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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.0. Introduction
The view of names as arbitrary symbols which simply attach a label to a referent has been
much opposed by the onomastic (Eid 1994), anthropological (Rymes 2001), and sociolinguistic
community (Agyekum 2006). Characterizing names from a logical perspective and in the
absence of social context is a view that is incomplete. Figlio (2004) found that teachers
showed a tendency to treat children differently depending on their names, which translated into
large differences on their test scores. The names of the children apparently reflected their
socio-economic status as well as their ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, in addition to the
universal ability of names to serve the purpose of differentiation, naming and the use of names
can serve other various functions.
Describing the different motivations behind the Saudi Hijazi name, as well as the different
functions a name has in characterizing individuals, are the main aims of this paper. The full
name is introduced as a composite of three main name types: the ism, the nasab, and the laqab.
An additional fourth name, the kunya, is recognized as a common Saudi nickname, used in
specific contexts. The four name types will be introduced together, and then each type will be
described individually. The aspects of the naming system are reflected in the linguistic,
cultural, and social information encoded in each name type. In addition, issues surrounding
gender differentiation and religion are introduced in relation to the phenomena of name change
and name avoidance.
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This paper focuses on the names and naming system of the Hijaz area in Saudi Arabia. The
Hijaz area includes the Western region of Saudi Arabia, including the cities of Makkah,
Madina, Jeddah, and Taif (See Figure 1 below).
Figure 1: The Hijaz area of Saudi Arabia
The Hijazi names used in this description were based on a number of sources. Personal
observation, observations of peers, friends, and students, as well as internet forums were all
consulted. In addition, student name lists and the study of Al-Shamsaan (2005) provided a rich
inventory of personal and family names and was very specific in considering tribal and
sedentary distinctions. In addition, the names in Abu-Mansour (1983) and a book on names
and meanings by Abdelqudus (2000) also added to the name collection.
Languages and cultures may differ in their definition of a full name. In the case of Saudi
society, a full name in the formal sense consists of the ism ‗first name‘, the nasab ‗father‘s
name‘ which is repeated as ‗grandfather‘s name‘, and the laqab ‗family name‘. The use of the
full name results in a four-slot-name string which is used in highly official documentation.
Gradually reducing the components of the name string causes the name to reduce in formality,
making it useable in less formal contexts. As introduced in Chapter 2, the concept of the
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number of name components corresponding to the degree of formality in social context can be
visually represented by means of a ‗formality hierarchy‘, moving from most formal situations
and names to least formal. The following chapters will be dedicated to further examining each
name component.
Among the four name types discussed in the paper, the ism ‗first name‘ is probably the
component which receives the most emphasis because it is allows for much creativity. It is also
at this point in Chapter 3 that onomastic significance of names is seen in the many aspects
which promote name choice. The first of these is linguistic in nature. Gardner (1994) affirms
that the linguistic significance of a name is part of, and adds to, its onomastic significance. An
act of name giving or name creation can be carried out with isms. The richness and flexibility
of the Arabic morphological system help the name creation process through the many
derivational possibilities corresponding to different semantic fields (Gardner, 1994). Arabic
names are also very descriptive. Maxwell adds that ―cultures dependent on oral tradition often
exhibit a greater richness in the semantic significance and structure of personal names‖ (1984:
25). Name giving on the other hand occurs when a name is chosen for other significant reasons
like meaning, sound, or religious value (Gardner, 1994). More reasons for name choice are
considered, such as cultural, geographical, and personal motivations. The cultural and religious
values of Hijazi Saudi society are revealed through names and name choice. Furthermore,
name giving based on social transfer of names in society as well as the interesting phenomena
of name change over several generations are reflected upon in Chapter 3. Considerations such
as the effect of media and the development of new religious values are central to this subject
which is viewed from a social perspective. Then, individual reasons and motivations for name
change are considered.
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Chapter 4 of this paper focuses on the remaining three components: the kunya, the nasab,
and the laqab. The kunya or ‗teknonym‘ is used in Saudi society as a nickname. How the
kunya develops as a nickname as well as how it is used and in what circumstances are issues
that will be discussed. In addition, the kunya structure and its function beyond the nickname
will be addressed. The nasab or ‗patronymic‘ is another name component with a formal
structure which functions beyond representing the father and grandfather‘s name in the name
string. The nasab also reflects important issues in Saudi society, such as sustaining blood
relations. The final component, the laqab or ‗family name‘, is a component which will be
discussed at length. This is because the number of family names in Saudi Arabia is very large
and is especially so in the Hijaz area. A number of social considerations regarding Saudi
family names, such as tribal and sedentary differentiation, are crucial to the discussion and
classification of these laqabs. Certain linguistic aspects of Hijazi Saudi laqabs are described
and some aspects of these names address social and cultural issues. Use of the ism, kunya, and
laqab as terms of address is discussed in addition to methods and reasons for avoiding the use
of names, particularly of women.
What this study initially adds to the sociolinguistic study of names is the idea that in Hijazi
Saudi society, use and choice of names are linguistic means of identifying social and cultural
aspects of this society. The role of gender, media, and religion are some of the most prominent
issues affecting name change, name avoidance, and personal address. Also, the kunya is a
name type with a structure that goes beyond the scope of name use and mirrors important
cultural and linguistic issues. Finally, the Hijazi Saudi ism, nasab, and laqab share a number of
similarities with naming systems in other languages and cultures.
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1.1. Review of literature
This aim of this paper is to study the names used in Saudi society with specific reference to
the Hijaz area. A number of issues related to names are in the scope of this study. The
structure of the full Saudi name and how it is used and modified in different contexts is one of
the main issues. Linguistic aspects, cultural and religious aspects, and social aspects are key
issues and are the basic naming motivators in Saudi society. Moreover, name avoidance and
name change can be viewed in light of these issues. The nature of the study is descriptive and
analytic. It mirrors the connection between language, society, and culture through the
examination of names as linguistic and onomastic symbols. Anderson (2007) confirms that
classification of sources of names are language-particular. The way the Arabic language
influences the Saudi name inventory is an important subject in this study. Naming is a socially
significant practice that takes linguistic, religious and cultural considerations into account in
such a way that the chosen name reflects these considerations. Other name components such as
the kunya, nasab, and laqab are analyzed in terms of their structure in addition to other
linguistic uses and social implications they have.
1.1.1. Related disciplines
Names are studied in a number of disciplines. Sociolinguistics and anthropological
linguistics are two areas which are both concerned with the study of language in social settings.
Foley (1997) claims that the overlap between the two disciplines is large, but he differentiates
among the two by concluding that anthropological linguistics ― … views language through the
prism of the core anthropological concept, culture…‖(1997: 3). He adds that this area of
linguistics probes further into the meaning behind the linguistic choices made by individuals
and groups in certain cultures. In Rymes‘ (2001) article on names, she reports on the
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anthropological perspective on name study in particular, which is how these names function in
society, who says them, how one gets them, how they are used, and in what context they are
spoken. Sociolinguistics, on the other hand, views language as a social institution where social
interaction is carried out by individuals and groups while using group defining variables such
as sex, age, class, and race to correlate the differences in linguistic behavior of these social
grouping (Foley, 1997).
In addition, onomastics, which is the study of proper names including personal and place
names, is another field that is related to this study. Van Langendonck (2007) presents different
views on the place of ―socio-onomastics‖ in linguistic study. Van Langendonck also mentions
a German study by Debus (1995) who he reports includes the study of socio-onomastics in the
domain of sociolinguistics, and mentions that Leys (1974) believes onomastic studies have
been neglected by the sociolinguistic domain. Both Van Langendonck (2007) and Anderson
(2007) acknowledge the existence of an "onomasticon", which is distinct from the lexicon in
that it contains only proper names which are constantly renewed. This personal name
inventory has the ability to quickly reflect social developments, distinguish gender, social class,
and age, taking on great sociolinguistic information (Van Langendonck, 2007). Some
important themes of socio-onomastic research have been the examination of which first names
are bestowed on which individuals, of which social class, and what factors influence first name
giving (Van Langendonck, 2007). In addition, Gardner (1994) emphasizes that the linguistic
significance of a name is one of the features of its onomastic significance.
The current study can be considered a cross-over between the three disciplines of
sociolinguistics, anthropological linguistics, and socio-onomastics for the following reasons.
First, as a sociolinguistic study, this paper describes the two social phenomena of name change
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and name avoidance in sociolinguistic terms. As a type of sociolinguistic change, these
phenomena reflect certain social conditions which are primarily gender- and religion-related.
The investigation of central cultural issues pertaining to the act of naming and name choice is
in the realm of anthropological linguistics. And, finally, the study of existing names, how they
are structured, and what their linguistic sources are, falls in the domain of socio-onomastics.
1.1.2. Influential studies
There are a large number of studies on names and naming in different societies, some of
which are more relevant to the purpose of this study than others. However, it is important to
point out that studies on Saudi names in particular was scarce. The study which is mostly
relevant to the purposes of this paper is an Arabic study of the names in Saudi society by AlShamsaan (2005). This book informed much of the discussion of the linguistic analyses of
names in this paper. Also, because the book discussed the Saudi society in particular by a
native Saudi, cultural issues related to names were accurate and dependable. In addition, a
wide range of issues on naming were covered, and the discussion on family names or laqabs
was detailed. Another beneficial aspect of the work of Al-Shamsaan (2005) is the inclusion of
specific cultural details concerning naming practices in the Hijaz area, as well as the details on
name differences among tribal and sedentary Saudis, which is scarce in the literature.
The second study was an overall cultural and linguistic account of Saudi names in AbuMansour (1983). The most intriguing aspect of this study was the discussion of a large number
of issues concerning Saudi names by a native Hijazi Saudi. The study pointed out the
importance of the subject of names with respect to language and culture.
Gardner (1994) recognizes the relevance of name study to onomastics and linguistics. In
her study of name change, she provides evidence from the Sudan in support of the
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sociolinguistic hypothesis that changes in name giving reflect changes in the social life of a
society. Since Sudan is a neighboring country to Saudi Arabia, the observations in Gardner‘s
work were extended and modified to account for the name change situation in Saudi Arabia
when applicable.
Egypt is another neighboring country to Saudi Arabia which was discussed in another study
by Eid (1994). In her study, Eid (1994) shows how name avoidance in Egyptian obituaries is
exclusively restricted to marking women‘s identities and the role of religion as a motivating
factor in the application of this strategy.
Sudan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia all being neighboring countries in close proximity, speaking
the same language, and having the same religion, exhibit many similarities in the two
sociolinguistic phenomena of name change and name avoidance. Both Eid (1994) and Gardner
(1994) specifically discuss Islamic influence on their studies. Additional issues on name
change pertaining to Saudi culture in particular were also found in Al-Shamsaan (2005).
The importance of naming in Islam, Islamic naming rituals, and Islamic preferences in
naming were the main subjects of Ibn Al-Qayyim‘s (1972) study. This study was influential in
determining the role of religion in name motivation and name change.
Studies on name systems of different languages were mentioned as examples in studies like
Rymes (2001), McConnell-Ginet (2003), and Van Langendonck (2007). One of the most
comprehensive and detailed name studies was done on the Akan naming system of Ghana in
Agyekum (2006). Due to the details and similarity of approach between this paper and
Agyekum‘s (2006) study, many examples in this paper relied on his study of Akan names for
linguistic, religious, and cultural comparison.
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1.1.3. Different Linguistic Approaches
The study of names can be approached from a number of different perspectives. First,
names or proper names are studied in a philosophical framework of logic and referential
purpose. Kripke (1972) and Mill (1843) are two of the most mentioned scholars in this
approach to names.
The second approach is from a purely linguistic standpoint which compares and contrasts
proper names to other grammatical categories and seeks to exhibit the semantic and syntactic
properties of these names. Significant contributors to this approach are Anderson (2007) and
Van Langendonck (2007). Anderson (2007) attempts to go beyond the typical literature where
names are classified as a type of noun. In addition, he aims at developing a grammatical theory
for names by discussing them in relation to syntax and semantics and he considers how the
morphosyntactic behavior of names connects to their semantic roles. His work draws on
theories of onomastics, linguistics, and philosophy. Van Langendonck (2007) similarly
discusses the referential and semantic functions of proper names and provides a synchronic
typology of proper names.
The third and final approach which is used in this paper is of sociolinguistic and onomastic
nature. This type of name study examines names as ―socially anchored linguistic signs‖ (Van
Langendonck, 2007). This approach sees the linguistic act of name giving as a reflection of
social and cultural significance. The meanings of names and their sources as well as how these
sources relate to society and culture are also important (Abu-Mansour, 1983). Furthermore, the
linguistic aspects of names in relation to language, society, and culture are key features of a
sociolinguistic and onomastic approach, as both studies of Eid (1994) and Gardner (1994)
suggest.
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1.2. Summary
This chapter has introduced the basic concept of this paper which is that in Hijazi Saudi
society, use and choice of names are linguistic means of identifying social and cultural aspects
of society. The importance of studying names in general was also presented as well as the
general organization of the paper. The literature consulted in the course of this study is also
introduced in addition to reasons why this study falls in the sociolinguistic domain. Finally,
other approaches to the study of names are briefly mentioned.