Name-giving motives in Lithuania and Brazil

Abstract

TThis research aims at analysing and comparing the motives for choosing the first name of a child in Lithuania and Brazil in the years 1958-2016. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods and applying social and cultural approaches, it reveals that different countries and cultures have both similar and divergent trends in name-giving practices. The most remarkable similarity in both countries and cultures is both the predominance of an aesthetic motiveand the desire to honour a relative, a friend, or a famous person. These trends are presumably related to universal aspects of naming practices. The aesthetic motiveis related to processes of cultural globalization, while the honour-oriented motivepoints to the significance of traditional naming patterns. The greatest difference between Lithuanian and Brazilian data is in the frequency of name choices due to patriotism, religion, name uniqueness or naming a child after a fictional character. Such divergent results are explained by different social values in each society and different cultural and historical experiences. In addition, the research proves that the first names do have meaning; however, it is not purely conceptual or lexical, as they rather bear individual connotations.