Rufnamen kontrastiv: Ein deutsch-georgischer Vergleich
German and Georgian First Names in Contrast

Summary/Abstract: This socio-linguistic and cultural-linguistic article deals with naming fashions and naming strategies in a German-Georgian comparison. It is based on a study conducted simultaneously in Germany and Georgia in 2016 with more than 1.000 study participants, in which the motives behind the choice of names were surveyed. The article focuses on the assignment of names in both countries and examines naming motives and individualization tendencies in a contrastive way. The following hypotheses are reviewed in this paper: (1) There are culture-specific differences in the choice of given names between Germany and Georgia, which are reflected in different naming motives. (2) In Germany, the rate of individualization is higher than in Georgia. (3) In both Germany and Georgia, class-specific naming leads to the perception of names as particularly negative or positive. Current research on trends in given names often focuses on the linguistic subfields that influence the main motives for choosing names. For example, phonetic structure analyses provide insights into how euphony is created, and which sounds or sound combinations are perceived as particularly euphonic. These studies take a particular look at the role of gender. However, individualization tendencies also have an influence on the repertoire of first names and affect the variants of individual first names. The present study follows up on these research questions but extends them from a contrastive point of view. Based on the comparative survey, information is to be gained about which motives are in the foreground in the choice of first names in both countries and about the tendencies to give children a particularly individual name. The perception of names with particularly positive or negative connotations will also be contrasted.

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