing bearing the name of another. Most commonly, it refers to an individual who is purposely named after another (e.g. John F. Kennedy Jr would be the namesake of John F. Kennedy). In common parlance, it may ...
s are one, so they traditionally refer to the junior namesakes, not just by the names (''atiq''), but also by
kinship
In anthropology, kinship is the web of social relationships that form an important part of the lives of all humans in all societies, although its exact meanings even within this discipline are often debated. Anthropologist Robin Fox says that ...
title, which applies across gender and generation without implications of disrespect or seniority.
In
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
, someone's name is considered intimately connected with their fate, and adding a name (e.g. on the sickbed) may avert a particular danger. Among
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...
, it is also considered bad luck to take the name of a living ancestor, as the
Angel of Death may mistake the younger person for their namesake (although there is no such custom among
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
). Jews may also have a Jewish name for intra-community use and use a different name when engaging with the
Gentile
''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is used as a synony ...
world.
Chinese and
Japanese emperor
The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
s receive
posthumous name
A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...
s.
In some
Polynesian culture
Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras:
* Exploration and ...
s, the name of a deceased chief becomes
taboo
A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
. If he is named after a common object or concept, a different word has to be used for it.
In
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, there is "a great deal of mobility" within naming structure. Some Cameroonians, particularly Anglophone Cameroonians, use "a characteristic sequencing" starting with a first surname, followed by a forename then a second surname (e.g. Awanto Josephine Nchang), while others begin with a forename followed by first and then second surnames (e.g. Josephine Awanto Nchang). The latter structure is rare in Francophone Cameroon, however, where a third structure prevails: First surname, second surname, forename (e.g. Awanto Nchang Josephine).
Depending on national convention, additional given names (and sometimes
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
s) are considered part of the name.
Legal names
A person's personal name is usually their full
legal name
A legal name is the name that identifies a person for legal, administrative and other official purposes. A person's legal birth name generally is the name of the person that was given for the purpose of registration of the birth and which then ...
; however, some people use only part of their full legal name, a
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
,
nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
,
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
or other chosen name that is different from their legal name, and reserve their legal name for legal and administrative purposes.
Feudal names
The
royalty
Royalty may refer to:
* the mystique/prestige bestowed upon monarchs
** one or more monarchs, such as kings, queens, emperors, empresses, princes, princesses, etc.
*** royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen-regnant, and sometimes h ...
,
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
, and
gentry
Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...
of Europe traditionally have many names, including phrases for the lands that they own. The French developed the method of putting the term by which the person is referred in
small capital
In typography, small caps (short for small capitals) are characters typeset with glyphs that resemble uppercase letters but reduced in height and weight close to the surrounding lowercase letters or text figures. Small caps are used in running ...
letters. It is this habit which transferred to names of Eastern Asia, as seen below. An example is that of Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch Gilbert du Motier, who is known as the
Marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...
. He possessed both the lands of Motier and La Fayette.
The bare place name was used formerly to refer to the person who owned it, rather than the land itself (the word "Gloucester" in "What will Gloucester do?" meant the
Duke of Gloucester
Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...
). As a development, the bare name of a ship in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
meant its captain (e.g., "Cressy didn't learn from Aboukir") while the name with an article referred to the ship (e.g., "The ''Cressy'' is foundering").
Naming conventions
A personal naming system, or anthroponymic system, is a system describing the choice of personal name in a certain society. Personal names consist of one or more parts, such as
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
,
surname
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
and
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
. Personal naming systems are studied within the field of
anthroponymy
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'', 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'', 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and coll ...
.
In contemporary Western societies (except for Iceland, Hungary, and sometimes
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, depending on the occasion), the most common naming convention is that a person must have a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...
, which is usually gender-specific, followed by the parents'
family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
. In
onomastic
Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use.
An ''alethonym'' ('true name') or an ''orthonym'' ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onom ...
terminology, given names of male persons are called ''andronyms'' (from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνομα / name), while given names of female persons are called ''gynonyms'' (from
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
γυνή / woman, and ὄνομα / name).
Some given names are bespoke, but most are repeated from earlier generations in the same culture. Many are drawn from mythology, some of which span multiple language areas. This has resulted in related names in different languages (e.g.
George
George may refer to:
Names
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
People
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE
* George, stage name of Gior ...
,
Georg,
Jorge
Jorge is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name George. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese .
It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios ...
), which might be translated or might be maintained as immutable proper nouns.
In earlier times, Scandinavian countries followed patronymic naming, with people effectively called "X's son/daughter"; this is now the case only in Iceland and was recently re-introduced as an option in the
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
. It is legally possible in Finland as people of Icelandic ethnic naming are specifically named in the name law. When people of this name convert to standards of other cultures, the phrase is often condensed into one word, creating last names like Jacobsen (Jacob's Son).
There is a range of personal naming systems:
* Binomial systems: apart from their given name, people are described by their surnames, which they obtain from one of their parents. Most modern European personal naming systems are of this type.
* Patronymic systems: apart from their given name, people are described by their
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
s, that is, given names (not surnames) of parents or other ancestors. Such systems were in wide use throughout Europe in the first millennium CE, but were replaced by binomial systems. The
Icelandic system is still patronymic.
* More complex systems like
Arabic system, consisting of
paedonymic
Teknonymy (from 'child' and 'name') is the practice of referring to parents by the names of their children. This practice can be found in many different cultures around the world. The term was coined by anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor in an ...
(son's name), given name, patronymic and one or two
byname
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
s.
Different cultures have different conventions for personal names.
English-speaking countries
Generational designation
When names are repeated across generations, the senior or junior generation (or both) may be designed with the
name suffix
A name suffix in the Western English-language naming tradition, follows a person's surname (last name) and provides additional information about the person. Post-nominal letters indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, a ...
"Sr." or "Jr.", respectively (in the former case, retrospectively); or, more formally, by an
ordinal Roman number such as "I", "II" or "III". In the Catholic tradition, papal names are distinguished in sequence, and may be reused many times, such as
John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
(the 23rd pope assuming the papal name "John").
In the case of the American presidents
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
and his son
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, distinct middle initials serve this purpose instead, necessitating their more frequent use. The improvised and unofficial "Bush Sr." and "Bush Jr." were nevertheless tossed about in banter on many
entertainment journalism
Entertainment journalism is any form of journalism that focuses on popular culture and the entertainment business and its products. Like fashion journalism, entertainment journalism covers industry-specific news while targeting general audiences b ...
opinion panels; alternatively, they became distinguished merely as "W." and "H. W.".
Rank, title, honour, accreditation, and affiliation
In formal address, personal names may be preceded by
pre-nominal letters
Pre-nominal letters are a title which is placed ''before'' the name of a person as distinct from a post-nominal title which is placed ''after'' the name. Examples of pre-nominal titles, for instance professional titles include: Doctor, Captain, ...
, giving title (e.g. Dr.,
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
), or social rank, which is commonly gendered (e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss.) and might additionally convey
marital status
Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. '' Married'', '' single'', '' divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status.
''Civil status'' and ''marital st ...
. Historically, professional titles such as "Doctor" and "Reverend" were largely confined to male professions, so these were implicitly gendered.
In formal address, personal names, inclusive of a generational designation, if any, may be followed by one or more
post-nominal letters
Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters, or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, an academic degree, accreditation ...
giving office, honour, decoration, accreditation, or formal affiliation.
Name order
Western name order

The order ''given name(s), family name'' is commonly known as the Western name order and is usually used in European countries and in non-European countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by Western Europe (e.g. the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand). It is also used in non-Western regions such as
Northern,
Eastern
Eastern or Easterns may refer to:
Transportation
Airlines
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
,
Central and
Western India
Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...
; Pakistan; Bangladesh; Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Malaysia (most of, non-traditional); and the Philippines.
Within alphabetic lists and catalogs, however, the family name is generally put first, with the given name(s) following and separated by a
comma
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight, but inclined from the vertical; others give it the appearance of a miniature fille ...
(e.g.
Jobs, Steve or
Van Gerwen, Michael). representing the "lexical name order". This convention is followed by most Western libraries, as well as on many administrative forms. In some countries, such as France, or countries previously part of the former Soviet Union, the comma may be dropped and the swapped form of the name be uttered as such, perceived as a mark of bureaucratic formality. In the USSR and now Russia, personal initials are often written in the "family name - given name - patronymic name" order when signing official documents (), e.g. "
Rachmaninoff S.V.".
Eastern name order

The order ''family name, given name'', commonly known as the Eastern name order, began to be prominently used in
Ancient China
The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...
and subsequently influenced the
East Asian cultural sphere
The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosph ...
(
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam) and particularly among the Chinese communities in Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, or the Philippines. It is also used in the
southern and
northeastern parts of India, and by the
Khmer["Naming systems of the world"]
(self-published). Citing Huffman, Franklin Eugene
''Cambodian names and titles''
Institute of Far Eastern Languages, Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
(1968). OCLC
OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
20035170.[ Short, Philip. ''Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare.'' Macmillan (2006)]
p xv
. and
Hmong
Hmong may refer to:
* Hmong people, an ethnic group living mainly in Southwest China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand
* Hmong cuisine
* Hmong customs and culture
** Hmong music
** Hmong textile art
* Hmong language, a continuum of closely related ...
of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, as well as by
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and the
Mordvins
Mordvins (also Mordvinians, Mordovians; ; no equivalents in Moksha language, Moksha and Erzya language, Erzya) is an official term used in Russia and the Soviet Union to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928.
Names
While Robert Gordon ...
of the
former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they ...
. In Uganda, the ordering "traditional family name first, Western origin given name second" is also frequently used.
When East Asian names are
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...
into the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...
, some people prefer to convert them to the Western order, while others leave them in the Eastern order but write the family name in
capital letters
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (more formally ''#Majuscule, majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (more formally ''#Minuscule, minuscule'') in the written representation of certain langua ...
. To avoid confusion, there is a convention in some language communities, e.g., French, that the family name should be written in all capitals when engaging in formal correspondence or writing for an international audience. In Hungarian, the Eastern order of Japanese names is officially kept, and Hungarian transliteration is used (e.g.
''Mijazaki Hajao'' in Hungarian), but Western name order is also sometimes used with English transliteration (e.g. Hayao Miyazaki). This is also true for Hungarian names in Japanese, e.g.
Ferenc Puskás
Ferenc Puskás (, ; né Purczeld; 1 April 1927 – 17 November 2006) was a Hungarian footballer and manager, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and the sport's first international superstar. A forward and an attacking ...
(, written in the same Eastern order "Puskás Ferenc").
Starting from the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
in 1868, the Western name order was primarily used among the Japanese nobility when identifying themselves to non-Asians with their
romanized
In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...
names. As a result, in popular Western publications, this order became increasingly used for Japanese names in the subsequent decades.
In 2020, the
Government of Japan
The Government of Japan is the central government of Japan. It consists of legislative, executive (government), executive and judiciary branches and functions under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan. Japan is a unitary st ...
reverted the Westernized name order back to the Eastern name order in official documents (e.g.
identity documents
An identity document (abbreviated as ID) is a documentation, document proving a person's Identity (social science), identity.
If the identity document is a plastic card it is called an ''identity card'' (abbreviated as ''IC'' or ''ID card''). ...
,
academic certificate
An academic certificate or tech certificate is a document that certifies that a person has received specific education or has passed a test or series of tests.
In many countries, a certificate is a qualification attained in secondary education. ...
s,
birth certificates,
marriage certificate
A marriage certificate (colloquially marriage lines) is an official statement that two people are married. In most jurisdictions, a marriage certificate is issued by a government official only after the civil registration of the marriage.
In s ...
s, among others), which means writing family name first in capital letters and has recommended that the same format be used among the general Japanese public.
Japan has also requested Western publications to respect this change, such as not using
Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...
but rather Abe Shinzo, similar to how Chinese leader
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
is not referred to as Jinping Xi. Its sluggish response by Western publications was met with ire by Japanese politician
Taro Kono
is a Japanese politician who served as the Minister for Digital Transformation from 2022 to 2024. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he previously served as Minister for Administrative Reform and Regulatory Reform from 2015 to 20 ...
, who stated that "If you can write
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...
and
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
in correct order, you can surely write Abe Shinzo the same way."
East Asia
Chinese, Koreans, and other East Asian peoples, except for those traveling or living outside of China and areas influenced by China, rarely reverse their Chinese and Korean language names to the Western naming order. Western publications also preserve this Eastern naming order for Chinese, Korean and other East Asian individuals, with the family name first, followed by the given name.
=Chinese
=
In China,
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
names of
Hong Kong people
Hongkongers (), Hong Kongers, Hong Kong citizens and Hong Kong people are demonyms that refer to a resident of Hong Kong, although they may also refer to others who were born and/or raised in the territory.
The earliest inhabitants of Hon ...
are usually written in the Eastern order with or without a comma (e.g. Bai Chiu En or Bai, Chiu En). Outside Hong Kong, they are usually written in Western order. Unlike other East Asian countries, the syllables or
logograms
In a written language, a logogram (from Ancient Greek 'word', and 'that which is drawn or written'), also logograph or lexigraph, is a written character that represents a semantic component of a language, such as a word or morpheme. Chinese ...
of given names are not hyphenated or compounded but instead separated by a space (e.g. Chiu En). Outside East Asia, the second syllables are often confused with middle names regardless of name order. Some computer systems could not handle given name inputs with space characters.
Some Chinese, Malaysians and Singaporeans may have an anglicised given name, which is always written in the Western order. The English and transliterated Chinese full names can be written in various orders. A hybrid order is preferred in official documents including the
legislative
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...
records in the case for Hong Kong.
Examples of the hybrid order goes in the form of Hong Kong actor “
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Tony Leung Chiu-wai ( zh , c=梁朝偉, p=Liáng Cháowěi, born 27 June 1962) is a Hong Kong actor and singer. He is one of Asia's most successful and internationally recognized actors. He has won many international acting prizes, including the C ...
” or Singapore Prime Minister "
Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai", with family names (in the example, Leung and Wong) shared in the middle. Therefore, the anglicised names are written in the Western order (Tony Leung, Lawrence Wong) and the Chinese names are written in the Eastern order (Leung Chiu-wai, 梁朝偉; Wong Shyun Tsai, 黄循财).
=Japanese
=
Japanese use the Eastern naming order (family name followed by given name). In contrast to China and Korea, due to familiarity, Japanese names of contemporary people are usually "switched" when people who have such names are mentioned in media in Western countries; for example, ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' is known as
Junichiro Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi ( ; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a Japanese retired politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) ...
in English. Japan has requested that Western publications cease this practice of placing their names in the Western name order and revert to the Eastern name order.
=Mongolian
=
Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
use the Eastern naming order (
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
followed by given name), which is also used there when rendering the names of other East Asians. However, Russian and other Western names (with the exception of Hungarian names) are still written in Western order.
South India
=Telugu
=
Telugu people
Telugu people (), also called Āndhras, are an Ethnolinguistic group, ethno-linguistic group who speak the Telugu language, Telugu language and are native to the India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Yanam district of Puducher ...
from
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
and
Telangana
Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
traditionally use ''family name, given name'' order. The family name first format is different from
North India
North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
where family name typically appears last or other parts of South India where
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
names are widely used instead of family names.
=Tamil
=
Tamil people
The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is one of the longe ...
, generally those of younger generations, do not employ
caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
names as surnames. This came into common use in India and also the
Tamil diaspora
The Tamil diaspora refers to descendants of the Tamil people, Tamil speaking Emigration, immigrants who emigrated from their native lands in the southern Indian subcontinent (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry and Sri Lanka) to ...
in nations like Singapore after the
Dravidian movement
Dravidian politics is the main political ideology in Tamil Nadu that seeks to safeguard the rights of the Dravidian peoples.
Dravidian politics started in British India with the formation of the Justice Party on 20 November 1916 in Victoria ...
in 1930s, when the
Self respect movement in the 1950s and 1960s campaigned against the use of one's caste as part of the name. Patronymic naming system is: apart from their given name, people are described by their patronymic, that is given names (not surnames) of their father. Older generations used the initials system where the father's given name appears as an initial, for e.g.:
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
people's names simply use initials as a prefix instead of
Patronymic suffix
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
(father's given name) and the initials is/ are prefixed or listed first and then followed by the son's/ daughter's given name.
One system used for naming,
[Note:* M. Karunanidhi is a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He uses the ]initials
In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin ''initiālis'', which means ''of the beginning ...
system for his name. His given name is Karunanidhi, his father's given name is Muthuvel, he uses as his name M. Karunanidhi.
Note: *M.Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi Karunanidhi uses the
patronymic suffix
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
naming system. Her given name is Kanimozhi, her father's given name is Karunanidhi, she uses as her name: Kanimozhi Karunanidhi. using only given names (without using family name or surname) is as below: for Tamil Hindu son's name using the initials system: S. Rajeev: (initial S for father's given name Suresh and Rajeev is the son's given name). The same Tamil Hindu name using
Patronymic suffix
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
last name system is Rajeev Suresh meaning Rajeev son of Suresh (Rajeev (first is son's given name) followed by Suresh (father's given name)). As a result, unlike surnames, while using patronymic suffix the same last name will not pass down through many generations. For Tamil Hindu daughters, the initials naming
system is the same, e.g.: S. Meena. Using the
Patronymic suffix
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
Patronymics are used, b ...
system it is Meena Suresh: meaning Meena daughter of Suresh; Meena (first is daughter's given name) followed by Suresh (father's given name). As a result, unlike surnames, while using patronymic suffix the same last name will not pass down through many generations. And after marriage the wife may or may not take her husband's given name as her last name instead of her father's. E.g.: after marriage, Meena Jagadish: meaning Meena wife of Jagadish: Meena (first is wife's given name) followed by Jagadish (husband's given name).
Hungary
Hungary is the only European country that uses the Eastern naming order, where the given name is placed after the family name. This usage is linked to the Asian origins of the
Hungarian tribes
The Magyar or Hungarian tribes ( , ) or Hungarian clans were the fundamental political units within whose framework the Hungarians (Magyars) lived, before the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin and the subsequent establishment of the Prin ...
.
Mordvin
Mordvins
Mordvins (also Mordvinians, Mordovians; ; no equivalents in Moksha language, Moksha and Erzya language, Erzya) is an official term used in Russia and the Soviet Union to refer both to Erzyas and Mokshas since 1928.
Names
While Robert Gordon ...
use two names – a Mordvin name and a Russian name. The Mordvin name is written in the Eastern name order. Usually, the Mordvin surname is the same as the Russian surname, for example Sharononj Sandra (Russian:
Aleksandr Sharonov), but it can be different at times, for example
Yovlan Olo (Russian: Vladimir Romashkin).
Non-human personal names
Animal names for each other
In a 2006 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington studying
bottlenose dolphin
The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...
s in Sarasota Bay, Florida, found that the dolphins had names for each other. A dolphin chooses its name as an infant.
According to a 2024 article of a study of elephant calls in
Amboseli National Park
Amboseli National Park, formerly Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve, is a national park in Loitoktok District in Kajiado County, Kenya. It is in size at the core of an ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. It harbours 400 species ...
, Kenya and
Samburu National Reserve
Samburu National Reserve is a game reserve on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya. It is in size and is from Nairobi. It ranges in elevation from . Geographically and administratively, it is part of Samburu County.
In the middle of th ...
and
Buffalo Springs National Reserve
Buffalo Springs National Reserve is a protected area in Isiolo County, Kenya.
Organization
The reserve was established in 1948 as part of the Samburu - Isiolo Game Reserve and the present boundaries were established in 1985. The reserve is manag ...
s between 1986 and 2022 done with machine learning, elephants learn, recognize and use individualized name-like calls.
Names of pets
The practice of naming pets dates back at least to the 23rd century BC. An Egyptian inscription from that period mentions a dog named
Abuwtiyuw
The Ancient Egypt, Egyptian dog Abuwtiyuw, also transcribed as Abutiu (died before 2280 BC), was one of the earliest documented domestic animals whose name is known. He is believed to have been a royal guard dog who lived in the Sixth Dynasty of E ...
.
Many pet owners give human names to their pets. This has been shown to reflect the owner having a human-like relationship with the pet. The name given to a pet may refer to its appearance or personality, or be chosen for
endearment, or in honor of a favorite
celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...
. Pet names often reflect the owner's view of the animal, and the expectations they may have for it.
Dog
breeders
A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, ...
often choose specific themes for their names, sometimes based on the number of the
litter
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...
. In some countries, like Germany or Austria, names are chosen alphabetically, with names starting with 'A' for puppies from the first litter, 'B' for the second litter, and so on. A puppy called "Dagmar" would belong to a fourth litter. Dog owners can choose to keep the original name, or rename their pet.
It has been argued that the giving of names to their pets allows researchers to view their pets as
ontologically different from unnamed
laboratory animal
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of animals, as model organisms, in experiments that seek answers to scientific and medical questions. This approach can be contrasted ...
s with which they work.
See also
Notes
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Matthews, Elaine; Hornblower, Simon; Fraser, Peter Marshall
''Greek Personal Names: Their Value as Evidence'' Proceedings of the British Academy (104), Oxford University Press, 2000.
External links
*
ttp://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/06/17/falsehoods-programmers-believe-about-names/ Falsehoods Programmers Believe About NamesLexicon of Greek Personal Names contains over 35,000 published Greek names.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Personal Name
Names