FOR THE STRUCTURE-SEMANTICS OF HUMAN NAMES IN MEGRELIAN

(According to modern data and „Megrelian names“ by Akaki Chanturia)

Abstract

In the presented article, anthroponyms of Samegrelo are studied from a structural and semantic point of view. The anthroponymic material recorded by Akaki Chanturia in one of the parts of Georgia - Samegrelo before the Second World War was taken for analysis, which is compared with modern data (based on the registry information of 2020-2023 based on the example of Zugdidi municipality). The changes in the anthroponymy of Samegrelo during eight decades generally show the trends that can be observed in the Georgian anthroponymy. The structural models of Megrelian surnames, the principle and the affixes of formation are basically similar. Anthroponyms of specific formation (verb, composite) are almost not used today. (Moko – „I want“, ucha-kochi „a black man“...).The anthroponyms associated with the Soviet period (Valodya, Melor, Melsi...) were forgotten. Unfortunately, Georgian/Kartvelian names are also slowly disappearing. If in the 30s and 40s of the last century, indigenous anthroponyms were quite common in Samegrelo, today their number is significantly reduced and foreign names take their place.
According to statistical data, canonized names (of Jewish-Greek origin) predominate in the top ten names of both women and men (women's names: Mariam, Elena, Barbara, Martha... men's names: Gabriel, Toma, Alexandre, Ioane, Andria, Lazare, Nikoloz , Giorgi).
In addition, in Samegrelo, as in all of Georgia, European / Latin-American (feminine and composed of two names) anthroponyms appeared (female names: Alexandra, Ioana... Annamaria, Lisamaria; male names: Ali Alexi, Daniel-Vato). Anthroponyms of similar formation are not typical for Georgian.