| Title: |
Names of Newborns in Latvia : Recent Changes |
| Authors: |
Balode, Laimute |
| Contributors: |
Bijak, Urszula; Swoboda, Paweł; Walkowiak, Justyna; Department of Languages; Faculty Common Matters (Faculty of Arts); Baltic Philology |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Helsingfors Universitet: HELDA – Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto |
| Subject Terms: |
Languages; Latvian; onomastics; anthroponymy; identity |
| Description: |
The aim of the article is to introduce the names given to new-borns in Latvia during the last 16 years, to identify the latest tendencies for choosing the names. The article provides comparison between the contemporary situation and the historical data, i.e., comparison with the most popular names 100 years ago. There are some noticeable movements in the anthroponymic stock of Latvia. Increasingly, new-borns are given two or even three names, although by law it is allowed to have no more than two first-names. An inherited family name has often been chosen as a second name, but more frequently the second name reflects national identity. More and more parents choose names for their children that would be international, easily pronounced, short, without diacritical marks (Martin instead of Latv. traditional Mārtiņš). The number of borrowed foreign first names increased rapidly. One of the motivations of the new-born’s name – originality: a lot of neologisms based on Latvian appellatives, mostly with the primary semantics of nature, have been coined (Kastanis ‘chestnut’, Zemis ‘land’). Whereas the diminutive forms as official names in Latvia are not popular anymore. Rather often the names change their gender (Zane f. > Zanis m.). It is fashionable today to give first names of toponymic origin (Beverīna, Turaida). The article also presents public attitudes towards these changes. A short overview on the comparison of the latest tendencies in neighbouring countries is given as well. ; Peer reviewed |
| Document Type: |
conference object |
| File Description: |
application/pdf |
| Language: |
English |
| ISBN: |
978-83-233-5249-5; 978-83-233-7446-6; 978-83-233-7546-3; 83-233-5249-6; 83-233-7446-5; 83-233-7546-1 |
| Relation: |
Onomastics in Interaction With Other Branches of Science. Anthroponomastics; conference; https://hdl.handle.net/10138/590132 |
| Availability: |
https://hdl.handle.net/10138/590132 |
| Rights: |
unspecified ; info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; openAccess |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.F3D406B7 |
| Database: |
BASE |