Kazakh first names and changing naming practices

Abstract

Personal names are not just labels put on individuals, they are symbols that reflect the cultural andhistorical context and location, denote gender, class, ethnicity, and religion. Names and their displayhave a potent effect on people’sjudgments and life as well. Authors see proper names as located atbetween the world of our thoughts, beliefs and desires andthe world of our actions, institutions, and practice. Thus the study of changing first names is a way to explore social processes in urban Kazakhstan.The aim of this study is to track changes in naming practices of ethnic Kazakhs, both Kazakh-speakingand Russian-speaking, residing in Almaty. This paper include a wide review of the literature as Kazakhstani and foreign authors regarding naming traditions, changing realities in anthroponyms and theirmeaning. Paper draws upon more than 1,700 personal names collected from three generations of 61participants (students of local universities) currently residing in Almaty. Quantitative and qualitativeanalysis of the data shows the main factors that have influenced the traditional practice of naming inKazakh culture were identified. The study revealed that there is a distinct change in the choice of namesacross generations. The names became shorter, there are fewer names containing specific name suffixes(e.g., -bai, - bek, - gali/qali, -geldi/keldi, -myrza etc.) and specific Kazakh sounds, more female namesare explicitly marked for gender, etc. There are also differences in naming practices between Kazakhand Russian-speakers as well as differences in male and female name preferences. Analysis of changingnaming practices reveal current social processes of social distinction and uncover symbolic ethnicity,class, gender, religion-based cultural boundaries in Kazakhstan. The study demonstrates that examiningnames as cultural indicators and indicators of social change could be a fruitful line of inquiry for studyingsocio-cultural change.