Sociocultural and diachronic characteristics of personal names in the Uzbek language

Abstract

The article examines sociocultural characteristics of personal names in Uzbek and their relationship to historical periods of social development. Anthroponyms are considered linguistic units that reflect practices, religious beliefs, political processes, economic changes, and national values. Drawing on scholarship in onomastics and anthroponymy, the discussion identifies cultural, religious, political, ideological, socioeconomic, and historical factors shaping naming practices. Examples of Uzbek personal names illustrate connections with nature, occupations, customary practices, religious traditions, historical figures, and social transformations. Attention is paid to the periodisation of naming practices into pre-Islamic, Islamic, Soviet, and independence periods. The article also considers selected patterns in the formation of masculine and feminine names and changes in the use of surnames and patronymics. It argues that historical periodisation provides a framework for interpreting changes in personal naming alongside the cultural and social history of the Uzbek people. Names thus function as markers of collective memory and cultural affiliation.