Category: Society and people's livelihood
Analysis:
The general structure of English names is: given name, given name, surname. Such as William Jafferson Clinton. But in many cases, the middle name is often omitted, such as Gee Bush, and many people prefer to use nicknames instead of formal given names, such as Bill Clinton. The above Christian name and middle name are also called personal names. The personal names, nicknames and surnames of English-speaking people are introduced as follows:
Ⅰ. Personal names
According to the custom of English-speaking people, when a baby is baptized, it is usually given by a priest or parents, relatives and friends. Giving it a name is called its Christian name. In the future, I can choose a second name after my given name.
The origins of English personal names are generally as follows:
1. Use names from the Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, ancient celebrities or literary masterpieces as Christian names.
2. Use the name of the ancestor’s place of origin, mountains and rivers, birds, animals, fish, insects, flowers and trees as the Christian name.
3. Different variants of the Christian name.
4. Use (nickname) nickname.
5. Use word-formation techniques to create new Christian names, such as reverse order and merger.
6. Use your mother’s maiden name as your middle name.
Commonly used male names among English-speaking people are: James, John, David, Daniel, and Michael. Common female names include: Jane, Mary, Elizabeth, Ann, Sarah, and Catherine.
Ⅱ. Nicknames
Nicknames include nicknames, abbreviations and nicknames. They are commonly used to express affection among relatives and friends of English-speaking people. They are derived from the Christian name. Usually the following situations occur:
1. Keep the first syllable. Such as Donald =gt; Don, Timothy =gt; Tim. If the real name starts with a vowel, a nickname starting with 'N' can be derived, such as: Edward =gt; Ned.2. ie or -y such as: Don = gt; Donnie, Tim =gt; Timmy.3. Use the last syllable, such as: Anthony =gt; Tony, Beuben =gt; Ben.4. Derive two nicknames from one given name, such as: Andrew =gt; Andy amp ; Drew.5. Irregular derivation method, such as: one of William's nicknames is Bill.
III. Surname
For a long time, the British only had a first name but no surname. . It was not until the 16th century that the use of surnames became widespread. The etymology of English surnames mainly includes:
1. Directly borrowing the Christian name, such as Clinton.
2. Adding an affix to the Christian name to indicate the blood relationship, such as the suffix -s , -son, -ing; the prefixes M'-, Mc-, Mac-, Fitz-, etc. all indicate the son or descendant of someone.
3. Add affixes indicating identity before the Christian name, such as St.-, De-, Du=, La-, Le-.
4. Reflect place names, landforms or environment Characteristics, such as Brook, Hill, etc.
5. Reflecting identity or occupation, such as: Carter, Smith.
6. Reflecting personal characteristics, such as: Black, Longfellow.
7. Borrowing animal and plant names, such as Bird, Rice.
8. Derived from the merger of double surnames, such as Burne-Jones. Although English surnames appeared later than Christian names, they are much more numerous.
Commonly used ones are: Smith, Miller, Johnson, Brown, Jones, Williams.
IV. Some explanations
1. The earlier teachings originating from the Bible and Greek and Roman mythology First names are usually not used as surnames.
2. British people are accustomed to abbreviating both the Christian name and the middle name, such as M. H. Thatcher; Americans are accustomed to abbreviating only the middle name, such as Ronald W. Reagan.
3. Sometimes there is an interpersonal title before the name, such as position and military rank. Dr., Prof., Pres. can be used before the surname or the given name; Sir can only be used before the given name or the given name.