Mongolian name
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This article refers to personal naming customs in Mongolia. Inner Mongolian customs are similar, but do display some differences.
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[edit] Sources
Mongolian names traditionally have an important symbolic character - a name with auspicious connotations being thought to bring good fortune to its bearer. The naming of children is usually done by the parents or a respected elder of the family, or by a lama.
[edit] Common names
Nowadays most parents give Mongolian names to their children, often consisting of two nouns or adjectives, representing qualities such as solidity and strength for boys or beauty in the case of girls. Male names often include the names of elements such as "iron" or "steel", or other words denoting strength, such as "hero", "strong", or "axe": some examples are Gansükh (steel-axe), Batsaikhan (strong-nice), or Tömörbaatar (iron-hero). Women's names commonly refer to fine colours or flowers, the sun and moon, or may be made up of any other word with positive connotations using the feminine suffix "-maa" (Tib. "mother"): some common examples are Altantsetseg (golden-flower), Narantuyaa (sun-beam), Uranchimeg (artistic-decoration), Sarangerel (moon-light), Erdenetungalag (jewel-clear), and Tsetsegmaa (flower). It is possible to name a child with a name more commonly used for the opposite sex.
[edit] Names of foreign origin
Some personal names are of Tibetan origin or have come from Sanskrit via Lamaism, such as Dorjpalam, 'diamond', and Ochir and Bazar (both meaning vajra or 'thunderbolt'), while Lianhua, 'lotus', is Chinese.
[edit] Siblings
Siblings are sometimes given names with the same prefixes or suffixes, like Gan-Ochir, Gantömör etc., or names related to the same theme, like Naran (Sun), Saran (Moon), Tsolmon (Morning star).
[edit] Surnames
Mongolians do not use surnames in the way that most Westerners, Chinese or Japanese do. Since the socialist period, patronymics - then called ovog[1], now called etsgiin ner - are used instead of a surname. If the father's name is unknown, a matronymic is used. The patro- or matronymic is written before the given name. Therefore, if a man with given name Tsakhia has a son, and gives the son the name Elbegdorj, the son's full name is Tsakhia Elbegdorj. Very frequently, the patronymic is given in genitive case, i.e. Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. However, the patronymic is rather insignificant in everyday use and usually just given as initial - Ts. Elbegdorj. People are normally just referred to and adressed by their given name (Elbegdorj guai - Mr. Elbegdorj), and the patronymic is only used to keep two people with a common given name apart. Even then, they are usually just kept apart by their initials, not by the full patronymic.
Since 2000, Mongolians have been officially using clan names - ovog, the same word that had been used for the patronymics during the socialist period - on their ID cards. Many people chose the names of the ancient clans and tribes such Borjigin, Besud, Jalair, etc. Also many extended families chose the names of the native places of their ancestors. Some chose the names of their most ancient known ancestor. Some just decided to pass their own given names (or modifications of their given names) to their descendants as clan names. Some chose or other attributes of their lives as surnames. Mongolia's first cosmonaut Gürragchaa chose Sansar (Outer space). Clan names precede the patronymics and given names, as in Besud Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj. [2] In practice, these clan names seem to have had no really significant effect, and are not included in Mongolian passports either.
Inner Mongolians often only use given names. In Chinese transcriptions of Mongolian names, the first syllable is sometimes wrongly given as surname, i.e. Ulanhu becomes Wu Lanfu.
[edit] Nicknames
Sometimes names are shortened, most commonly by choosing one of the parts of the name and adding a vowel, melting it into one or adding the suffix -kaa. E.g., a woman named Delgerzayaa might be called Delger, Zayaa or Deegii, a man named Arslandorj might become Askaa, or his sister Idertuyaa could become Idree, and so might her boyfriend Iderbayar.
[edit] Significance
Many gender-neutral name components refer to auspicious qualities such as eternity or happiness: some examples are Mönkh (eternal), Erdene (jewel), Oyuun (mind), Altan (golden), Saikhan (fine), Jargal or Bayar (happiness), and Enkh (peace). Tibetan and Sanskrit names of planets (such as Angarag -- meaning "Mars") are also commonly used in giving names, as are the names of Buddhist saints or sacred symbols.
There is also a tradition of giving names with unpleasant qualities to children born to a couple whose previous children have died, in the belief that the unpleasant name will mislead evil spirits seeking to steal the child. Muunokhoi, "Vicious Dog", may seem a strange name, but Mongolians have traditionally been given such taboo names to avoid misfortune and confuse evil spirits. Other examples include Nekhii, "Sheepskin"; Nergüi, "No Name"; Medekhgüi, "I Don't Know"; Khünbish, "Not A Human Being"; Khenbish, "Nobody"; Ogtbish, "Not At All"; Enebish, "Not This One"; Terbish, "Not That One." Couples, whose previous boys have died, would give female names to their son to mislead the evil spirits. In some cases, they were even advised to raise the boy as a girl, dressing him as a girl.
[edit] History
[edit] Customs under communism
In the 20th century, when Mongolia effectively functioned as a Soviet satellite, Mongols have sometimes been given Russian names like Alexander or Sasha, or mixed ones like Ivaanjav; also from Russian, Yolk, 'little fir tree', seems a bit strange. Politically correct parents may have chosen Oktyabr (October), Seseer (USSR), and even Molotov as names for their offspring, although the strangest of all is perhaps Melscho, composed of the first letters of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Choibalsan.
[edit] Modern names
Modern Mongolian names for men often denote masculine qualities; such as Bat, 'strong', Bold, 'steel', Chuluun, 'stone' or Sükh, 'axe'. Women may be named after flowers, like Narantsetseg, 'sunflower' or Hongorzul, 'thistle', or qualities like Oyuun, 'wisdom'. It seems that traditional (Buddhist) names may now be fashionable, as well as the names of great Mongolian rulers of old like "Khubilai" or "Chingis".
[edit] References
- ^ The traditional meaning of ovog is actually related to clans, not patronymics.
- ^ [http://www.mongoleiservice.de/mongolei__gesellschaft/mongolei__gesellschaft.html Hans Peter Vietze: Mongolische Namen (in German)
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