Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the
etymology
Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
, history, and use of
proper names. An ''
orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study.
Onomastics can be helpful in
data mining, with applications such as
named-entity recognition, or recognition of the origin of names. It is a popular approach in historical research, where it can be used to identify
ethnic minorities within wider populations and for the purpose of
prosopography.
Etymology
''Onomastics'' originates from the
Greek ''onomastikós'' ( grc, ὀνομαστικός, , of or belonging to naming, label=none), itself derived from ''ónoma'' ( grc, ὄνομα, , name, label=none).
Branches
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Toponymy
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
(or toponomastics), one of the principal branches of onomastics, is the study of place names.
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Anthroponomastics
Anthroponymy (also anthroponymics or anthroponomastics, from Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος ''anthrōpos'' / 'human', and ὄνομα ''onoma'' / 'name') is the study of ''anthroponyms'', the proper names of human beings, both individual and c ...
is the study of personal names.
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Literary onomastics
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
is the branch that researches the names in works of literature and other fiction.
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Socio-onomastics or Re-Onomastics is the study of names within a society or culture.
See also
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Ancient Greek personal names The study of ancient Greek personal names is a branch of onomastics, the study of names, and more specifically of anthroponomastics, the study of names of persons. There are hundreds of thousands and even millions of Greek names on record, making ...
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Extinction of surnames
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Hydronym
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Mononymous persons
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Naming convention
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-onym, listing the technical kinds of names
; Organizations
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American Name Society
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English Place-Name Society
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Guild of One-Name Studies
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International Council of Onomastic Sciences
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Society for Name Studies in Britain and Ireland
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UNGEGN Toponymic Guidelines
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United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
References
External links
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Lexicon of Greek Personal Names a Major Research Project of the British Academy, Oxford, contains over 35,000 published Greek names.
Folklore
Lexicography
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