Frekwencja i geografia imion najrzadziej nadawanych w Polsce w latach 1995–2010

• Authors: Barbara Czopek-Kopciuch

Title variants

EN

THE FREQUENCY AND GEOGRAPHY OF NAMES MOST RARELY GIVEN IN POLAND DURING THE YEARS 1995–2010

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

First names in the range 5–10, given in the years 1995–2010, are, as a matter of fact, rare names. In general, the specific names are given once or twice in individual years. The geographic distribution also shows that concentrations of the names being studied are not observed in any region. Only Mazowieckie voivodeship shows names from this range being given a large number of times. It appears that parents from central and southwestern Poland are more prone to give their children rare names than is true in the eastern and northern regions of the country. Among rare feminine names, particularly popular types of names cannot be distinguished. Names chosen for boys, on the other hand, show that there are fewer “exotic” names among them, but more “old-fashioned” names, old Polish or mythological. Also, diminutive names are used to function as official names more often than for girls. If one compares the geographical distribution of diminutive names of girls and boys, it is evident that the tastes of parents choosing these names overlap regardless of gender: most often chosen in Mazowieckie and Śląskie voivodeships, least often (or not at all) in Świętokrzyskie and Podlaskie voivodeships. Conventional names, both for girls and for boys, are most willingly chosen in Śląskie voivodeship, but are not popular in Świętokrzyskie. Full old Polish names (male and female) are most noted in Mazowieckie and Małopolskie voivodeships; but however prone parents within Dolnośląskie voivodeships are to give boys such names, they are not popular among girls. For both feminine and masculine groups of names, a large number of variations are observed, phonetic, graphic, and from other languages. Also striking is the large number of names incorrectly spelled. If one compares the names being studied with earlier lists, it is quite clear that a large group of names appears only in 1995, or at most, during the years 1990–1994. Other names, after years of “oblivion,” begin to be used for nomination once more, while others lose popularity. Why this happens is difficult to say. Certainly globalization plays a significant role, finding expression in a larger and larger share of names in Anglo-American linguistic versions, as well as modeling after diminutives given as official names in that cultural domain.

Keywords

EN

ANTHROPONYMY; GIVEN NAMES; FREQUENCY; GEOGRAPHY

• Publisher: Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
• Journal: Onomastica
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 57
• Pages: 71–93

Contributors

author

Barbara Czopek-Kopciuch

• Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN, al. Mickiewicza 31, 31-120 Kraków, Poland