First Names in a Social Context

Abstract

In this paper, the influence of social change on the Croatian fond of first names is addressed. Once, first names served to indicate the belonging of an individual to a certain linguistic, religious or ethnic community; socio-political circumstances or affiliation with a place of origin were reflected in them, or they were a declaration of a certain social consciousness or political choice. From the second half of the 20th century onward, they have more often come to reflect individualization, and changes in the frequency of certain first names have become more evident. Male first names are more traditional and susceptible to the rules of inheritance, even though social circumstances are more strongly reflected in them, while female names are more open to more frequent change and to foreign linguistic systems.