First name choices in Zagreb and Sofia

Kirjan kuvaus

This study explores reasons for first name choice for children using a survey carried out in two places: Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The outcomes of the analysis are twofold: reasons for name choice in the two communities are explored, and the application of survey methods to studies of name choice is discussed. The theoretical framework of the study is socio-onomastic, or more precisely socio-anthroponomastic, and the work explores boundaries of social intuition. It is argued that parents social intuition based on rules and norms for name choice in their communities that they may not even be consciously aware of guides them in choices related to namegiving.