Anthroponymy

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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 collective.^[1] Anthroponymy is a branch of onomastics.

Researchers in the field of anthroponymy are called anthroponymists. Since the study of anthroponyms is relevant for several other disciplines within social sciences and humanities, experts from those disciplines engage in anthroponymic studies, including researchers from the fields of anthropology,^[2] history,^[3] human geography,^[4] sociology, prosopography,^[5] and genealogy.

Anthroponymists follow certain principles, rules and criteria when researching anthroponyms. The methods used for research are divided into two major categories: the collecting of anthroponymic information and the analysis and interpretation of anthroponyms. The collection of anthroponymic information includes: inscriptions, documents, onomastics-tax records, dictionaries, phone books, monographs, and websites, which are used afterward for mapping purposes. The analysis and interpretation of anthroponyms take into account the processing of the collection of the information gathered, which consists of linguistic analysis, comparative-historical method, geographical method, and statistical method.^[6]