Sociology of proper names in Sofia since 1970

Abstract

The paper focuses on two aspects in which the sociolinguistic character of proper names is manifested, the factor determining the choice of personal anthroponyms for newborn babies and the links between the system of names and the change in sociopolitical life. An attempt is made to reveal the specificity and motivation of contemporary name giving, albeit in the very limited period under review, the last two decades. The results of such studies provide the most accurate idea about the awareness of Bulgarian society of the peculiarities of Bulgarian proper names, about its concern for the preservation of authentic Bulgarian anthroponyms, and about the extent to which the choice of anthroponyms for newborn babies depends on random manifestations of the individual taste of the parents or results from intrinsic traditions and influences. The main tendencies in the choice of names for newborn babies are illustrated through dynamisms of the names of the children born in Sofia in the 1970-1992 period and those born after the changes in Bulgarian society in November 1989.

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