Abstract

This study aims to analyze family names in Jordan and the USA from a sociolinguistic perspective. The examination is based on a sample of 1000 family names: 500 Jordanian family names (JFN) and 500 American family names (AFN). As for Jordan, the sample was randomly selected from Al-Rawabdeh's (2010) Lexicon of Jordanian Clans, while in the case of the USA, the sample was randomly drawn from the list published at https://gist.github.com of the 1000 most common family names in the USA. The study's findings show that (41.6 %) of family names in Jordan and (54.4 %) in the USA do not reflect any aspect of human life. However, (58.4%) of family names in Jordan and (45.6%) of family names in the USA are found to reflect various aspects of human life. These aspects are reflected in nine categories: social traits, animals, occupations and professions, physical features, plants, geographical areas, natural and timing phenomena, tools and instruments, and financial conditions. The overall findings of this study reveal that although family names in Jordan and the USA are different, they generally tend to reflect the social-cultural and natural contexts in which these names have emerged and maintained.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.