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A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek prósōpon – person, and onoma –name) [1] is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that one individual. [2] In many cultures, the term is synonymous with the birth name or legal name of the individual. In linguistic classification, personal names are studied within a specific onomastic discipline, called anthroponymy. [3] As of 2023, aside from humans, dolphins and elephants have been known to use personal names.[ citation needed ]
In Western culture, nearly all individuals possess at least one given name (also known as a first name, forename, or Christian name), together with a surname (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 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. [4]
Some cultures, including Western ones, also add (or once added) patronymics or matronymics, for instance as a middle name as with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (whose father's given name was Ilya), or as a last name as with Björk Guðmundsdóttir (whose father is named Guðmundur) or Heiðar Helguson (whose mother was named Helga). Similar concepts are present in Eastern cultures. However, in some areas of the world, many people are known by a single name, and so are said to be mononymous. 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. [i]
A person's personal name is usually their full legal name; however, some people use only part of their full legal name, a title, nickname, pseudonym or other chosen name that is different from their legal name, and reserve their legal name for legal and administrative purposes.
It is nearly universal for people to have names; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child declares that a child has the right to a name from birth. [7]
Common components of names given at birth can include:
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 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 Maunel de Oliveira Guterres would therefore be known commonly as António Guterres.
In Russia, the first name and family name conform to the usual Western practice, but the middle name is patronymic. Thus, all the children of Ivan Volkov would be named "[first name] Ivanovich Volkov" if male, or "[first name] Ivanovna Volkova" if female (-ovich meaning "son of", -ovna meaning "daughter of", [8] 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". [9]
In many families, single or multiple middle names 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 families choose a saint's name as their child's middle name or this can be left until the child's confirmation when they choose a saint's name for themselves. Cultures that use patronymics or matronymics 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, 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.
For some people, their name is a single word, known as a mononym. This can be true from birth, or occur later in life. For example, Teller, of the magician duo Penn and Teller, 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, his given name is listed as NFN, an initialism for "no first name".
The Inuit believe that the souls of the namesakes are one, so they traditionally refer to the junior namesakes, not just by the names (atiq), but also by kinship title, which applies across gender and generation without implications of disrespect or seniority.
In Judaism, 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 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). Jews may also have a Jewish name for intra-community use and use a different name when engaging with the Gentile world.
Chinese and Japanese emperors receive posthumous names.
In some Polynesian cultures, the name of a deceased chief becomes taboo. If he is named after a common object or concept, a different word has to be used for it.
In Cameroon, 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). [10]
Depending on national convention, additional given names (and sometimes titles) are considered part of the name.
![]() | This section's factual accuracy is disputed .(February 2013) |
The royalty, nobility, and gentry 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 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 . 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). As a development, the bare name of a ship in the Royal Navy 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").
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, surname and patronymic. Personal naming systems are studied within the field of anthroponymy.
In contemporary Western societies (except for Iceland, Hungary, and sometimes Flanders, depending on the occasion), the most common naming convention is that a person must have a given name, which is usually gender-specific, followed by the parents' family name. In onomastic terminology, given names of male persons are called andronyms (from Ancient Greek ἀνήρ / man, and ὄνομα / name), [11] while given names of female persons are called gynonyms (from Ancient Greek γυνή / woman, and ὄνομα / name). [12]
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, Georg, Jorge), 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. 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: [13]
Different cultures have different conventions for personal names.
When names are repeated across generations, the senior or junior generation (or both) may be designed with the name suffix "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 (the 23rd pope assuming the papal name "John").
In the case of the American presidents George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, 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 opinion panels; alternatively, they became distinguished merely as "W." and "H. W.".
In formal address, personal names may be preceded by pre-nominal letters, giving title (e.g. Dr., Captain), or social rank, which is commonly gendered (e.g. Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss.) and might additionally convey marital status. 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 giving office, honour, decoration, accreditation, or formal affiliation.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(November 2023) |
The order given name(s), family name is commonly known as the Western name order and is usually used in Western European countries and in non-Western 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, Central and Western India; Pakistan; Bangladesh; Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand; Saudi Arabia; Indonesia (non-traditional); 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 (e.g. Jobs, Steve), 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, [15] 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 (Russian : ФИО, romanized: FIO), e.g. "Rachmaninoff S.V.".
The order family name, given name, commonly known as the Eastern name order, began to be prominently used in Ancient China [16] and subsequently influenced the East Asian cultural sphere (China, 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, as well as in Central Europe by Hungary and Romania, along with the South Estonians and Mordvins of the former Soviet Union. In Uganda, the ordering "traditional family name first, Western origin given name second" is also frequently used. [17]
When East Asian names are transliterated into the Latin alphabet, 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. 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 (Japanese: プシュカーシュ・フェレンツ, written in the same Eastern order "Puskás Ferenc").
Starting from the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the Western name order was primarily used among the Japanese nobility when identifying themselves to non-Asians with their romanized names. As a result, in popular Western publications, this order became increasingly used for Japanese names in the subsequent decades. [18] In 2020, the Government of Japan reverted the Westernized name order back to the Eastern name order in official documents (e.g. identity documents, academic certificates, birth certificates, marriage certificates, 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. [19]
Japan has also requested Western publications to respect this change, such as not using Shinzo Abe but rather Abe Shinzo, similar to how Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not referred to as Jinping Xi. [20] Its sluggish response by Western publications was met with ire by Japanese politician Taro Kono, who stated that "If you can write Moon Jae-in and Xi Jinping in correct order, you can surely write Abe Shinzo the same way." [21]
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. [22]
In China, Cantonese names of Hong Kong people 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 of given names are not hyphenated or compounded but instead separated by a space (e.g. Chiu En). Outside East Asia, it is often confused with the second syllables 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 records in the case for Hong Kong.
Examples of the hybrid order goes in the form of Hong Kong actor “Tony Leung Chiu-wai” 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 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 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. [19]
Mongols use the Eastern naming order (patronymic 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.
Telugu people from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana traditionally use family name, given name order. [23] The family name first format is different from North India where family name typically appears last or other parts of South India where patronymic names are widely used instead of family names. [24]
Tamil people, generally those of younger generations, do not employ caste names as surnames. This came into common use in India and also the Tamil diaspora in nations like Singapore after the Dravidian movement in 1930s, when the Self respect movement in the 1950s and 1960s campaigned against the use of one's caste [25] [26] 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 eg: Tamil Hindu people's names simply use initials as a prefix instead of Patronymic suffix (father's given name) and the initials is/ are prefixed or listed first and then followed by the son's/ daughter's given name.
Sex | Person's given name | Father's given name | Patronymic initials prefix naming system | Patronymic suffix naming system | Meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Rajeev | Suresh | S. Rajeev | Rajeev Suresh | Rajeev son of Suresh |
Female | Meena | Suresh | S. Meena | Meena Suresh | Meena daughter of Suresh |
One system used for naming, [27] using only given names (without using family name or surname) is as below: for Tamil Hindu son's name using the initials [28] 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 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 [27] system is the same, eg: S. Meena. Using the Patronymic suffix 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 [29] the wife may or may not take her husband's given name as her last name instead of her father's. Eg: after marriage, Meena Jagadish: meaning Meena wife of Jagadish: Meena (first is wife's given name) followed by Jagadish (husband's given name).
Hungary is one of the few Western countries to use the Eastern naming order where the given name is placed after the family name. [30]
Mordvins 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).
In official documents as well as in verbal speech, the Family name comes in first before the Given name when the full name is spelled out.
In South Estonian the names are written in the Eastern name order.
In a 2006 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers from the University of North Carolina Wilmington studying bottlenose dolphins in Sarasota Bay, Florida, found that the dolphins had names for each other. [31] A dolphin chooses its name as an infant. [32]
According to a 2024 article of a study of elephant calls in Amboseli National Park, Kenya and Samburu National Reserve and Buffalo Springs National Reserves between 1986 and 2022 done with machine learning, elephants learn, recognize and use individualized name-like calls. [33]
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. [34]
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. [35] The name given to a pet may refer to its appearance [35] or personality, [35] or be chosen for endearment, [35] or in honor of a favorite celebrity. [36] Pet names often reflect the owner's view of the animal, and the expectations they may have for it. [37] [38]
Dog breeders often choose specific themes for their names, sometimes based on the number of the litter. [39] 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. [40]
It has been argued that the giving of names to their pets allows researchers to view their pets as ontologically different from unnamed laboratory animals with which they work. [41]
Surname conventions and laws vary around the world. This article gives an overview of surnames around the world.
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather, or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
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 given names and surnames are possible in the full name. In modern times most surnames are hereditary, although in most countries a person has a right to change their name.
Korean names are names that place their origin in, or are used in, Korea. A Korean name in the modern era typically consists of a surname followed by a given name, with no middle names. A number of Korean terms for names exist. For full names, seongmyeong, seongham, or ireum (이름) are commonly used. When a Korean name is written in Hangul, there is usually no space between the surname and the given name.
Chinese names are personal names used by individuals from Greater China and other parts of the Sinophone world. Sometimes the same set of Chinese characters could be chosen as a Chinese name, a Hong Kong name, a Japanese name, a Korean name, a Malaysian Chinese name, or a Vietnamese name, but they would be spelled differently due to their varying historical pronunciation of Chinese characters.
Japanese names in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adopting a Japanese name, are able to choose which pronunciations they want for certain kanji, the same written form of a name may have multiple readings. In exceptional cases, this makes it impossible to determine the intended pronunciation of a name with certainty. Even so, most pronunciations chosen for names are common, making them easier to read. While any jōyō kanji and jinmeiyō kanji may be used as part of a name, names may be rejected if they are believed to fall outside what would be considered an acceptable name by measures of common sense.
A given name is the part of a personal name that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group who have a common surname. The term given name refers to a name usually bestowed at or close to the time of birth, usually by the parents of the newborn. A Christian name is the first name which is given at baptism, in Christian custom.
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.
Icelandic names are names used by people from Iceland. Icelandic surnames are different from most other naming systems in the modern Western world in that they are patronymic or occasionally matronymic: they indicate the father of the child and not the historic family lineage. Iceland shares a common cultural heritage with the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Unlike these countries, Icelanders have continued to use their traditional name system, which was formerly used in most of Northern Europe. The Icelandic system is thus not based on family names. Generally, a person's last name indicates the first name of their father (patronymic) or in some cases mother (matronymic) in the genitive, followed by -son ("son") or -dóttir ("daughter").
Eastern Slavic naming customs are the traditional way of identifying a person's family name, given name, and patronymic name in East Slavic cultures in Russia and some countries formerly part of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
Indonesian names and naming customs reflect the multicultural and multilingual nature of the over 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago. The world's fourth most populous country, Indonesia is home to numerous ethnic groups, each with their own culture, custom, and language.
Traditional Vietnamese personal names generally consist of three parts, used in Eastern name order.
Indian names are based on a variety of systems and naming conventions, which vary from region to region. In Indian culture, names hold profound significance and play a crucial role in an individual's life. The importance of names is deeply rooted in the country's diverse and ancient cultural heritage. Names are also influenced by religion and caste and may come from epics. In Hindu culture, names are often chosen based on astrological and numerological principles. It is believed that a person's name can influence their destiny, and selecting the right name is essential for a prosperous and harmonious life. Astrologers may be consulted to ensure a name aligns with the individual's birth chart. India's population speaks a wide variety of languages and nearly every major religion in the world has a following in India. This variety makes for subtle, often confusing, differences in names and naming styles. Due to historical Indian cultural influences, several names across South and Southeast Asia are influenced by or adapted from Indian names or words.
Javanese people have various systems for naming. Some Javanese, especially those from older generations, have only one name and no surname. Others use their father's names as well as their own, in a similar manner to European patronymics. For example, Abdurrahman Wahid's name is derived from Wahid Hasyim, his father, an independence fighter and minister. In turn, Wahid Hasyim's name was derived from his father named Hasyim Asyari, a cleric and founder of the Nahdlatul Ulama organization. Another example is former President Megawati Sukarnoputri; the last part of the name is a patronymic, meaning "Sukarno's daughter".
Mongolian names have undergone a number of changes in the history of Mongolia, both with regard to their meaning and their source languages. In Inner Mongolia, naming customs are now similar to Mongolia but with some differences.
Personal names in Malaysia vary greatly according to ethno-cultural group. Personal names are, to a certain degree, regulated by the national registration department, especially since the introduction of the National Registration Identity Card (NRIC).
This article features the naming culture of personal names of ethnic Serbs and the Serbian language. Serbian names are rendered in the "Western name order" with the surname placed after the given name. "Eastern name order" may be used when multiple names appear in a sorted list, particularly in official notes and legal documents when the last name is capitalized.
Cambodian names are names used or originating in Cambodia which usually consist of two elements including a patronymic, which serves as a common family name for siblings, followed by a given name. An example is singer Sinn Sisamouth, his surname is Sinn and his given name is Sisamouth.
Burmese names lack the serial structure of most Western names. Like other Mainland Southeast Asian people, the people of Myanmar have no customary matronymic or patronymic naming system and no tradition of surnames. Although other Mainland Southeast Asian countries like as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia introduced the use of surnames in early 20th century, Myanmar never introduced the use of surnames and lacks surnames in the modern day. In the culture of Myanmar, people can change their name at will, often with no government oversight, to reflect a change in the course of their lives. Also, many Myanmar names use an honorific, given at some point in life, as an integral part of the name.
A patronymic surname is a surname originated from the given name of the father or a patrilineal ancestor. Different cultures have different ways of producing patronymic surnames.
Note: *M.Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi Karunanidhi uses the patronymic suffix naming system. Her given name is Kanimozhi, her father's given name is Karunanidhi, she uses as her name: Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.