Самое важное слово

Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа № 2

имени Героя Советского Союза Н. И. Бореева»

САМОЕ ВАЖНОЕ СЛОВО

(РУССКИЕ И АМЕРИКАНСКИЕ ЛИЧНЫЕ ИМЕНА)

                                                  Выполнила:

                                             Виктория Горбунова, обучающаяся 9 А класса

                                        МБОУ СОШ № 2 им.Н. И. Бореева

                                                  Руководитель:

                                             О. Б. Размахнина, учитель английского языка

                                        МБОУ СОШ № 2 им.Н. И. Бореева

Моршанск

2015

The Content

Introduction……………………………………...………………………………….…………..………3

1 What is a name? ....................................................................................................................................4

     1.1 Name definition in the English language …..…..………………….……………………..….…..4

     1.2 Anthroponyms as a special word class …………………………………………………..…..…..4

2 Russian first names…………………………………………………………………………….….…...6

     2.1 The history of Russian first names and their origin ….……………………………...…………..6                            

         2.1.1 Russian Pre-Christian names…………….…………. …………………………...………….6

          2.1.2 Russian Christian names ….…………..……………...…………………….………………7

          2.1.3 Russian Names in the Soviet period……………………………………..…………..……..8

     2.2 Modern Russian names ………………………………………………………….……..………..9

3 American first names …………….………………….…………………………………..…….….…10

     3.1 The history of American first names and their origin ……………………………..…….…..…10

          3.1.1 Native American names…………….………………...……………………………..…….10

          3.1.2 First American settlers’ names…………….……………...………………….……….…...10

           3.1.3 American names of English origin …………………...………………………………......11

                    3.1.3. 1 Ancient English names………………………. …………………………….……11

                  3.1.3.2 English Medieval names……………...………………………….………………...12

                  3.1.3.3 Puritan names …………………………………………………..………………….13

          3.1.4 American names originated from other languages …………………..……………………14

     3.2 Modern American names ………………………………………………………...…………….14

4 Comparative analyses of Russian and American first names ……………………..…………….…..17

     4.1 Modern Russian and American students’ first names …………………………….....…………17

     4.2 Common and specific features of name giving in Russia and the USA …………………..…...18

5 Names and cultural conflicts ……………….………………………………………………………..20

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………..………………….....…..…….22

List of Literature……..…………………………………………………………………………………23

Appendix ……………………………………………………………………………………………...25

INTRODUCTION

Personal names are a special part in the lexicon of any language, as they are one of the most important links that connects people with their nearest environment and the whole society. Anthroponyms (from the Greek "anthropos" – "man" and "onoma" –   "name") form around us the unique national cultural space. The peculiarities of personal names in different nations and languages reflect their cultural and historical roots that makes possible to trace the key aspects of the existence, change and development of anthroponyms.

The main aim of our work is the review of Russian and American first names defining their common and specific features.

To reach the aim we plan to do the following:

• to explore Russian and American anthroponymic systems;
• to find out main differences and similarities of  Russian and American anthroponyms;
• to gather information about first names of Russian and American senior students;
• to compare the most popular Russian and American students’ names.

The hypothesis is “Due to the multicultural structure of American nation American first names are more diverse than the Russian ones.”

The object of the research is Russian and American anthroponyms, their origin, development and current existence. Russian and American first names are the research subject.

The research topic is relevant as the process of communication is impossible without the involvement of special units of the language – the anthroponyms. It is 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. [21]

In connection with the growth of international relations, when the study of English is necessary, knowing personal names acquires practical value. It is obvious that people, who claim to know the English language, should have at least a general understanding of native speakers’ names.
        The theoretical part of our research is based on the works of D.I. Ermolovich, M.V. Gorbanevskiy,  O.A. Leonovich, A.P. Paskhalov, E.N. Polyakova, A. I. Rybakin, Y.A. Rylov, A. V. Superanskaya, A.V.Suslova, C. G. Ter-Minasova, l.V. Uspenskiy, John M. Anderson, Willy Van Langendonck, Ernest Weekley and numerous Internet sites containing valuable material in the field of linguistics and onomastics. Our practical contribution is a comparative analysis of Russian and American first names carried out on some authentic material from Prattville high school (Alabama, the USA) and schools 1, 2, 3 and Gymnasium (Morshansk, Tambov region, Russia).

The significance of the work lies in the fact that it expands the knowledge of both Russian and American nations improving the process of intercultural communication.

1. WHAT IS A NAME?

1.1 Name definition in the English language

The relationship between a name and that to which it refers has been the topic of an extensive research by linguists and philosophers. 

Encyclopedia Britannica defines name as “a word or group of words used to refer to an individual entity (real or imaginary). A name singles out the entity by directly pointing to it, not by specifying it as a member of a class.”  [16] Merriam- Webster’s short description is “a word or phrase that refers to or that can refer to a specific person, a specific place or thing or to a type or group of things”. [19] In Macmillan Dictionary we come across “a word or set of words by which a person or thing is usually known.” [18]

On-line Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English does not give a direct definition but suggests a number of topic labels to navigate through. Among them there are the following noun phrases: assumed name, big name, brand name, Christian name, code name, domain name, family name, first name, given name, good name, last name, maiden name, middle name, pen name, pet name, place name, second name, stage name, trade name, user name, etc. [17]

“The centrality of names to the linguistic system is evidenced by the range of relationships, derivational and ontological, that they bear to other categories. Names are the basic entity-category, minimally subclassified and endowed with the capacity for primary identification via onymic reference; and they are the basis for the structure and development of other categories—including, most directly, of pronouns and nouns. … Names are obviously not sufficient to make a linguistic system, but they are necessary: name-free full linguistic communication is not an option. …Having a name remains perhaps the most mysterious and fascinating human manifestation of language.” [14. P. 322]

2. Anthroponyms as a special word class

The science that studies names in all their aspects is called onomastics. The subject of this science is broad because almost everything can have a name and because the study of names theoretically encompasses all languages, all geographical and cultural regions, and all historical epochs.

Onomastics, as the study of proper names, has been of concern to many branches of scholarship, including philosophy and history. Such study is, in fact, carried out as part of several larger fields, including linguistics, ethnography, folklore, philology, history, geography, philosophy, and literary scholarship. 

As it is obvious from traditional onomastics, the major proper name classes are personal names and place names. It is clearly seen from a linguistic as well as from an experiential viewpoint. “Linguistically, personal names constitute the least marked category and show the most diversified constructional patterns”. [26. P.185] 

According to Wikipedia, anthroponomastics (or anthroponymy), a branch of onomastics, is the study of anthroponyms (anthropos, 'human', + onoma, 'name'), the names of human beings. Anthroponyms include given names, surnames, clan names, matronyms, patronyms, teknonyms, nicknames, ethnonyms, autonyms/endonyms and exonims. [20]

The vast majority of anthroponyms lies beyond the frames of our study; however, the focus of our research can be defined with the help of different words. The anthroponym being researched is first name (‘the name or names that come before your family name’), or forename (British English formal ‘someone’s first name’), or given name (American English ‘your first name’), or Christian name (‘a person’s first name, especially when they are given this name in a Christian religious ceremony’) [17], which is also called Baptismal name. All these definitions are mentioned in the text of the research, however, we use the term ‘first name’ naming the chapters in order not to be too formal, biased or politically incorrect.

2. RUSSIAN FIRST NAMES

2.1 The history of Russian first names and their origin

There are about 130 different nations and national groups living in the Russian Federation, having different languages and using different given names.   [9. P.14]

Although it is impossible to pinpoint the exact origin of many names, anthroponymists believe that the earliest given names were derived from nouns and descriptive adjectives.

2.1.1 Russian Pre-Christian names

Before the introduction of Christianity in Russia personal names were similar to nicknames. In ancient times people took names as an integral part of a person.

 Ancient Russian names are of great interest. They reveal the richness of the Russian language, show the imagination, observation and creativity of Russian people, their kindness and sociability. The ancient Slavs believed in the power of words. They thought that the name was not only able to reflect a person's character, but also to shape it.

There was a great variety of ancient Russian names. They differed according to

• person’s appearance: Бел, Черныш; Кудряш, Губа, Лобан; 
• person’s traits of character: Добр, Храбр, Горд, Молчан; 
• person’s place in the family: Первой, Второй, Друган,Третьяк; [3.P. 177]
• the circumstances of the child’s birth: Богдан, Ждан, Неждан,Чаян, Нечай; 
• the time of birth of the child: Вешняк, Мороз, Зима; 
• the neighbouring people living nearby: Козарин, Татарин, Чудин; 
• different trades: Дуло, Ложка, Шуба; 
• the hospitality of Old Slavs: Будигость, Гостевид, Любогость;
• Old Slavs’ peacefulness: Богумир, Добромир, Ратмир, Мирослава; 
• the power of Old Slavs’ spirit: Владимир, Всеволод, Владислав.

   There were some "bad” names, which were believed to deceive evil spirits, sickness, and even death: Немил, Нелюба, Злоба. Such “trickery” names were given to keep away from the evil eye or the evil word.

Names connected with nature are of great interest: Кот, Волк, Жеребец, Верба, Ветка. In such names Old Slavs totemism can be seen. [9, P. 43-44]

There were very many names with a part «слав»: Богуслав, Жизнеслав, Звенислав, Изяслав, Переяслав, Святослав, Станислав, Ярослав, Славомир, Славолюб. Ancient Slavs personal names had a deep meaning, emphasizing the nation’s attitude to the world, the harmony and euphony of their names. Such names as Всемил, Добровлад, Любомысл, Радомысл, Ладимир, Любомир, Миродар, Хвалимир, Честимир reflect good nature of our ancestors. Будигость, Гостевид, Любогость, Радгость. The best women’s qualities were reflected in their names: Богумила, Весела, Всемила, Голуба, Добродея, Желанна, Любава, Людмила, Ненагляда.

It should be pointed out that female names were rarely mentioned in ancient chronicles in comparison with the male ones. Women’s names of the common people were Беляна, Голуба, Добрава, Досада, Ждана, Забава, Красава, Лыбедь (Лебедь), Любава, Малуша, Милава, Неждана, Некраса, Несмеяна, Снежана. Noble women bore such names as  Горислава, Предислава, Святослава, Сбыслава, Ярослава that glorified not the women but their fathers or husbands. [6. P.17]

In the IX century some Norman or so-called Varangian names were introduced: Аскольд, Игорь, Олег, Ольга, Рюрик. Only noble people could give their children such names. Common people neither like nor understand these names and were not allowed to use them.

There were thousands of Old Russian first names, but only some of them were widely used, for instance, Бажен, Бессон, Богдан, Булгак, Бык, Волк, Воин, Ворон, Второй, Голова, Губа, Добрыня, Дружина, Курбат, Лобан, Любим, Малыш, Молчан, Некрас, Неустрой, Первой, Поспел, Русин, Сокол, Суббота, Толстой, Третьяк, Ушак, Черной, Шестой, Шумило, Ярослав. One can see almost all subclasses of names, given according to a person’s appearance, behavior, “guarding”, “wishing” and “ordering” names. [9] 

Though Ярослав, Владислав, Вячеслав, Вадим, Всеволод, are quite popular first names these days, the majority of Old Russian names are out of use known thanks to ancient written records. Besides, our ancestors’ given names can be clearly seen in Russian surnames.

2.1.2 Russian Christian names

Another period in the history of Russian names came when Christianity was introduced.     Old Russian names (Святогор, Святополк, Ярополк, Мстислав, Владислав, and others) were considered pagan ones. That is why one of the first Russian Christians, Princess Ольга, was baptized as Елена.

The new religion brought new names. They are often referred as Greek ones, but in fact they are also Roman, Egyptian and Persian. Some names that are considered to be Christian ones have other cultural roots. It is difficult to believe that such common Russian names as Иван and Марья are of Hebrew origin. Андрей, Александр, Василий, Елена, Ирина are of  Greek origin; Сергей, Константин, Татьяна, Матрёна are Latin. [8. P. 262] Quoting P. Florensky, “There are neither Hebrew, Greek, Latin nor Russian names. There is only a universal heritage of mankind. ” [28]  

An interesting example is mentioned in “You and Your Name” by L.V.Uspenskiy. «Фёдор = Иван, Иван = Матвей».  The spelling of Фёдор was Феодор, similar to a Greek name Theodor consisting of two parts: ‘teo’ meaning ‘God’ and ‘dor’ meaning ‘gift’ or ‘дар’ in Russian. So, Феодор or Фёдор means ‘a gift of God’ in Greek. As for the name Иван, it means the same but in Hebrew. Another Hebrew name Матвей means ‘given by God’ that proves the statement above. [12. P.29-31]

Many Christian names had the same meaning as Old Russian ones, for example, Агафон (‘kind’ in Greek) and Old Russian Добрыня, Павел (‘little’ in Latin) and Мал, Малой.    

Borrowed names were adapted in the Russian language: not Barbara, but Варвара, so as Николай, Павел, Лаврентий, Аким. [8. P.262]  

Such popular modern names as Антон and Артём were Антоний and Артемий in Orthodox Church calendar lists. Later they lost the last sounds. [6. P.33]  

There were a lot of paired names that could be given both to men and women, for instance, Анастасий – Анастасия, Кир – Кира, Марин – Марина, Наталий - Наталия.  Such female names as Антонина, Клавдия, Мавра were widely used unlike their male forms and, vice versa, paired female names Кирилла, Павла, Анатолия, Афанасия were quite rare. Александр - Александра, Евгений – Евгения, Валентин – Валентина were equally popular.  

The names brought by Russian Orthodox Church were so-called “calendar” names. Originally, there were about 80 Christian names, and the number of them was gradually growing. In 11-13 centuries there were 330 male and 64 female names; in “The Lives of All the Saints”, published in 1916, there were 863 male and 232 female names; in the Church calendar for 1960 - 874 male and 228 female names. The disproportion in the number of male and female names was originally due to the fact that the Church canonized fighters for the faith, and they were mostly men. [31]  

There are only four Russian calendar names, which look like common nouns. They are female names Вера meaning ‘faith’, Надежда meaning ‘hope’, Любовь meaning ‘love’ and a male name Лев meaning ‘lion’. [10. P.47]  

However, not all personal names were in common use, which depended on a variety of reasons, in particular, their sound phonology and calendar frequency. Historical events and family traditions also played a significant role in the dissemination of names.  Male names Владимир, Игорь, Олег,   and female names Людмила, Наталья, Ольга, Татьяна were only once mentioned in the calendar, so they were very rare. There sometimes could be children with absolutely identical names in one and the same family. [9]

2.1.3 Russian Names in the Soviet Period

In 1991 in their book “About Russian Names” A.V.Suslova and A. V. Superanskaya wrote that, “95 % of Russian people bear old traditional Russian calendar names”. [9]

In Russia, naming practices have always been influenced by political developments. Until the October revolution of 1917, Russian names were limited to those sanctioned by the Orthodox Church. After the revolution, the communists encouraged parents to give their children names reflecting the new political order - sometimes with quite startling results. Examples include Мэлс (an acronym of Marx-Engels-Lenin-Stalin), Рэм (an acronym for revolution, Engels and Marx) and Владлен (from Vladimir Lenin) and, more prosaically, Трактор ('tractor') and Электрификация ('electrification'). In 1920s calendars offered such names as Гомер, Гораций, Гарибальди, Кромвель, Ампер, Вольт, Воля, Дума, Партия, Национал, Пролеткульта, Идея, Искра, Коммунар, Марат, Октябрина.     

There came some foreign beautifully sounding names: Нелли, Виолетта, Изабелла, Полина, Эльвира, Дина, Инга, Илона.There were also names of other national republics of the country: Ренат, Руслан, Тимур,Эльмира.

By the end of 1980s the number of names for a thousand of people decreased to 70 in comparison to 140 in the beginning of the century.

    The most popular names in 1990s were Александр, Алексей, Андрей, Дмитрий, Игорь, Сергей, Максим, Евгений, Денис, Виталий, Артём and Елена, Ирина, Марина, Наталья, Светлана, Татьяна, Анастасия, Виктория, Ксения, Екатерина, Юлия, Дарья. [9]

3. Modern Russian names

Since the 1980s, Russian national identity and Orthodox religious feelings have been revived and many parents are choosing traditional Church-sanctioned names, especially the old ones not commonly heard for a century. Such names are easily derived and shortened. Some of the most popular boys’ names now are Александр (‘defender’), Даниил ('divine judge'), and Григорий ('alert'), while popular girls' names include Дарья ('owning'), Анастасия ('resurrection') and Ксения ('guest').

For both genders, names starting or ending in 'a' are very popular at the moment (2013): Артём/Артем and Александр are the top two boys' names (another five in the top 10 include the letter 'a'), while София, Мария, Дарья, Арина, Анастасия, Варвара, Виктория and Анна take the top eight places.

The official civil registered figures [33] for the most popular male and female names given in 2013 are as following:

3. AMERICAN FIRST NAMES

3.1 The history of American first names and their origin

People from around the world have come to the United States and influenced its history and culture. As a nineteenth-century poet Walt Whitman said, the United States “is not merely a nation but a nation of nations”. In fact, the USA has not become ‘a melting pot’ being something like ‘a salad bowl’ as lots of people try to preserve their ethnic roots.

3.1.1 Native American names

Speaking about 250 original languages Native Americans had the most complex naming traditions. In the case of North American Indians, this also implies that a child would have to manage with a 'temporary' name for some years, before being given a final name. Children received names that were descriptive, they might be given new names at adolescence, and again as they went through life according to what their life experiences and accomplishments were. In other words, names changed as the individual changed. A name was considered part of the personality and it was believed that injury would occur if the name was misused.

Many Native American names have traditionally been taken from nature and from the perspective of being part of nature, such as Achachak (Algonquian for 'spirit'), Gomda (meaning 'wind' in Kiowa), and Tawa (meaning 'sun' in Hopi). Some names came from events or conditions at the time of the child's birth, such as Ahanu (meaning 'he laughs' in the Massachusett language), Ahyoka (meaning 'she brought happiness' in Cherokee), and Winona (meaning 'first born daughter' in Santee Sioux). Other names are vocabulary names, such as Atepa (meaning 'tent' in Choctaw), Iiniwa (meaning 'bison' from the Blackfoot), Mina (meaning 'knife' in Lakota). Some names are beautifully illustrative, such as Lise (meaning 'salmon's head coming out of the water' in Miwok), Nindakando (meaning 'I watch and lie in ambush' from the Ojibwa), and Teluhci (meaning 'bear making dust as it runs' from Moquelumnan).

Native American names are drawn from nature. During the colonization and industrialization Native American names have practically disappeared. [23], [25], [34], [35]

3.1.2 First American settlers’ names

When the first settlers arrived in what is now the United States, they brought to their new home their culture and, obviously, their names.

The Mayflower, that legendary ship so important to American history, left England in September of 1620. Half of its 102 passengers were separatists escaping religious persecution in England. They arrived on the hook of Cape Cod in November. During the voyage one baby was born and given the appropriate name Oceanus.

Biblical names were very popular during this time period in addition to Puritan names. This trend continued for years after and often many names that are popular today are also Biblical in origin.

Early American Boy Names: Bartholomew, Christopher, Degory, Edward, Elias, Francis, Giles, Henry, Isaac, James, Jasper, John, Love, Moses, Myles, Oceanus, Resolved, Richard, Robert, Samuel, Thomas, William, Wrestling. 

Early American Girl Names: Alice, Ann, Constance, Desire, Dorothy, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Ellen, Humility, Joan, Katherine, Mary, Priscilla, Remember, Rose, Sarah, Susanna. [30]

Many of the names of the early American pilgrims, pioneers and settlers are still in use today, while others are truly unique.

3.1.2. 1 American names of English origin

British culture is considered to be a foundation on which America was built. Beginning in the 1600s, the British settled the Eastern part of North America. By the time of the American Revolution (1776), the culture of the American colonists was thoroughly British, and so were their names.  

3.1.2. 1. 1 Ancient English names

The origins of many modern names are in ancient languages from words that have passed out of use. For instance, the name Edwin was originally composed of the Old English words ead, which means "prosperity, fortune, riches" and wine, which means "friend." Both of these words have passed out of the language in the intervening thousand or so years. On the other hand, a word which has not radically changed forms the first part of the Old English name Wulfgar. The word may have changed spelling somewhat, but the word wolf is still recognizable. (The second element gar means "spear.") [36]

It is difficult to distinguish many proper names from nicknames and monikers.  

(Brun = a) name, b) nickname, c) adjective). Old English names can be subdivided into monothematic (a single element) names (Daene, Wulf, Beald) and dithematic names (compound names with two elements):  Ethelberg, Leofwin, Wigfrith, Frithuwulf. [4. P. 6]

There were also such names as Aelfe (elf), Berne (baby), Cyne (king), Fredi (peace), Hilde (war), Saxi(knife), Tidi(time), Aldi(sharp), Dunne (dark), Godi (good),  Hwite (white), Leofe(beloved), Lange (long).

Celtic and old English personal names are: Angus (male)  old Irish through Scottish  Aengus "one choice"; Barry (male) from Irish "spear"; Brian (male) from Celtic "power"; Gwendolen (female) from Celtic "white" .

These descriptive names developed both from nouns and adjectives. Examples of the names descended from nouns are the Irish Gaelic names Conan "hound, wolf" and Aed "fire." Irish Gaelic names derived from adjectives are such names as Fial "modest, honorable, and generous" and Finn "fair, bright, white."

The pool of names in use in England changed radically with the Norman Conquest in 1066. With the political ascendancy of the Normans, French names of Germanic origin became prevalent within two or three generations of the Conquest. As a result, names like Emma, Matilda, Richard, and William, became constants in English nomenclature. [36]

Most Anglo-Saxon names fell out of use within two centuries of the Norman Conquest of England. The survived names were the names of popular saints (Edward, Edmund, Hilda, Mildred), or kings (Alfred, Edgar).

According to K.B. Zaytseva, these days there are only 8% of anthroponyms dating back to old English period. [quoted after 4, P.7]

3.1.2.1.2 English Medieval names

By the Middle Ages, the Christian influence on naming practices was pervasive.

With the rise of Christianity, certain trends in naming practices manifested. Christians were encouraged to name their children after saints and martyrs of the church. The oldest of these names were Jewish and Greco-Roman names. The names of the apostles and other prominent early Christians mentioned in the New Testament were often Jewish, such as Mary, Martha, Matthew, James, Joseph and John. Many Greco-Roman names entered the Christian name pool in commemoration of the martyrs and saints, such as Anthony, Catherine, Margaret, Mark, Martin, Nicholas and Paul. [36]

“During the Middle Ages there was a kind of race among half a dozen favourite names, the prevailing order being John, William, Thomas, Richard, Robert, with perhaps Hugh as sixth. For each of these there is a reason.” [37. P.58]

John was a favourite name in so many languages as the name of the Baptist that supplied the chief factor in its triumph. For some time after the Conquest William led easily. Robert and Richard were both popular Norman names. The first one was greatly helped by Robin Hood and the second by the Lion-Heart. The name Hugh was borne by several saints. [37]  

Among common biblical names there were John, Peter, James, Michael, Philip, Simon, Luke, Mark for boys and Mary, Joan, Agnes, Catherine, Margaret, Ann(e) for girls. Female names in the XII century were very diverse; in addition to the biblical personal names and names of saints such names as Hodierna, Italia, Melodia, Antigone, Cassandra, Norma,Splendor were widely used.  

The prevalence of biblical names was also due to the mystery plays, played in various religious festivals. Thus, such names from the mysteries as Adam, Eve, Noah, Sarah, Joseph, Daniel, Sampson, David, Susanna, Judith, Anna (Old Testament), Baptist, John, James, Peter, Simon, Matthew, Thomas (New Testament) became popular.

After the Reformation (the XVI century) names of non-biblical saints became obsolete (Austin, Basil, Bennet, Christopher, Dennis, Martin, Fabian, Hilary, Quentin, Valentine and others). The Hebrew Old Testament names were spread: Abigail 'father rejoiced', Abraham 'father of many', Adam 'red', Bathsheba ‘seductive', Benjamin 'son of my sorrow', Daniel 'God's judgment', David 'friend’, etc. [4. P.7-8]

3.1.2.1.3 Puritan names

In the XVI century the King of England persecuted puritans who wanted the Church of England to become more plain and simple, or “pure”. Some of the Puritans – the Pilgrims – decided to go to America. The ideas of Puritans had a lasting influence on American society. [15] It is known that puritans were convicted in their "exclusiveness". They used some specific principles of naming and often gave their children Latin names of their own composition: Beata 'happy', Desiderius and Desideratus 'welcome', Deodatus 'God-given', Renovata 'updated'. Among the most famous names created by puritans (especially in the beginning of the XVII century), one can find Free-Gift, Reformation, Earth, Dust, Ashes, Delivery, More-Fruit, Tribulation, Discipline, Joy Again, From Above, Thankful, Praise-God, Live Well, No-Merit, Sorry-for-Sin, Much-Mercy, Sin-Deny, Fear-Not, or extremely rare biblical names (Bezaleel, Habakkuk). Sometimes they used biblical names with negative connotations (Cain, Dinah, Tamar). Puritans created such names-slogans as Jesus-Christ-came-into-the-world-to-save Barebone and If-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned Barebone. [4. P.9]

There were also weird invented names combined with surnames: Search-the-Scriptures Moreton, The-Work-of-God Farmer, Be-Thankful Maynard, Stand-Fast-on-High Stringer, Fight-the-Good-Fight-of-Faith White, Flie-Fornication Andrews, Glory-be-to-God Penniman, God-Reward Smart, and even Through-Much-Tribulations-We-Enter-into-the-Kingdom-of-Heaven Crabb. [32]

Many of the unusual names created by the puritans fell out of use by the nineteenth century (Lament, Helpless, Obedience, Zelophehad). However, the contribution of puritans in modern American names cannot be ignored. Some biblical names used by puritans assimilated in the language (Samuel, Benjamin, Joseph, Jacob, Daniel, Sarah, Susan, Sharon, Hannah), so as some appellative virtue names as Justice,  Loyal, Prosper (male) Faith, Hope, Charity, Prudence (female).

3.1.3 American names originated from other languages

The ethnic diversity of American society is evidently seen in anthroponyms, as there are a lot of names originated from other languages, for example, Federico, Rodolfo, Dolores (Spanish); Malcolm (Scottish); Magnus (Swiss); Donovan, Patrick, Maura (Irish); Enrico, Paolo, Gemma, Antonio, Bartolomeo, Niccolo (Italian); Manuel, Mario, Raul, Ruth (Portuguese); Kalle, Matti, Elvi (Finnish); Rudolf, Rupert, Martha (German); Paul, Vivienne (French) and many others. [8. P.30]

         The newer immigrants, indeed, do not wait for the birth of children to demonstrate their naturalization; they change their own given names immediately they land. Jews immigrating to this country change Yosel to Joseph, Yankel to Jacob, Liebel to Louis, Feivel to Philip, Itzik to Isaac, Ruven to Robert, and Moise or Motel to Morris. Moreover, the spelling of Morris, as the position of its bearer improves, commonly changes to Maurice. The immigrants of other stocks follow the same habit. The Italian Giuseppe quickly becomes Joseph and his brother Francesco is as quickly transformed into Frank. The Greek Athanasios is changed to Nathan or Tom, Panagiotis to Peter, Constantine to Gus, Demetrios to James, Chasalambos to Charles, and Vasilios to Bill. The Dutch Dirk becomes Dick, the Polish Stanislav is changed to Stanley, Czeslan to Chester, and Kazimierz to Casey.  Every Bohemian Jaroslav becomes Jerry, every Bronislav a Barney, and every Vaclav or Vojtech William.  The Hungarians and the Balkan peoples run to Frank, John and Joe; the Russians quickly drop their national system of nomenclature and give their children names according to the American plan. Even the Chinese become John, George, Charlie and Frank. [24]

4. Modern American names

Each Mother's Day in the United States, the Commissioner of Social Security publishes the most popular baby names based on all social security card applications for children born the previous year. The latest available lists of the top ten boys' and girls' names, relating to the year 2013, are as follows:

“Noah and Sophia are America's most popular baby names for 2013.  First time atop the list is Noah, the first new boys name at number one since 1960 other than Jacob or Michael, and the third straight year for Sophia.  This is huge news in the world of baby names with Noah rising to the top, unseating Jacob.  Proving to be America's favorite before the 2014 Russell Crowe movie Noah climbed atop the box office charts!  There is only one new name in the top 10 this year—Daniel, but he has been there before.  Also, be on the lookout for another Sophia crawling up the list—Sofia with an "f" has reached her highest spot ever at number 13.” [38]

Some of the most popular Biblical names still in heavy rotation today include the Hebrew names Mary and Matthew, the Greek names Luke and Peter, and the Latin name Paul.

The USA was built on immigrants, so one sees a fantastic range of names there, drawn from a wide variety of European traditions, as is evident if one looks at the credit list of any American television programme or movie.

Furthermore, Americans have a wonderful facility for invention of first names:

• They convert pet names into proper names - such as Chuck, Ginger, Red, Rocky, and Woody for boys and Baby, Barbie, Minnie, Sindy, and Tina for girls.
• They invent new spellings - so Charlotte becomes Sharlotte, Katherine -  Kathryn, Carolyn becomes Karolyn, Giselle becomes Jizelle.
• They run two names together (especially girls' names) - such as Billie-Jean, Billie-Jo, Bobbi-Ann, Bobbi-Lee, Brooklyn, Danessa, Emilyann, Emmalee, Jaydee, Marybeth, Maryellen, Reanne, Rosalyn, Ruthann, and so on.
• They take surnames (especially of the famous) and make them first names - such as Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, Woodrow, Clinton.
• American men are much given to naming their sons identically to themselves. The father and son are then distinguished by suffixing the former's name with Senior (abbreviated to Sr) and suffixing the son's name with Junior (abbreviated to Jr). [23], [24]

Often they simply invent new names. For instance, there are several hundred girls in the US (especially Hawaii) with a name created from the first five letters of the alphabet: Abcde (pronounced “AB-si-dee”). The one-time US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice derives her first name from the musical term 'con dolcezza' which mean 'to play with sweetness'. There is the Duggar family in Little Rock, Arkansas that have now had their 16th child, all of whom have names beginning with J: Joshua, twins John and Janna, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, twins Jeremiah and Jedidiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, and Johannah.

Invention of names seems particularly common among African-Americans. “Take a quick glance down the Olympic roster. It is the black names that disproportionately stand out: Tayshaun, Deron, Rau’shee, Raynell, Deontay, Taraje, Jozy, Kerron, Hyleas, Chaunte, Bershawn, Lashawn, Sanya, Trevell, Sheena, Ogonna, Dremiel. And, indeed, black Americans have spearheaded and continue to lead the trend of creative naming. Creative naming has reached every race and class, but it is largely and profoundly the legacy of African-Americans. Shalondra and Shaday, Jenneta and Jonelle, Michandra and Milika — in some parts of the country today, nearly a third of African-American girls are given a name belonging to no one else in the state (boys’ names tend to be somewhat more conservative).” [39]

Education, ethnicity, religion, class and political ideology affect parents' choice of names. In the United States, popular names tend to be chosen by parents with more education. Politically conservative parents choose common and traditional names, while politically liberal parents choose the names of literary characters or other relatively obscure cultural figures. Devout members of religions often choose names from their religious scriptures.

There are many tools parents can use to choose names, including books, websites and applications. (Appendix 5)

Baby names have become more diverse in recent decades, said Jean Twenge, a San Diego psychology professor and author of "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before" (Free Press, 2007). In the 1950s, the top 25 boys' names and top 50 girls' names were given to half of all babies born. Today, it would take the top 134 boys' names and top 320 girls' names to cover half of all babies born. [40]

Baby name trends for 2015 signal an increasingly adventurous spirit in baby naming, with more meaningful and colorful words becoming names, new gender twists and the tapping of fresh international and pop-culture sources. Here, there are some predictions for the 15 hottest trends for 2015.

“Why give your child a mere name when you can call him something that creates a clear and powerful identity? The major forward-looking trend for 2015 is word names that make big statements. These may be grand names such as Titan or Royal, both recent choices of celebrities. They might be new virtue names such as Saint or Noble or badass names such as Breaker and Rowdy and Rogue. Defining names can also be nature names such as the stylish River or Sage, or cool kid names like Buzz or Lazer. These names define your child to the world – or at least tell the world how you’d like them to be defined”. [41]

4 THE COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN FIRST NAMES

4.1 Modern Russian and American students’ first names

We carried out a comparative analysis of Russian and American first names studying the names of Russian and American students of senior classes. We were lucky to get some authentic material from Prattville high school (Alabama, the USA) (Appendix 3) and schools 1, 2, 3 and Gymnasium (Morshansk,Tambov region, Russia). (Appendix 1)

In 2014-2015 academic year there are 655 students studying in senior classes in Morshansk schools, 310 boys and 345 girls. (Appendix 2) During the research we got to know that they bear 109 names: 54 male names and 55 female names.

According to our research data, the name Александр takes the first place in the rating of Russian male names (30 bearers), and the name Анастасия takes the first place in the rating of Russian female ones (32 bearers). The second place is taken with Павел (male – 19 bearers) and Екатерина (female – 22 bearers). On the third one there are such names as Дмитрий and Максим (male – 18 bearers each), and Татьяна (female – 21bearers). All these names are traditional Christian ones.

There are 20 male and 15 female names borne by one person only: Аким, Артём, Анатолий, Арсен, Валерий, Виктор, Вячеслав, Георгий, Герман, Данила, Лев, Леонид, Марк, Питирим, Рави, Рауф, Рудольф, Руслан, Святослав, Тимофей, and Алевтина, Альбина, Анжела, Анжелика, Арина, Валентина, Владислава, Жанна, Кира, Лариса, Регина, София, Фаина, Эмилия, Эрика.

It is interesting to know that in Morshansk schools there are 15 boys bearing the name Артем, 7 – Даниил, and 6 girls are called Софья. As it is seen, these 3 names differ in one letter with the 3 written above: Артём – Артем, Данила – Даниил, София – Софья. Another example is Наталья (10 bearers) and Наталия (2 bearers). However, this little difference can cause serious problems if the names are confused.

The list of sophomores in Prattville high school includes 532 students bearing 382 names. (Appendix 3) Most of the names are accompanied with photos. However, there are 44 not pictured personal names (names in bold). Though these 44 given names are followed with middle names, we do not rely on them in their gender definition. Instead, we use a website ’20, 000 Names from Around the World’ offering detailed etymology of thousands of names. Still, 8 names stay unclear whether the student is a boy or a girl. Among them there are 4 unisex names:  Honesty, Jesse, Sidney, Summer, and 4 names we cannot identify: Dachannel, Jadeja, Quantee and Kviewajtne.

The rating of the American names looks like this: Brandon is the most popular male name (9 people). Further go Christopher, Michael and Nicholas (8 bearers each). Austin and Joshua (7 bearers each) are in the top three of the male list.

As for the female ones, the most prevailing name is Kelsey (6 girls), then go Ashley, Destiny and Emily (5 bearers each). Hannah, Morgan and Taylor take the third place (4 bearers each). The name Brandon is considered to be an Old English one, while Kelsey is derived from Old Anglo-Saxon forename being unisex, by the way. That pair of names confirms that it is English culture that is the foundation of American culture. Such names as Ashley, Morgan, Austin, are unisex, and the trend to unisex names is common in American naming tradition. The name Hannah is an interesting example of a palindrome as it is read the same backward or forward. (The Russian one Анна is on the 11th position with 11 bearers, while the American Anna is mentioned only once, so as Ann that looks like diminutive but, in fact, it is not in the case).

        There are a lot of American students having no namesakes: 134 boys and 162 girls. In this list there are such traditional names as Andrew, Richard, George, Phillip, and less common Darium, La Quaries, Yeop. The girls’ unique names are Dazhanae, Marquasia, Shundricka, while Caroline and Rachael are considered quite ordinary.

All in all, 173 American names are borne by 271male bearers, 201 names – by 253 female ones.

To sum up, 655 Russian students bear 109 given names, while 532 American students – 382 given names. The diversity of American students’ names has exceeded all our expectations.

4.2 Common and specific features of name giving in Russia and the USA

Anthroponyms as a word class categorize and classify proper names. Thus, they have the following features:

1. the definition of the bearer, that is Peter is a person in contrast to London, Thames;
2. the indication of the nationality and the language the word belongs to: Robin, Henry, William in contrast to René, Henri, Wilhelm;
3. the indication of the sex of the person John, Henry in contrast to Mary, Elizabeth.

English personal names have all three characteristics in most cases. [2. P.38]

It should be pointed out that gender definition of given names is not an easy task. As there are some not pictured personal names in the available data, a thorny problem arises whether the person is a boy or a girl. We do not have any photos of Russian students and we do not need them because there is no problem in full names definition in Russian as male and female names differ in their form. Male names are usually ended on a consonant (Семён, Пётр) and - ий (Юрий), female names have - а-, - я in the end (Анна, Валерия). There are few male names with such an ending (Никита, Илья).

There are no such simple rules in English and American names. We failed to identify Dachannel, Jadeja, Quantee and Kviewajtne, not finding their proper definition. There are no similar endings in the names given while similar sounding Aaliyah, Kyah, Makhiah are female, but Eiijah or Isaiah are male names. Dachannel has the same ending with Daniel (male) and Isabel (female). There is one girl named Charlee, though it is a male name. Adreanne, Jacquline and Jazmine are girls, so Kviewajtne may be a female name but we cannot be sure.  

Both Russian and English have paired names: Александр – Александра, Валерий – Валерия, Виктор – Виктория, Евгений – Евгения, Олег – Ольга, Ян – Яна, Владислав – Владислава. The gender is evidently seen, so as in the American names Alexandra, Alexandria – Alexander, George – Georgia, Patrick - Patricia.

Nevertheless, the unisex trend is one of American names peculiarities: Taylor is a popular name in the girls’ list (4 bearers) and Hunter is common for boys (5 bearers), whereas there is only one boy called Taylor and one girl called Hunter.

Jesse, Honesty, Sydney, Summer are unisex names, so we can not define their bearers’ gender. 

Americans, in general, manifest a much freer spirit in the invention of new given names than the Russian people, who remain faithful, in the main, to the biblical and historical names. While Americans are good at inventing new names, Russians often choose rare Old Russian names to distinguish their children.

Christian name giving traditions can be clearly seen in both countries: John – Иван, James – Яков, George – Георгий, Mary – Мария, Ann/Ann(e)/Anna - Анна, Catherine/Katharyn/Katherine – Екатерина, Elizabeth – Елизавета.                                                                                                                                                                               American anthroponymic system tends to the Old Testament, while the Russian one – to the New Testament. Adam, Joshua, Solomon, Rebecca, Rachel, Sarah are very rare in Russia.

As for other religions, Muslim parents may name a boy Mohammed after the Prophet, Hindu parents may name a daughter Saanvi after the goddess. The last example can be hardly met in Russia.

Though a lot of immigrants adopt their names to English, the ethnic background can be seen.  Most likely, Malik is an Arabian, Do Hyun is a Korean, Yuhong is a Chinese. As for Russian students, Рауф is an Arabic name, while Рави is Tatar. We can say that names of foreign origin are used in both countries.

5. NAMES AND CULTURAL CONFLICTS

Personal names are a valuable source of information. They can indicate gender, birthplace, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and position within a family or even within a society. However, naming practices vary enormously across the globe.

Names of foreign origin may cause difficulties in rendering them into other languages. Besides mere misunderstanding, it may become a serious legal or administrative problem.

Not only international cultural conflicts can occur. In 2014 a lot of Russian people surely experienced cultural shock having read that young parents from Yekaterinburg, Russia called their baby son Люцифер.  [29] There are quite a number of blog posts and articles [13] on the topic. It cannot be denied that American society is much more tolerated.

Nevertheless, in fact the process of communication can be delicate, and problems can arise, for (from Alexander McCall Smith’s The Sunday Philosophy Club, Chapter22): . . . “Our names are important to us, they express our essence. We are protective of our names and resent their mishandling: Charles may not like being called Chuck, and Margaret may not approve of Maggie. To Chuck or Maggie a Charles or a Margaret in the face of their discomfort is to wrong them in a particularly personal way; it is to effect a unilateral change in what they really are.” [quoted from 14]

In general there has been a tendency to drop diminutives. In 1950s it was rare to hear such names as Charles, William, Elizabeth, Frederick, Margaret and Lillian used in full, but now it is very common. [24]

A person's full name usually identifies that person for legal and administrative purposes. In most European cultures, the given name usually comes before the family name (though generally not in lists and catalogs), and is also known as a forename or first name. Filling some papers Russian people can misunderstand that a first name means a surname. In Russian the word order is not strict, so we can say Иван Петров or Петров Иван which will be also correct.  [11.P.60]

One of the problems in cross-cultural context is transferring anthroponyms in the foreign language official documents.

“The name cannot be translated into another language quite exactly, as it is impossible to move it into another language, so that it could blend in its organic unity with the whole speech.” [28]  

        Misspelling of names can have disastrous consequences. There are some easily-confused names in Russian: Артём – Артем, Софья – София, Данила - Даниил, Наталья – Наталия. They are different names.

We transliterated Russian students’ names (Appendix 1, Appendix 2, and Appendix 3) with the help of the system of transliteration used by the US Embassy for Cyrillic alphabet. [34] It turned out to be impossible to show the difference between Артём and Артем, that is why we used ‘yo’ for the letter ‘ё’ to distinguish these names. The tables of transliteration used in Russian official documents [44], [45] fail to solve this problem, as well.

To be compared, American name variety in spelling is immense. Here are the examples of easily-confused names from the research material only.

Male names: Brandon – Brendon, Donovan – Donovon, Tristan – Triston, Stephen – Stephon, Taylor – Tayler, Christopher – Kristofer, William – Williiam.

Female names: Adreann - Adrienne, Alexandra – Alexandria, Cayla – Kayla, Isabel – Isabella, Jamie – Jayme, , Laura – Lora, Loren – Lauren, Macie – Macy, Rachael – Rachel, Sara – Sarah, Stefany – Stephany, Caitlyn – Katlin – Katlyn, Catherine – Katherine – Katheryn, Hailee – Haley – Hallie.

To avoid numerous problems we should be very careful in name spelling. As for the correct pronunciation of names, it is also not at all easy. There are some websites that can help.  (Appendix 5)

CONCLUSION

Given names originated in ancient times. Not only ancient philosophers and thinkers were concerned about the problem of choosing a name and tried to explore it, but there are a number of interesting works of contemporary researchers who continue a long tradition of studying the name and its connection with the life of nations. Name giving is widely discussed in the blog sphere; it is a hot issue in newspapers, magazines and TV programmes.

No doubt, our names are a part of our personality. There have been plenty of studies showing a correlation between our self-esteem and how well we like our own names, and our names affect our interactions with those around us, including our family, our peers, our teachers, and our colleagues and bosses.

Most cultures attach a strong symbolic significance to given names. Each culture appropriates names from other cultures while conforming to its own trends, those derived from cultural values. In a country of immigrants as diverse as the United States, names reliably predict ethnicity, as long as we understand the diversity of contexts in which they may be situated. As the world shrinks, through improved communication and travel technologies, names will ebb and flow according to more complex patterns. Embracing multicultural diversity only enhances our understanding of individuals through their names and names through their bearers.

The hypothesis of the research has been partially proved. American first names are more diverse than the Russian ones not only because of the multicultural structure of American nation but also due to American naming traditions and modern trends.

Learning naming history and traditions is really interesting, besides, it can help us improve the language and enrich our own sense of identity.

Name giving opens a vast research area, involving the social, personal, and grammatical functions of names and their derivatives, that stays unexplored in our work. But our understanding of Russian and American cultures cannot but benefit from insight into the magical world of names.

LIST OF LITERATURE

1. Горбаневский М. В. В мире имён и названий. – М.: Знание, 1987. – 208 c.
2. Ермолович Д.И. Имена собственные на стыке языков и культур.— М.:

Р.Валент,2001. – 133 c.

3. Ковадло Л.Я. Слово – тайна тысячелетий. – Мн.: Тесей, 2004. – 304 c.
4. Леонович О.А. В мире английских имён: Учеб.пособие по лексикологии. – М.: ООО «Издательство АСТ»: ООО «Издательство Астрель», 2002. – 160 c.
5. Пасхалов А.П. Удивительная этимология. – М.:НЦ ЭНАС, 2007
6. Полякова Е. Н. Из истории русских имён  и фамилий. Книга для учащихся. – М.: Просвещение, 1975. – 160 c.
7. Рылов Ю.А. Имена собственные в европейских языках. Романская и русская антропонимика. Курс лекций по межкультурной коммуникации. – М. АСТ: Восток – Запад, 2006. – 311 c.
8. Система личных имён у народов мира / под ред. М.В.Крюкова. – М., Главная редакция восточной литературы издательства «Наука», 1989. – 384 c.
9. Суслова А.В., Суперанская А.В. О русских именах. – Изд.2-е, испр. и доп. – Л., Лениздат, 1991. – 220 c.
10. Суперанская А. В. Имя – через века и страны. – М.: Издательство ЛКИ, 2007. – 192 c.
11. Тер-Минасова С.Г. Язык и межкультурная коммуникация: (Учеб. пособие) — М.: Слово, 2000. – 624 c. 
12. Успенский Л. В. Ты и твоё имя. – М.: Мир энциклопедий Аванта +, Астрель, 2008. – 367с.
13.  Филиппова О. О имена, о нравы! // Комсомольская правда. – 2014. - № 50. – с.10-11.
14. Anderson, J.M. The Grammar of Names. – Oxford University Press Inc., 2007. 375 p.
15. O’Callaghan, D.B. An illustrated history of the USA. – Longman, 2002. – 144 p.
16. http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402224/name
17. http://www.pearsonlongman.com/dictionaries/
18. http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/name
19. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/name
20. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroponymy
21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_name
22. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Given_name
23. http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/useofnames.html#Americas
24. http://www.bartleby.com/185/49.html
25. http://www.behindthename.com/glossary/view/name
26. http://e-onomastics.blogspot.de/2013/04/theory-and-typology-of-proper-names-by.html
27. http://www.imena.org/fam_anim.html
28. http://philologos.narod.ru/florensky/imena-main.htm
29. http://e-onomastics.blogspot.de/search/label/Names 
30. http://babynames.allparenting.com/babynames/Ideas/Early_American_Baby_Names/
31.  http://www.proza.ru/2009/08/17/1041
32. http://kurufin.ru/html/english.html
33. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_popular_given_names#cite_note-134
34.  http://nameberry.com/blog/native-american-names-round-1-cherokee
35.  http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/whats-in-name/201107/names-and-identity-the-native-american-naming-
36. http://heraldry.sca.org/names/namehist.html
37.  https://archive.org/stream/romanceofnames00week#page/n5/mode/2up
38. http://www.fashiontimes.com/articles/6729/20140510/noah-sophia-named-americas-popular-baby-names-2013.htm
39. http://www.salon.com/2008/08/25/creative_black_names/ 
40. http://www.livescience.com/13923-hated-baby-names-america.html
41. http://nameberry.com/blog/baby-name-trends-2015-the-15-hottest
42.  http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/whats-your-name
43.  http://russian.moscow.usembassy.gov/translit.html
44.  http://www.gramota.ru/spravka/letters/?rub=rubric_105
45. http://protect.gost.ru/v.aspx?control=8&baseC=-1&page=0&month=-1&year=-1&search=&RegNum=1&DocOnPageCount=15&id=120830&pageK=FEBC4724-215A-4FD6-BEA9-8F7E37C5F7E1

Муниципальное бюджетное общеобразовательное учреждение

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа № 2

имени Героя Советского Союза Н. И. Бореева»

ПРИЛОЖЕНИЕ

САМОЕ ВАЖНОЕ СЛОВО

(РУССКИЕ И АМЕРИКАНСКИЕ ЛИЧНЫЕ ИМЕНА)

                                                  Выполнила:

                                             Виктория Горбунова, обучающаяся 9 А класса

                                        МБОУ СОШ № 2 им.Н. И. Бореева

                                                  Руководитель:

                                             О. Б. Размахнина, учитель английского языка

                                        МБОУ СОШ № 2 им.Н. И. Бореева

Моршанск

2015

Appendix 1

THE LIST OF STUDENTS’ NAMES

 (MORSHANSK, TAMBOV REGION, RUSSIA)

Appendix 2

THE SUMMARY LIST OF 9-11 CLASS STUDENTS’ NAMES

(MORSHANSK, TAMBOV REGION, RUSSIA)

Appendix 3

THE SUMMARY LIST OF STUDENTS’ NAMES (9-11 CLASSES)

FROM ALL TOWN SCHOOLS (MORSHANSK, TAMBOV REGION, RUSSIA)

Appendix 4

THE LIST OF PRATTVILLE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ NAMES

Appendix 5

NAME WEBSITES

1. http://www.20000-names.com

2. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/names.html

3. http://www.babynamewizard.com/

4. http://hearnames.com

5. http://www.pronouncenames.com/names/alpha/A

6. http://www.acapela-group.com

7. http://ru.forvo.com

8. http://www.ph4.ru/eng_pronounce.ph4

9. http://crosswords911.com/onomastics.html

10. http://www.jetpunk.com/tags/first-name

Appendix 6

POEMS AND QUOTATIONS ABOUT NAMES

The Most Important Word

This is the most important word for everyone.

It is used by your friends, your teachers and your mum.

It is the sweetest word in the world,

It cannot stay unnoticed whenever it is heard.

This word is everybody’s treasure. It is protected by the law.

It will become a secret if you say, “No more.”

This word makes you special. It’s really fun.

But still keep in mind you are not the only one.

(Your personal name)

 V.Gorbunova, O.B.Razmakhnina

I have no name

I am but two days old, -

What shall I call thee?

I happy am

Joy is my name, -

Sweet joy befall thee!

William Blake

A man without a name is but a ghost, 
passing through the world unnoticed. 
His deeds, regardless of their greatness, 
will be dissipated in the breeze
or attached to the name of another; 
for he has no name of his own 
to remember him by. 

The sweetest sound in the world is the person’s own name.

Dale Carnegie

You can joke with the man but you must not joke with his name.

Marina Tsvetaeva

Names are an important key to what a society values.  Anthropologists recognize naming as 'one of the chief methods for imposing order on perception.' 

David S. Slawson

Proper names are poetry in the raw.  Like all poetry they are untranslatable.

 W.H. Auden

Name is a fence and within it you are nameless. 

Samuli Paronen

If names are not correct, language will not be in accordance with the truth of things. 

Confucius

Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior. 

Logan Pearsall Smith

Names, once they are in common use, quickly become mere sounds, their etymology being buried, like so many of the earth's marvels, beneath the dust of habit. 

Salman Rushdie

From our ancestors come our names, but from our virtues our honors. 

(Proverb)

Words have meaning and names have power. 

(Author unknown)

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.

(Old Testament)

Bonum nomen bonum omen.

(A Latin saying)