EN
In a common verbal communication occurring between member ś community non – official names are used along official ones. Surnames or family nicknames belong among secondary names and they are used together with first names. Surnames were often substituted by nicknames or they were connected with them. They had a stable position in traditional rural community. This was the case of observed locality of Horné Považie – Terchová. Nicknames had an important role for identification and differentiation of people with the same surname. They were and still are inseparable part of collective memory, they are a natural inter – generation bound. Their origin emerged from the practical need and they became an important part of Slovak folklore.