Azerbaijanization of surnames is a policy pursued after the independence of Azerbaijan. According to the decision of the
Milli Majlis in 1993, common
slavicized
Slavicisation or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something Slavic into a non-Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. To a lesser degree, it also means acculturation or adoption of something non-Slavic into Slavic culture or terms. Th ...
family name affixes
Family name affixes are a clue for surname etymology and can sometimes determine the ethnic origin of a person. This is a partial list of affixes.
Prefixes
* A – (Romanian) "son of"
* Ab – (Welsh, Cornish, Breton) "son of"
* Af – (Danish, ...
("-ov" "-yev") could be replaced by affixes like "-lı" (depending on the root of the word "-li", "-lu", "-lü"), "-zadə", "-oğlu" (which means "son of"), "-qızı" (which means "daughter of"), or could simply be dropped.
Besides name and surname, patronymics are also in use, however mostly in legal documents, not in daily use. For example, while
Ilham Aliyev
Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003.
The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...
is known by his name and surname, his full name is ''Ilham Haydar oghlu Aliyev''.
A special commission set up under the
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) ( az, Azərbaycan Milli Elmlər Akademiyası (AMEA)), located in Baku, is the main state research organization and the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activities in the fields of ...
has prepared a special concept on surnames and submitted it to the Presidential Administration. The commission of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences has considered four options. They suggested the forms "-lı", "-li", "-lu", "-lü", "-oğlu" or both "-soy" (which means "family line") and "-gil" (which means "from").
According to the chairman of the Culture Committee of the Milli Majlis, Nizami Jafarov, in 2010, 80% of the family name affixes in Azerbaijan was "-ov", "-yev", while 10% of population use "-li", "-lu", "-lu" and another 10% use "-zade". The Civil Registry Offices consider only "-ov", "-yev" acceptable based on the previous law. Sometimes, citizens are allowed to choose the affixes like "-lı", "-li", "-lu", "-lü" even if it happens with difficulties.
activists started similar campaign to get rid of Russian surnames.
See also
*
Derussification
Derussification (or derussianization) is a process or public policy in different states of the former Russian Empire and the Soviet Union or certain parts of them, aimed at restoring national identity of indigenous peoples: their language, culture ...
References
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Azerbaijani nationalism
Derussification