Naming Patterns of Recent Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union to Israel

Edwin D Lawson,Irina Glushkovskaya

doi:10.1179/nam.1994.42.3.157

Abstract

AbstractTo identify patterns of first names over three generations, two samples of 100 Jewish families from the former Soviet Union were interviewed. The first sample came mainly from Ukraine and European Russia; the second from Uzbekistan and Tadzhikistan. Both samples show that the traditional pattern of naming a child after a deceased relative remains strong although it is declining somewhat. Immigrants from European Russia tend to use a Russian name identified by the family and/or the Jewish community with a Hebrew name while those from Central Asia tend to use a Russian (or Farsi) name but one not identified with a Jewish name or a deceased relative.

Highlights

The recent migration of approximately 250,000 Jews to Israel from the former Soviet Union provides an unusual opportunity to study the first-naming practices of peoples and cultures that have not previously been examined in detail
For convenience we will refer to Sample 1, which is 78% from Ukraine, Russia, and Byelorus, as "European Russia" and Sample 2, which is 87% from Uzbekistan, Tadzhikistan, and Kazakhstan, as "Central Asia."
A questionnaire was prepared to gather for each family member information on first names, the reason(s) for selecting the names, the language of their origin and derivation, their meaning, the family name, its origin and meaning, nickname(s) if any, the language(s) spoken at home, the year of birth, previous community in Russia, occupation, religion, level of religious observance, and whether or not there had been any change of name

Summary

Introduction

The recent migration of approximately 250,000 Jews to Israel from the former Soviet Union provides an unusual opportunity to study the first-naming practices of peoples and cultures that have not previously been examined in detail. Traditional Jewish naming practices in the Ashkenazi tradition require that a child be named after a deceased relative of either sex. This practice is not followed by Sefardic Jews, who frequently name a child after a living relative, often a father or a grandfather. Cultural traditions - for Jews and non-Jews alike - were shaken by the Russian Revolution. Changes in naming patterns over time, 3.

Methods

Results

Conclusion