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March 2006
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This guide has been produced by the United Kingdom to aid with difficulties that are
commonly encountered with names from around the globe. Interpol believes that member
countries may find this guide useful when dealing with names from unfamiliar countries or
regions. Interpol is keen to provide feedback to the authors and at the same time develop
this guidance further for Interpol member countries to work towards standardisation for
translation, data transmission and data entry.
The General Secretariat encourages all member countries to take advantage of this
document and provide feedback and, if necessary, updates or corrections in order to
have the most up to date and accurate document possible.
A GUIDE TO NAMES AND NAMING PRACTICES
- Names are a valuable source of information. They can indicate gender, marital status, birthplace, nationality, ethnicity, religion, and position within a family or even within a society. However, naming practices vary enormously across the globe. The aim of this guide is to identify the knowledge that can be gained from names about their holders and to help overcome difficulties that are commonly encountered with names of foreign origin.
- The sections of the guide are governed by nationality and/or ethnicity, depending on the influencing factor upon the naming practice, such as religion, language or geography. Inevitably, this guide is not exhaustive and any feedback or suggestions for additional sections will be welcomed.
How to use this guide
- Each section offers structured guidance on the following:
a. typical components of a name:
e.g. personal name + family name
b. familial relationships, i.e. how marriage affects names and how children are named;
c. common titles used as forms of address;
d. unique characteristics of the naming customs for a particular nationality or ethnicity;
e. any common variations in spelling names in English.
- The Common Names Guide (Annex A) and the Common Origins of Family Name Endings (Annex B) both act as initial indicators of a name’s possible origins and link to the relevant section of the guide.
- Links and crossovers in the guide are referenced and hyperlinked (indicated by underlined blue text in the electronic version) for ease of use.
Explanation of terms
- The terms used in this guide include:
a. personal name ; middle name ; family name (given in upper-case);
b. father’s personal name : as a component of a child’s full name;
c. patronymic : name derived from personal name of father;
d. grandfather’s personal name : as a component of a grandchild’s full name;
e. (honorific) title : a name or title given to, or used by, a person as a mark of status or respect;
f. religious name : a name or title given to, or used by, a person according to the tradition of the person’s religion.
- Nigerian: a. Yoruba 6- AFRICA
- b. Igbo (Ibo)
- c. Hausa 7-
- Somali 9-
- Bulgarian 11- EUROPE
- Czech & Slovak
- Greek 14-
- Hungarian
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Polish 19-
- Portuguese 21-
- Romanian
- Russian 24-
- Spanish 26-
- Turkish 28-
- Ukrainian
- Western Balkans: a. Albanian
- b. Bosnian, Serbian & Croatian 31-
- c. Macedonian 32-
- d. Slovenian
- Arab Muslim 34- MIDDLE EAST
- Iranian 38-
- Iraqi a. Iraqi Arab
- Brazilian SOUTH AMERICA
- Colombian
- Afghan: a. Dari SOUTHERN ASIA
- Bangladeshi-Muslim
- Indian: a. Northern Indian i. Hindu 45-
- b. Southern Indian
- c. Muslim
- Pakistani-Muslim 49-
- Sri Lankan: a. Sinhalese 53-
- Chinese a. Mainland 57- SOUTH EASTERN & EASTERN ASIA
- Korean 63-
- Thai
- Vietnamese 67-
- A. Common Names Guide 69- ANNEXES
- B. Common Origins of Family Name Endings 88-
1. NIGERIAN
1.1 Nigeria has hundreds of different ethnic groups, with many unique naming practices. Three of the most prominent of these groups are Yoruba , Igbo/Ibo and Hausa.
a. YORUBA – South Western regions
personal name(s) + family name
e.g. Oluwole RANSOME-KUTI
1.3 Yoruba personal names are chosen for their meaning and may give more information about their holders (see 1.7).
1.4 Many Yoruba names are compound words, with the following elements frequently occurring in some part of the name:
ade, ayo, fe, ife, ire, oba, omo, ola, olu , oluwa
e.g. Olatunde.
Familial relationships
1.5 Women typically take their husband’s family name upon marriage.
1.6 Children traditionally take their father’s family name.
1.7 In Yoruba culture, personal names often reflect the circumstances under which a child was born:
a. Sunday : some children are named after the day of the week on which they were born (in English), particularly used for children born on a Sunday;
b. Taiwo : ‘pre-tasted the world’ , given to the first of a set of twins;
c. Kehinde : ‘the one who lagged behind’ , given to the second of a set of twins;
d. Idowu : this is given to the child born after a set of twins;
e. Alaba : this is given to the child born after Idowu ;
f. Tokunbo : this is given to a child born outside of Nigeria.
Unique Characteristics
1.8 The following naming practices should also be noted:
a. long Yoruba names are often abbreviated:
e.g. ‘Wole for Oluwole , ‘Tai for Taiwo ;
b. some Yoruba names are not gender specific, e.g. Kehinde ;
1.13 Hausa names are heavily influenced by Islam, e.g. the personal name Ahmad , and many compound personal names begin with Abdul ( ‘servant of’ ) followed by one of the attributes of Allah, e.g. AbdulRahman, Abdulsalam, Abdulmalik, Abdulaziz.
1.14 Family names can be compound, e.g. BABBA-INNA.
1.15 Some family names come from names of local communities, e.g. KANO, SOKOTO , to show clan affiliation.
Titles
1.16 Hausa names can include the title Al-Hajj(i) / Hajj(i) to indicate that the person has undergone the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
Unique characteristics
1.17 The following naming practices should also be noted:
a. see Variations in Arab Muslim (17.15) for variations in the transliteration, and therefore spelling, of Muslim names, e.g. Muhammad , Mohammed.
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
2. SOMALI
personal name + father’s personal name + paternal grandfather’s personal name
e.g. Omar Elmi Dihoud (no family name)
2.2 In order to identify a given Somali, all three names must be used, although Somalis traditionally use only the first and second names to address someone.
Familial relationships
2.3 Women do not traditionally change their names upon marrying; they keep their original names from their father and grandfather.
2.4 A typical Somali family may therefore be named as follows:
e.g. (father) Omar Elmi Dihoud (mother) Waris Abdi Duale (son) Ali Omar Elmi (daughter) Roda Omar Elmi
2.5 In Western societies, women may adopt their husband’s last name (that of his paternal grandfather) to adapt to local customs:
e.g. the wife of Omar Elmi Dihoud may be known as Waris Abdi Dihoud.
2.6 There is a custom of naming first children Faduma in the case of girls and Muhammad for boys. Male twins are traditionally named Hassan and Hussein.
Titles
2.7 Titles such as Mr. and Mrs. do not exist in the Somali language.
Unique Characteristics
2.8 The following naming practices should also be noted:
a. Somalis commonly use nicknames ( ‘naanays’ ), as many Somalis have similar names. As there no distinct family names, all names come from the same ‘pool’ of personal names. There are generally two types of nicknames:
i. overt : those used to address the person so named, e.g. Raage ( ‘he who is delayed at birth’ ) and Gaal ( ‘foreigner–one who has lived abroad’ );
ii. covert : those used in conversation about a person, but rarely face-to- face, e.g. Laba sacle ( ‘man with only two cows’ ) and Wiil Waal ( ‘crazy boy’ );
b. Somali personal names are typically of Cushitic or Arabic origin. The letter h is often exchanged for x in names, e.g. Mohammad / Maxammed.
c. common Somali Cushitic personal names include:
3. BULGARIAN
personal name(s) + patronymic + family name
e.g. Emil Petrov CHRISTOV
3.2 Bulgarian family names often have the following endings, with an -A ending for feminine use: Male Female -OV -OVA -EV -EVA -SKI / -SKY -SKA -IN -INA
3.3 A patronymic is used, derived from the father’s personal name. The endings for patronymics are the same as the above for family names:
e.g. Emil Petrov CHRISTOV ’s father would have been Petr. The –ov ending forms the patronymic.
3.4 Some children are given their grandfather’s name as a surname in place of the family name, meaning that the family name is lost. As a first born son is often named after his grandfather, this can lead to a person having a personal and family name derived from the same name: e.g. Stefan Georgiev STEFANOV (with his grandfather Stefan ’s personal name as a personal name and turned into a surname);
e.g. Stefan Georgiev STEFANOV ’s son will then be called Georgi Stefanov GEORGIEV (named after his grandfather and with his grandfather’s personal name as a surname).
3.5 Bulgarians often drop their family name and use the patronymic as a surname:
e.g. Stefan Georgiev STEFANOV may be known as Stefan Georgiev.
N.B. The patronymic is not always written so it is also possible that the name ‘Stefan Georgiev’ is Stefan GEORGIEV , with Georgiev as the family name and no patronymic written.
Familial relationships
3.6 Wives typically take their husband’s family name, with the feminine ending, although many continue to use their maiden name:
e.g. Emil Petrov CHRISTOV ’s wife may be Iva Stefanova CHRISTOVA.
3.7 If a patronymic is used as a surname by the husband, wives can also use this name, with a feminine ending, as a surname:
e.g. Stefan Georgiev ’s wife may be known as Nevena Georgieva (husband’s patronymic).
3.8 In Western societies, women may keep the same ending as their husband on the surname: e.g. Nevena Georgiev or Iva Stefanova CHRISTOV.
Titles
3.9 The following titles are used with family names:
Mr Gospodin Mrs Gospozha Miss Gospozhitza
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
5. GREEK
personal name(s) + patronymic + family name
e.g. a son whose father’s name was Georgios might be called Spyros Georgiou KYPRIANOS.
5.2 Some family names have a masculine and feminine form:
e.g. (m ) KYPRIANOS , (f) KYPRIANOU.
N.B. Some Greek men may have a feminine ending on their family name, i.e. –OU ( e.g. due to adoption of their mother’s family name).
5.3 Traditionally, a patronymic is used as a middle name, derived from the father’s personal name, usually with the ending –ou , meaning ‘of ’, i.e. Spyros Georgiou means ‘Spyros (the son) of Georgios’. This can help to distinguish between family members with the same personal name and family name. The patronymic can often be given as an initial:
e.g. Spyros P. KYPRIANOS.
5.4 A person may also have a second personal name (a middle name):
e.g. Spyros Constantinos Georgiou KYPRIANOS.
Familial relationships
5.5 Wives and children typically take their husband’s family name.
5.6 Wives and daughters will typically take the female form of the male name, e.g. the wife of Mr MARCOS will be Mrs MARCOU. However, some modern Greek women take the family name in the same form as their husband/father, i.e. Mrs MARCOS.
5.7 A wife also traditionally takes her husband’s personal name (with the patronymic ending) in place of the patronymic in her name:
e.g. if Ekaterini Nikou MARCOU married Spyros Georgiou KYPRIANOS , she would be known as Ekaterini Spyrou ( husband’s personal name ) KYPRIANOU.
5.8 In Greek tradition, the first son is named after his paternal grandfather and the first daughter is given the maternal grandmother’s personal name:
e.g. Spyros Georgiou KYPRIANOS ’s grandfather may be named Spyros.
Titles
5.9 The following titles may be used with family names:
Mr Kyrios Mrs Kyria Miss Despinis / Despinida
Unique Characteristics
5.10 The following naming practices should also be noted:
a. Greek family names can often be abbreviated. The name PAPPAS is a good example of this. PAPPAS can be a family name in itself; however, it is often used as an abbreviation of a longer name such as PAPACHRISTODOULOPOULOS ;
b. lengthy personal names are also often abbreviated:
e.g. Athanasios to Thanasis / Thanos Dimitrios to Takis / Dimos Constantinos to Costas / Dinos Ekaterini to Katrina / Katia
c. Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriot names typically follow the same practices as Greek names.
Variations
5.11 Variations in the spelling of Greek names often occur in English rendering of Greek letters. Common variations include: D ↔ TH PH ↔ F Y ↔ GI B ↔ V MB ↔ MP ↔ B K ↔ C U ↔ I ↔ Y KH ↔ CH U ↔ OU NT ↔ D
P ↔ R (from a transcription error)
e.g. Yannis ↔ Giannis
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
7. LATVIAN
personal name(s) + family name
e.g. Janis KALNINŠ
7.2 There are normally different endings to family names for men and women:
e.g. (m ) KALNINŠ , (f ) KALNINA.
7.3 Male Latvian personal and family names typically end in -s (-š). Some may be derived from Russian names, with an -s ending:
e.g. Vladislavs KAZANOVS.
7.4 Female Latvian personal and family names typically end in -a or -e.
e.g. Jelena GALANTE.
Familial relationships
7.5 Married women typically take their husband’s family name with the feminine ending:
e.g. the wife of Janis KALNINŠ would be Ilga KALNINA.
7.6 Some Latvian women in Western societies will not change the ending of their family name to a feminine form:
e.g. Ilga KALNINŠ rather than Ilga KALNINA.
Titles
7.7 The following are titles used with the family name:
Mr Kungs Mrs Kundze Miss Jaunkundze
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
8. LITHUANIAN
personal name(s) + family name
e.g. Eduardas MIEZELAITIS
8.2 Common Lithuanian endings for male family names are diminutive forms (ending in -S ) such as:
-AITIS , -UTIS, -YTIS , - ENAS , -UNAS , -INIS , -YNIS , -ONIS , - IUS , -ELIS
8.3 There are differences between male family names and those of married and unmarried women:
a. the family names of married women are formed by dropping the ending of the male family name and adding the suffix -IENE. The suffix - IENE therefore denotes a married woman;
b. the family names of unmarried women are formed by adding the suffixes -AITE, -YTE, -UTE, -TE ;
e.g. Male Married woman Unmarried woman KATILIUS KATILIENE KATILIUTE
VARNAS VARNIENE VARNAITE
ZUJUS ZUJIENE / ZUJUVIENE ZUJUTE
8.4 Lithuanian male personal names typically end in –s :
e.g. Eduardas , Egidijus.
Familial relationships
8.5 Married women typically take their husband’s family name, with the endings for married women (8.3.a).
8.6 A child’s family name is traditionally inherited from the father.
Titles
8.7 The following titles are used with Lithuanian names:
Mr Ponas Mrs Poni Miss Panele
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
b. Polish has two versions of the letter ‘ L/l’ , namely ‘ L/l’ and ‘ Ł/ł’. The latter is often replaced by the standard English ‘ L/l’ , but can also be confused with the letter ‘ T / t ’:
e.g. MICHATOWSKI could be mistakenly written for MICHAŁOWSKI.
- Link to Common Names Guide
- Return to Contents
10. PORTUGUESE
(also for 20. Brazilian)
personal name(s) + mother’s paternal family name(s) +father’s paternal family name(s)
e.g. Luiz João PAZOS SILVA
10.2 Portuguese often have two personal names, although the first may at times be used on its own: e.g. Luiz João may be known as Luiz.
Family names
10.3 The family name from the father will often be used alone, but the mother’s family name will rarely be used in isolation:
e.g. Luiz João PAZOS SILVA may be known as Luiz João SILVA , but very rarely as Luiz João PAZOS.
10.4 Family names can be written separately or joined by ‘e’ (‘and’) :
e.g. Joana Filipa SANTOS CUNHA / Joana Filipa SANTOS E CUNHA.
10.5 A Portuguese family name can have more than one word, e.g. SANTA RITA ( ‘Saint Margaret’ ). It is also common to use ‘do’ , ‘dos’ and ‘da’ (meaning ‘of the’ ) as part of the family name, e.g. DOS SANTOS or DA SILVA.
10.6 The same rules apply in Brazil , however it is now common for a Brazilian to have only one family name, the father’s paternal family name.
Portuguese / Spanish
10.7 Many Portuguese family names end in -ES , e.g. LOPES , and, where applicable, personal names usually end in -z , rather than -s , e.g. Luiz. This is the reverse of names in Spanish, which have family name endings of -EZ and personal names with -s :
e.g. Luis GONZALEZ would be Spanish and Luiz GONZALES would be Portuguese.
10.8. Portuguese family name ordering is the reverse of that in Spanish names (see 13 ).
Familial relationships
10.9 Upon marriage, women from Portuguese cultures have different options, although almost always keep their maiden names:
e.g. if Ana Marίa GONCALVES GORGUIERA married Luiz PAZOS SILVA she might be known as:
a. Ana Marίa GONCALVES GORGUIERA : keeping her maiden names;
b. Ana Marίa GONCALVES GORGUEIRA SILVA : adding her husband’s paternal family name to her own. A woman may add both her husband’s
