Miguel Reyes Contreras
UIEM-IAIA
Linguistics and onomastics, a way of learning about
language and culture.
“a language without Onomastics can’t be conceived, neither we can avoid
linguistically research of it.”
Dámaso Alonso
Outcomes
To know the definition and field studies of Onomastics and how its
methodology is applied to:
1. Anthroponomy. The study of personal names.
2. Toponymy. The study of place names.
3. Chrematonymy. the study of names of objects created by man.
4. Literary onomastics. The study of literary names.
5. Cognitive Onomastics. The study of the mental process of naming
and how people name their environment.
Language
• A conventional set of structures and acts used by a
group of people to communicate
Language
Dialect
Isolect
Idiolect
Levels of language study
Sound
Word
Phonology
Morphology
Phonetics
LANGUAGE
Semantics
Pragmatics
Discourse
Speech
or text
Context
Syntax
Names: One aspect
of language use
Onomastics
Meaning
Sentence
Onomastics
Onomastics (Onomatology) is the discipline of the origin of proper
personal and place names, and their history of variations.
Ethymology
• International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS)
• Onomatoscopy (divination of people qualities of people by observing
their names).
• Onomancy (foretell, by means of the person’s name, their fortune).
Some
terminology
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anthroponymy
choronym
cryptonym
chrematonym
deonym
endonym
eponym
ergonym
ethnonym
exonym
hagionym
hodonym
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hydronym
Metronym
microtoponym
nesonym
ikonym
onymy
oronym
patronym
pseudonym
theonym
toponymy
zoonym
Names
Proper
names
3 great categories
Nicknames
Onomastics
Anthroponyms
Surnames
Toponomastics
(Toponyms)
Chrematonyms
Other objects
Macrotoponyms
Microtoponyms
Brands &
comercial names
Naming systems
• Similarities and differences
• Cross-cultural
• Forms of address
• Titles
• Nicknaming
• Change of name
• Patronyms
• Etc.
“Anthroponyms comprise the history of
civilization” Tibón
• A given name is the name(s) bestowed on an individual person with the
purpose of individualizing, to separate from other people in the vicinity
• A “language universal”
• Totemic or theophoric  derived from a common noun such as: A plant , a
stone or gem, an animal, a place, an object, an event
• Name-giving obeys to somebody else’s preferences
• 4-stage process  inspiration, comparison, decision-making and narrative
• Onomastic conscience
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Fashion,
Etymology,
Meaning
Euphony-cacophony.
Normal
names
(onymy)
Inventions
Names,
surnames
with
pejorative
connotation
Outdated
names –rural,
proper to
grandparents
Names
Names with a
prominent
cultural
reference.
Toponyms
turned into
Anthroponyms
Loans from
indigenous
languages
Loans from
foreign
languages
Names
functioning
also as
surnames
Historically
• Ancient Egyptian cartouches (kings and gods)
• Before Christianization  semantically meaningful
• Roman Empire  prenomen, nomen gentilicum, cognomen
Publio Cornelius
Escipio, Africanus
• Christianization and Middle Ages  Christian church (indigenous)
• Renaissance  classical figures (Greek and Roman)
• Early modern Age  Protestants: biblical names, moral qualities
• Name transmission  heritage
• Origin of multiple given names
• 18 and 19 centuries  Enlightment, Classical, literary influence
• 20th century  cross-cultural (American names) WWI, WWII
• Present-day  variety and freedom
relatives
Combination
of name
elements
Euphonic
name
A positive
name
Negative
connoted name
to protect
against spirits
Naming
after
an event
Naming after
the Calendar
famous persons
(real or
fictional)
Family names and Surnames
• There are only 3 systems around the world
• The Arabic system
• Kunya – Aspirational / honorific name
Abu Ja’far
• Nasab – patronymic
ibn, bin; bint
• Ism – given name
Haruun
• Nisba – locative / occupational name
al Attar
• Laqab – distiguishing nickname al-Aswad, Al Mikkah
• The patronymic system
• Iceland  Svenson and Svendottir
• The binomial system
• Given name
• Family name
Surnames Typologies
• 4 types:
• Locative
• Topographic – Hill, Ford, Marsh
• Toponymic – Bufford, Blakeway, Copplestone
• Nicknames
• Occupational
• Relationship (patronymic)
• Origins
• Rome
• After 10th century England and Europe O’, Mac (pa , Q <
Mac), Son
• -Sen, -Wicz, -Ez, ibn/bin, ben, -ides, -vich/vna, etc
• a secondary name; cognomen
• Available to everyone, regardless of
status, age, ethnicity, religion, or
education.
• No restrictions to nicknaming someone.
• Ritual name giving vs. ‘nicknaming 
deviation from the standard act of giving
a name
• They refer to a person’s physical or moral
particularities and they may have critical
or humoristic functions’
• They occur in every part of social life
El calcetín (the sock)
Pelos valientes (brave hair)
By-names and nicknames
• Vox populi capture a nicknamed person’s
vulnerable point (a physical or mental
flaw).
• unofficial individual or collective personal
names replacing or complementing
official names 
• Adults vs. young people (different
systems).
Nicknames for places
• Atlacomulco – Atracomucho
• Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Neza-York
• Metepec – Metepunk
• Smellbuquerque – Santa Fake, Tamaliwood
• CdMx – Chilangolandia
• USA – Gringolandia
Hypochoristics
• ὑποκοριστικός. “caress” o “call
nicely”
• A familiar, affective way to
designate people.
Ethnonyms
• proper name of an ethnic group (a tribe, a folk, a clan etc.), or a member of
this group, e.g. Italians, Bavarians, Croat, Frenchman, Zulu.
• Ethnonyms and race  Caucasoid, Mongolian, Indians
• Ethnonyms, nationality and geographical area  German, Asian, Texan,
Londoner
• Ethnonyms and language  glossonym & ethnonym (no order) Shibolet / Barbarian
• Ethnonyms and religion  Buddhist, Muslim…
• Ethnonyms, clans and surnames  family names
• Variation  Australian/Aussie, Swiss/switzer
• Alternative ethnonyms  Ethnonicks (Apple-Islander; Blue Hen’s Chickens)
• Derogatory Ethnonyms  ethnophaulism (pejorative) Irish, Kaffir,Dutch