Albanian names are names used in, or originating in,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
and the Albanian diaspora. In Albania a complete name usually consists of a
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
( sq, emri); the given name of the individual's father ( sq, atësia), which is seldom included except in official documents; and a (most commonly
patrilineal
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
)
family name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
or
surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
( sq, mbiemri). They are invariably given in the
Western name order
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known, ...
, or given name followed by family name.
Albanian given names are traditionally original Albanian-meaning names, or religious names (
Islamic
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
or
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
). During the Communist regime, based on the theory of the Illyrian origin of Albanians, supposedly Illyrian names were constructed as appropriate names instead of religious ones. The government issued a decree ordering people to change their religious names to "pure Albanian names", while newborns had to receive non-religious names.
Albanian names have changed dramatically with more opting for foreign, English or Romance names in recent times than traditional Balkan names. In addition Albanians from Albania tend to focus on names that are Greek, Italian or
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
an as opposed to those in Kosovo, North Macedonia and elsewhere that are either religious, local, geographic or related to traditionalism. According to recent statistics some of the most common baby names in Albania are Amelia, Leandra and Ambra for girls, while Noel, Aron and Roan are the most common boy names.
Given names
While in Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia, Albanian (" Illyrian") and religious names are quite common, in Albania proper, Albanian or Muslim names are rarely given. This is partly a result of the high net emigration rate of Albania and the desire of most Albanian emigrants to assimilate internationally. Another factor is the secularisation that took place during Socialist rule, which discouraged explicitly Christian or Muslim given names. In 2014, among the 20 most commonly used given names for newborn children in Albania, there was not a single Albanian name. Instead, "international" (Christian or English) names were most popular.
Traditionally, given names in Albania did not have Albanian origins because they were religious names, either Christian or Islamic. In Communist Albania, an Illyrian origin of the Albanians (without denying "''Pelasgian'' roots",Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers,
Bernd Jürgen Fischer
Bernd Jürgen Fischer (born 27 January 1952) is historian and professor of history at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He received his Ph.D. in 1982 from the University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of Californi ...
, Albanian Identities: Myth and History, Indiana University Press, 2002, , page 96, "but when Enver Hoxha declared that their origin was Illyrian (without denying their Pelasgian roots), no one dared participate in further discussion of the question". a theory which has been revitalized todayAnthropological Journal of European Cultures, 2009, Gilles de Rapper.) continued to play a significant role in Albanian nationalism, resulting in a revival of given names supposedly of Illyrian origin, at the expense of given names associated with Christianity or Islam. This trend originated with the 19th century ''
Rilindja
The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...
'', but became more common after 1944, when it became the Socialist government's policy to heavily discourage religious given names. Ideologically acceptable names were listed in the ''Fjalor me emra njerëzish'' (1982). These could be native Albanian words like ''Flutur'' ("butterfly"), ideologically communist ones like ''Marenglen'' ( Marx-
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
), or "Illyrian" ones compiled from epigraphy, e.g. from the necropolis at Dyrrhachion excavated in 1958–60. Miranda Vickers, The Albanians Chapter 9. "Albania Isolates itself" page 196, "From time to time the state gave out lists with pagan, supposed Illyrian or newly constructed names that would be proper for the new generation of revolutionaries."
Surnames
Many surnames in Albania have Islamic and Christian roots.
Common last name endings include -aj, as well as common definite Albanian nominative singular endings: hence -i for originally masculine last names except for those previously ending in k, g, h or i, which have -u added; or -a/-ja for feminine names.
Many last names were originally surnames, many of these being either Muslim (Ahmeti, Rexhepi, etc.), Bektashi (Bektashi itself as a surname, Dervishi, Shehu, etc.) or Christian (Kristo(ja), Evangjeli, etc.), but a large number are neither and are simply from old Albanian secular names (Zogolli, Dushku, Shkoza etc.). Albanians frequently have surnames that don't match their actual religious identity, often because of recent secularization, religious intermarriage, relatively recent conversion in late Ottoman times (many Muslims have Christian names for this reason, while after the fall of communism some with Muslim ancestry have become practicing Christians and vice versa) or the practice of Ottoman Christians taking Muslim names due to Muslim dominance of society during those times. Names starting with Papa- usually indicate Christian origin but there are cases where it is followed by a Muslim element (i.e. Papazisi, a name held by Albanians of both Christian and Muslim heritage).
Another major source of Albanian last names are place names- Albanians sometimes took their hometowns as surnames, "the custom of taking their native village names as surnames was and is still common among Albanians..." and especially when a family moved to another place, they often took their former residence as a surname, leading to somewhat well known last names such as Frashëri, Përmeti, Shkodra, Kelmendi, Shkreli, Delvina, Prishtina, etc.).
In the North and in Kosovo, clan names are also very prominent, most notably the names of widespread clans such as Krasniqi, Berisha and Gashi. The surnames Gega, Gegprifti, Gegaj etc. probably indicate Northern (Gheg) origins, as Toska and Toskaj do for Southerners. In addition, many names, even if not explicitly, are strongly identified with certain regions and Albanians can often tell another Albanian's regional origin from their last name. Surnames based on occupation are less common than in other countries but nevertheless the surnames Hoxha (mullah, either Bektashi or Sunni) and Prifti (priest, used by both Catholics and Orthodox) remain very common.
Arvanite and pre- modern Albanian surnames are also common. Many Arvanite surnames are found in Albania, in the modern Albanian form. For example, the word in Arvanitika (Arbërisht) for "brave" or "pallikari" (in Greek) being "çanavar" (Turkish canavar meaning "monster") or its shortened form "çavar" was pronounced "tzanavar" or "tzavar" giving birth to Arvanitic family names like "Tzanavaras" and/or "Tzavaras". This is a link between Albanian and Greek names.
The Arvanite surname " Κριεζής" ( Kriezis) is a very common
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
surname. " Kryezi" means "Blackhead" in Albanian (hence same meaning in Arbërisht/ Arvanitika).
Orthodox Christian names tend to be heavily Greek, including last names which have counterparts in the Greek language.
History
Communist-era Albania
According to a decree issued in 1966, Muslims in Albania had to change their names to Albanian names while newborn Albanians had to receive non-religious names. In a decree of November 1975, all the citizens of Albania whose names were considered objectionable by the
Albanian Communist Party
The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded on ...
were ordered to change their names to "pure Albanian names" by the end of the year.
Diaspora
Albanians form the largest migrant group in Greece and second largest migrant group in Italy. Many modern names are thus Greek or Italian. In Greece, and likewise in Italy, many Albanian newcomers change their Albanian names to Greek or Italian ones and their religion, if they are not Christian, from
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...