Mongolian name
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Mongolian names have undergone a number of changes in the history of Mongolia, both with regard to their meaning and their source languages. In Inner Mongolia, naming customs are now similar to Mongolia but with some differences.
Historical evolution
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 was usually done by the parents or a respected elder of the family or religious figures. For example, it is said that in the 13th century, the prominent shaman, Teb-tengeri, saw in the stars a great future for Tolui's eldest son and bestowed on the child the name Möngke (meaning "eternal" in the Mongolian language).[1]
Nowadays most parents give Mongolian names to their children, often in the form of compounds consisting of two nouns or adjectives, representing qualities such as solidity and strength for boys or beauty in the case of girls.
Generally, the Mongols, distinct from other cultures in East Asia, have only one personal name, which remains the same throughout their lives. While clan organization remained important among the Mongols into the 17th century, clan names were not linked with the personal name in a family name system.[2] Clan name is still important among the Buryats and to a lesser extent among Kalmyks today. While the personal name of the living ruler was not originally tabooed, as in China, the names of deceased rulers were tabooed for several generations. In the past this prohibition was even stronger. In Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, the Mongols also use clan names.
Middle Ages
The most common category of Mongol names were those of auspicious or (for boys) manly things, such as gold (
Such names were often combined with suffixes used only for personal names, such as -dai, -ge/gei, and -der for boys and -jin, -tani, and -lun for girls. However,
Other names were based on either conquests or clan names. For example,
One finds a number of degrading or inauspicious names during the 13–14th centuries such as
Turkic names were common among Mongols (such as Oghul-qaimish, Abishqa, Qutlugh and so on). However, names of other foreign origin were introduced when the Mongol Empire expanded all over Eurasia, increasing international trade and cultural connections and also partly due to religious dignity.
Some Mongols had
From the mid-13th century
After the expulsion of the Mongol regime from China, the Sanskrit names in the imperial family soon disappeared. Christian names appeared occasionally before disappearing (
Late Middle Ages and early modern period
With the beginning of the new wave of Buddhism in 1575, however, Buddhist and Tibetan names were reintroduced into Mongolia. By 1700 the vast majority of Mongols had Buddhist names, usually Tibetan, but also sometimes Sanskrit or from Mongolian Buddhist terminology. A number of Mongolian-language names survived, particularly with more pacific elements designating peace (Engke, Amur), happiness (Jirgal), long life (Nasu), and blessing (Öljei, Kesig).
Buddhist names were granted according to several different principles. The most common for laymen are based on the Tibetan or Sanskrit names of powerful deities: Damdin/Damrin (
A distinctive type of Mongolian name that flourished in this period and is still common in the countryside is the avoidance name, designed to avert misfortune from the child: Nergüi "No Name", Enebish "Not This", Terbish "Not That".
Modern
Mongolia
In the 20th century, when Mongolia had close ties to the Soviet Union, Mongols were sometimes given Russian names like Alexander or Sasha, or mixed ones like Ivaanjav consisting of the Russian Ivan and the Tibetan -jav. Politically active parents may have chosen Oktyabr (October), Seseer (SSR), Mart (March) and even Molotov as names for their offspring. One such example is Melschoi, composed of the first letters of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Choibalsan.
Today male names still include the names of old Mongolian elements such as 'iron' or 'steel', or other words denoting strength, such as 'hero', 'strong', or 'ax': some examples are Gansükh 'steel-ax', Batsaikhan 'strong-nice', or Tömörbaatar 'iron-hero', Chuluunbold 'stone-steel'. Temujin, Borte, Yisu and other old names are commonly given to newborn children after 1990.
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'.
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' and Enkh 'peace'. Many names include the names of places, including mountains, rivers etc., e.g. Altai or Tuul.
Mongolians do not use surnames in the way that most Westerners, Chinese or Japanese do. Since the socialist period, patronymics — at that time called ovog,[note 1] now known as etsgiin ner — are used instead of a surname. If the father's name is not legally established (i.e., by marriage) or altogether 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, as it appears in passports and the like, is Tsakhia Elbegdorj. Very frequently, as in texts and speech, the patronymic is given in
The basic differences between Mongolian and European names, in connection with trying to fit Mongolian names into foreign schemata, frequently lead to confusion. For example, Otryadyn Gündegmaa, a Mongolian shooter, is often incorrectly referred to as Otryad, i.e. by the (given) name of her father.
Since 2000, Mongolians have been officially using
Inner Mongolia
In Inner Mongolia, Chinese names are quite common, as are Mongolian names. Mongolian names of Tibetan origin are usually restricted to people in their 50s and older. Because China does not recognize Mongolian clan names, Mongols in China who have acquired their passports since 2001 have "XXX" printed in place of their surnames, while before not only "XXX" but also a syllable from an individual's given name or the first syllable of the patronymic was used in place of the Chinese surname. Also, for some individuals, "XXX" is printed in the slot for the given name, while the given name is printed in the slot for the surname.
Some Mongolians in China do have surnames because their parents are
Officially, Mongolian names in China are transcribed with the
Sometimes in such
Siblings
Siblings are sometimes given names containing similar morphemes, like Gan-Ochir, Gantömör etc., or names related to the same theme, like Naran ('Sun'), Saran ('Moon'), Tsolmon ('Morning star').
Taboo names
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, and vice versa. Synchronically, taboo meaning may be stronger or obliterated: Nergüi, for example, is very common and does not immediately raise any association, while Khünbish might semantically be perceived as khün bish (cf. the same phenomenon in German with the unremarkable Burkhart (lit. 'castle-strong')[10] versus the unusual Fürchtegott ('fear-God')).[11]
Nicknames
When addressing a familiar person, 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 -ka. E.g., a woman named Delgerzayaa might be called Delgree, Zayaa or Deegii, a man named Arslandorj might become Askaa, or his sister Idertuyaa could become Idree, and so might her boyfriend Iderbayar.
Name structure
In the Middle Ages, there were no patronymics, but clan names were sometimes used in a particular morphological form.
List of common names
In Mongolia, as of 2012, the 20 most common names were:[12]
Name | Transliteration | translation | male/female | occurrence |
---|---|---|---|---|
Бат-Эрдэнэ | Bat-Erdene | Firm jewel | m | 13,473 |
Отгонбаяр | Otgonbayar | Budding/youngest happiness | m | 11,083 |
Алтанцэцэг | Altantsetseg | Golden flower | f | 10,967 |
Оюунчимэг | Oyuunchimeg | Decoration [consisting of a notable] mind | f | 10,580 |
Батбаяр | Batbayar | Unyielding happiness | m | 10,570 |
Болормаа | Bolormaa | Crystal lady | f | 10,282 |
Энхтуяа | Enkhtuya | Ray of peace | f | 9,721 |
Лхагвасүрэн | Lkhagvasüren | Great Healer | m | 9,334 |
Гантулга | Gantulga | Steel hearth | m | 9,268 |
Эрдэнэчимэг | Erdenechimeg | Jewel decoration | f | 9,232 |
Ганболд | Ganbold | Steel-steel | m | 9,118 |
Нэргүй | Nergüi | Nameless | m | 8,874 |
Энхжаргал | Enkhjargal | Peaceful happiness | f | 8,843 |
Ганзориг | Ganzorig | Courage of steel | m | 8,760 |
Наранцэцэг | Narantsetseg | Sun flower | f | 8,754 |
Ганбаатар | Ganbaatar | Steel hero | m | 8,651 |
Мөнхцэцэг | Mönkhtsetseg | Eternal flower | f | 8,613 |
Мөнхбат | Mönkhbat | Eternal firmity | m | 8,612 |
Батжаргал | Batjargal | Firm happiness | m | 8,570 |
Мөнх-Эрдэнэ | Mönkh-Erdene | Eternal jewel | m | 8,467 |
Notes
- ^ The traditional meaning of ovog is related to clans, not patronymics.
References
Citations
- ^ Yuanshi, p.124
- ^ Atwood 2004: 398
- ^ Pelliot 1959–1963: II, 866–867.
- ^ electricpulp.com. "ABAQA – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ Vásáry, p.71
- ^ Jackson 2005: 315
- ^ electricpulp.com. "ABŪ SAʿĪD BAHĀDOR KHAN – Encyclopaedia Iranica". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
- ^ Aisin Gioro & Jin 2007: 143
- ^ Vietze, Hans Peter. "Mongolische Personennamen" (in German). Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ "Burkhart". Onomastik (in German). Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ "Fürchtegott". Vornamen von A–Z (in German). Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ Бат-Эрдэнэ нэртэн 13473 байна, retrieved 2018-09-09
Sources
- Atwood, Christopher P. 2004. Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York, NY: Facts on File.
- Aisin Gioro, Ulhicun; Jin, Shi (2007), "Manchuria from the Fall of the Yuan to the Rise of the Manchu State (1368–1636)" (PDF), Ritsumeikan Bungaku, pp. 12–34
- Jackson, Peter. 2005. The Mongols and the West. Harlow: Pearson Longman.
- Pelliot, Paul. 1959-1963 (posthumous). Notes on Marco Polo. Paris: Imprimerie nationale, librairie Adrien-Maisonneuve. Vols. I-III.
Further reading
- Bürinbilig, Č. Sarana. 2003. Monggγul kümün-ü ner-e-yin delgeremel kögǰil-ün aǰiġlalta ("Observations on the development of Mongolian personal names"). In: Mongγul kele utq-a ǰokiyal 2003/4: 75–78.
- Manduqu. 2005. Monggγul kelen-ü obuγ ner-e-yin učir ("On Mongolian names"). In: Öbür mongγul-un ündüsüten-ü yeke surγaγuli 2005/2: 2-14.
- Монгол бичгийн нэрийн толь, name dictionary in both Cyrillic and traditional Mongolian script (containing more than 28000 names)
- Rybatzki, Volker. 2006. Die Personennamen und Titel der mittelmongolischen Dokumente - Eine lexikalische Untersuchung Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Helsinki: University of Helsinki.
- Serjee, Jambaldorjiin. 2010. Orchin cagiin Mongol helnii onooson neriin sudalgaa ("A study of given names in contemporary Mongolian"). Ulaanbaatar: Bembi San.
- Taube, Manfred. 1995. Mongolische Namen. In: Namenforschung: ein internationales Handbuch zur Onomastik, 1. Teilband. Berlin: de Gruyter: 916–918.