Projecting the Ethnic Identity of Romanian Gypsies/Roma Through Contemporary First Name-Giving Practices

Projecting the ethnic identity of Romanian gypsies/roma through contemporary first name-giving practices

Nadia Nicoleta MORARA≤U LuminiÁa DRUGA

1. Preliminary assumptions The challenging undertaking of approaching the anthroponymic system of some contemporary Romanian Gypsy/Roma communities had in view three assumptions: a. Hardly any other ethnic group in Romania uses a process of creat- ing identity that reflects such a gap between the general positive identification/labeling, such as the wideworld recognition of its defining features (formerly itinerant group originating in India, with conservative rules and archaic ways of life), and the recurrent dis- criminatory projections, such as the particularly prejudiced, stereo- typical images (filthy, prolific, delinquent, illiterate, resistant to being assimilated, naturalized and civilized); b. Considering the fact that the Gypsies/Roma people are still mis- represented in some official circles as a politically-inconvenient minority group, and that most studies on their social and cultural representations have often been influenced by mercantile interests (obtaining benefit from the biased depiction of dark realities) or solely prompted by European-funded integration programmes, we intend to observe the ways in which the ethnic identity of this widely-dispersed group has become diluted in Romanian national identity. c. We expect to find some pervasive ethnic markers in given names for Romanian Gypsy/Roma children, based on our shared knowl- edge of some idiosyncratic/unusual naming patterns that are mainly attributed to: a. the absence of strict official naming rules for newborn babies at the national level;

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b. the lack of concern for the psychological implications of giving odd names with transparent appellatives behind them (Poruciuc 2005), which lead to comic and ironic effects or encourage deri- sive associations with the character or physical appearance of the bearers (Ciocolata – “chocolate”, AmbiÁia – “ambition”, Ministru – “minister”, ≤erif – “sheriff”); c. the strong belief in predestination (e.g. the press has evidenced the existence of given names such as Superman or Piedone motivated by the unconscious wish that the children would acquire celebrity status and display the qualities commonly associated with movie stars: fame, manliness, bravery); d. the parents’ inborn desire to help the newborn adjust to any environment (forenames such as Termopan and Termopana were considered of German origin and liable to help the migrant bearers fit in more easily).

2. Methods and materials Based on these assumptions, we investigate the contemporary naming patterns of some relatively small communities of Gypsies/Roma that are locally recognized as such, being aware of the fact that it is difficult to extrapolate from the sample group to the whole population of interest. Therefore, we employ a nonrandom selection of elements for investigation and, in order to collect and interpret the data, the methods of research used were group and individual interview, questionnaire, direct observation, case study and content analysis. The participants have been selected by “nonprobability sampling” (that is, the choice of participants was based on techniques that do not account for their degree of representativeness) and “cluster sampling” methods (by selecting respondents from certain areas or time-periods), in a survey conducted within the past two years. The main technique was that of “snowball sampling”: we started from a restrained number of cases and these led to the next ones, which were even more numerous, and so on. The sampled units have formed gradually, exponentially, with new subsets being added to the initial ones. Generalizations are limited to the level of groups with similar ethnic composition. Our sampling approach has taken into consideration several variables:

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a. Location: we focused our attention on rural and urban Gypsy/ Roma communities from Dragomire≥ti and Stânca-Pipirig of Neamt County and Moine≥ti, RacauÁi, Zeme≥ of Bacau County, because it was easier to retrieve official data from our neighbouring areas, with support from the inspectors for the minorities in the County School Inspectorates. b. Gender: the sampled unit comprised 276 schoolboys and 254 schoolgirls, a total of 530 children. c. Age: we considered ethnics of Gypsy origin born in the post- communist period (after December 1989), more precisely children born after 2000, on account of the fact that this period is relevant to the onomastic patterns adopted by this population, under the influence of the massive migration to different European countries, a phenomenon that led to the parents’ adopting foreign names for their children, which either replaced or were appended to the traditional ones. d. Parents’ level of education: according to this criterion, we had in view the following levels of education: parents with no formal education or with a minimum of four primary classes, secondary school graduates, high school graduates and parents with higher education. Of the children whose names we have analysed, all parents had no more than elementary education (8 classes) and none of the parents had attended more than secondary school, a common practice for poor families which do not value education and only allow their offspring to go to school on condition that they get material and financial support in exchange (child benefits and free snacks are granted for each child if he/she regularly comes to school).

3. Names as identity markers and social classifiers Apart from their basic functions of denotation and designation, anthroponyms, in their broad sense, have been accepted as markers of individuality, signs of personal distinctiveness, inherent features of individuals and indispensible and inseparable elements of human personality (Firica 2008: 1). Etymological sources account for the sur- prisingly powerful influence and interdependence of subjective and objective elements in the history of each denominative unit used as a form of identification (Firica 2008: 2).

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The paradoxical nature of the name is revealed in its double function, of individualization and of integration in a series/category. For Claude Lévi-Strauss (1962), naming primarily means classifying: through the act of name-giving, the individual is included in a class- sificatory social system, is conferred a position in the family and social group and a definite place in the symbolic order of the respective world. Subsequently, analysing the names given to others, we may find an indication of their origin (names from ancient or modern sources, matronyms and patronyms), gender (male or female names), religion (e.g. devotional or monastic names), ethnicity (exonyms or endonyms), etc. The numerous designations for individual groups of ethnically self- labelling Roma, include as basic autonyms Rom (with the pl. Roma, generically used), Sinto (with the exonymous German correspondent “Zigeuner”) Manouche (who live mainly in France), Caló (the His- panic Gypsies), Kalo (Roma of Finland), Romanichel (used alternately with Gypsy and Traveller for the Roma of England). Having in view the extremely controversial nature of the Roma- nian terms “r(r)om” and “Áigan”, which are attributed autonymically or exogenously to the ethnic category under discussion, an etymological approach will explain why both defenders and rejecters of these ethnic names are right. The origin of the term “rom” was found by some researchers in the Greek “rhomaios”, used for the inhabitants of the Roman Empire, and after christianization for the Christians of Byzantium. Another source that Donald Kendrik (1997) indicates as more reliable is the Indian term “dom”, referring to an ethnic caste that exists even now- adays. The etymon of “Áigan” is the Middle Greek term athinganos/ athinganoy, with the meaning of “pagan”, “heretic” or “impure”. It was first attested in a monk’s writings, where the athinganos are labelled as heretics, nomads, practitioners of witchcraft and Christians are advised to keep away from them (Kendrik 1997). In the Romanian Principalities, ever since the first documentary attestation, in 1385, at the VodiÁa Monastery, the term “atigan”, later “Áigan”, referred to the social status of serf (an object of exchange, an outsider to social order, inferior to the human species). Later on, the term “Áigan” acquired increasingly pejorative connotations that can be linguistically evidenced by its dictionary

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meaning of “epithet given to a person with bad habits, bad manners” (DEX, 1998) and in proverbial expressions such as “S-a înecat ca Áiganul la mal” (the equivalent of “he came safe from the East Indies and was drowned in the Thames”), “A ajuns Áiganul împarat ≥i pe tata-sau l-a spânzurat” (no pride like that of an enriched beggar), “Tot Áiganul î≥i lauda ciocanul” (every peddlar praises his needle). For the past ten years, the ethnic organizations fighting for the rights of Roma people and their emergent identity have succeeded in imposing the autonym “Rom” worldwide, as the correct official denomination of this minority ethnic group. In Romania, there has been strong opposition to a recent Parliamentary initiative to change the official ethnonym “rom” back to “Áigan” (Gypsy). On the one hand, the law initiators’ motivation is the “undesired probability of confu- sion that is created between Roma and Romanian” that would lead to “adopting an ethnonym for the identification of a national minority which is not recognized by the national minority itself”. On the other hand, the representatives of the Gypsy/Roma groups claim that the only ethnonym they are entitled to is the one of “Rom”, whereas “the exogenous ethnonym” Áigan is rejected for its pejorative and offensive connotations. With no intention of taking sides, we cannot help noticing the confusing potential of names such as r(r)omani and romanies when compared with the plural Romanian name of the ancient Romans (romani) and the historical name of the Romanian people (români = Romanians), spelled without diacritic signs. Throughout our study, in order to avoid “tensions generated from within or outside” (Bhopal and Myers 2008: 9), we will alternately use the terms Roma/Romani and Gypsies when referring to this trans- border community, in general, and to the Romanian ethnic minority, in particular.

4. The Romanian anthroponymic system In the evolution of the Romanian anthroponymic system, the semantic and magical load of the baptismal name was gradually lost (Marin 2003: 181), but it preserved its identifying function (being used as a personal tag with cultural and social resonance for the bearer) and affective value (as it is the name chosen for personal, intimate reasons by family/kin or godparents).

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Name-giving practices are generally affected by religious factors, local and family traditions, socio-political and cultural factors, as well as by aesthetic factors (trends and fashions). Even though Romanian parents are not legally constrained to choose from some official names (as it happens in some other countries), there are some implied, com- monsense criteria. Due to the fact that the usage of family names was generalized in Romania at the beginning of the 19th century, the traditional community elaborated different onomastic strategies in order to avoid con- fusion among several bearers of the same name. The complex naming patterns involved binary patterns in which the kinship relations were enhanced by combining a child’s Christian name with the name of the father and even with that of the grandfather, by means of a possessive prepositional phrase (e.g. “Nica a lui ≤tefan a Petrei”, meaning that Nica is the son of ≤tefan who is, in his turn, the son of Petrea). In rural areas, this unofficial means of identification is still functional today and parallelled by the legitimization of a matrilinear descent in family names such as Amariei, Aioanei etc. (literally meaning ‘of Maria’, ‘of Ioana’). Imbued with a deep sense of religiosity, Romanians have been constantly inspired by saints whom they considered protectors of their homes, children and country. This explains why the baptismal name coincides, in most cases, with the officially registered first name. Moreover, one of the widely-used criteria of classification for given names is their being of religious derivation or not (Marin 2003: 182): a. Sacred, religious, and devotional names, which are meant to invoke godly protection for the bearer, have become part of the traditional stock of first names; b. Secular/mundane names, originating in common names with descriptive potential, are more creative and continuously enriching their inventory.

From a semantic point of view, familiar forenames can be classified into (Stellat 1993): a. Devotional, mystical names, indicating a relation to divinity, including: theophoric names (Teodora), names of religious holidays (Nata- lia), etc. b. Affectionate names that include bynames reflecting the order of birth (Septimiu, Octavian); augural names, making predictions or

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expressing best wishes for the newborn as in Felicia, Gloria, Lucian; descriptive names that indicate positive or negative physical traits (GenÁiana, Claudiu, Cicerone); animal, vegetal (Dalia, Florica, Viorela etc.) and mineral (Esmeralda) names, numerical names, or names connected with places. c. Honorific/celebratory names represent a less homogeneous category and are chosen in honour of an individual (literary character, famous sportsperson, historical personality): Adela, Carmen, Otilia, Decebal, Traian; a people or an ethnic group (Machidon, Rusu, Sârbu, Tataru, Vlah); a cultural icon (ideological names, celebrity names: Madonna, Nadia, Sabrina, etc.).

Despite the fact that some classes of names are overlapping, we fur- ther adopt this taxonomy of given names on account of the fact that it covers the most important semantic classes of names chosen by Gypsy/ Roma people for their children in Romania. In a synchronic perspective, some trends in the contemporary anthroponymic system are considered by Tatiana Petrache (1998) as characteristic of the current onomastic fashion: a. The avoidance of traditional Romanian anthroponyms, especially by the urban population and their replacement with diminutive and hypocoristic forms (pet names); b. The growing interest in foreign names; c. The addition of 2-3 given names for a single individual, departing from the tradition of “unary patterns” (Van Langendonck 2007) that have only forenames (most often a Christian name, a patronym, a matronym and a name chosen by godparents) or only bynames, which was previously imposed in Romanian onomastics.

5. Results and discussion In the following tables, we have alphabetically listed the most frequent first names of the 530 children of Gypsy/Roma origin sampled from NeamÁ and Bacau counties. To the data compiled by Bolocan (1999) including gendered and religiously-motivated divisions of popular Romanian names, attestation time (year or century) and figures indicating the frequency at country level (number of persons officially registered with a particular name), we added the rate of frequency

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(number of name bearers) in the sampled cluster of names of Gypsy/ Roma children.

Masculine first Type of name First Frequency in names attestation the sampled in Romania units Adrian saint’s name 19th century 2 Alexandru saint’s name 1431 4 Alin secular name 19th century 2 Andrei saint’s name 1459 5 Bogdan saint’s name 1469 1 Catalin secular name 18th century 5 Ciprian saint’s name 18th century 2 Claudiu secular name 19th century Constantin saint’s name 1412 2 Cosmin secular name 16th century 1 Cristian saint’s name 19th century 1 Dan saint’s name 1385 2 Daniel saint’s name 1495 2 DanuÁ diminutive form of saint’s name 16th century 6 Drago≥ secular name 1466 2 Dumitru saint’s name 1387 2 Florin secular name 19th century 9 Emilian saint’s name 19th century 1 Gabriel saint’s name 19th century 1 Gavril saint’s name 1388 1 George secular name 19th century 2 Gheorghe saint’s name 1417 8 GheorghiÁa diminutive form of saint’s name 16th century 1 Ilie saint’s name 1510 3 Ion saint’s name 14th century 4 Ionel diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 2 IonuÁ diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 21 Iulian saint’s name 19th century 3 LaurenÁiu saint’s name 19th century 1 Lucian saint’s name 16th century 2 Liviu secular name 19th century 1

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Maricel diminutive form of secular name 16th century 1 Marian saint’s name 19th century 1 Mihai saint’s name 1400 6 Mircea secular name 1386 1 Nicola(i)e saint’s name 19th century 3 Nicu (-≥or) hypocoristic form of secular name 19th century 1 Octavian secular name 19th century 1 Ovidiu secular name 19th century 1 Petru (-uÁ), (-i≥or) saint’s name 1421 3 Radu secular name 1351 1 Razvan secular name 16th century 5 Robert secular name 19th century 2 Sebastian saint’s name 19th century 1 Simion saint’s name 1437 1 ≤tefan saint’s name 1425 2 Teodor saint’s name 16th century 1 Tiberiu secular name 19th century 1 Tudor saint’s name 1412 1 Valentin saint’s name 19th century 2 Valeriu saint’s name 19th century 1 Vasile saint’s name 1518 3 Vasilica diminutive form of saint’s name 18th century 2 Vlad secular name 1388 3

Table 1: Common first names of Gypsy/Roma schoolboys from NeamÁ and Bacau counties

Feminine first Type of name First Frequency in names attestation the sampled units Adriana saint’s name 19th century 1 Alexandra saint’s name 1567 4 Alina secular name 19th century 1 Ana saint’s name 1509 2 Andreea saint’s name 16th century 5 Angelica diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 1

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Anica derivational form of saint’s name 16th century 1 Bianca secular name 19th century 1 Carmen saint’s name 19th century 2 Claudia secular name 19th century 1 ConstanÁa secular name 19th century 1 Cristina saint’s name 19th century 2 Daniela saint’s name 19th century 1 Diana secular name 19th century 4 Dumitra(-ela) saint’s name 1526 2 Ecaterina saint’s name 1529 2 Elena saint’s name 1466 3 Florentina derivational form of saint’s name 19th century 1 Georgiana derivation from a saint’s name 19th century 1 Gina hypocoristic form of saint’s name 19th century 2 GheorghiÁa diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 5 Ileana derivational form of saint’s name 16th century 2 Ionela diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 3 Irina saint’s name 1508 10 Iuliana derivational form of saint’s name 19th century 1 Lacramioara derivational form of secular name 19th century 1 Laura secular name 19th century 1 LenuÁa hypocoristic form of secular name 1562 1 Lidia saint’s name 19th century 3 Loredana secular name 19th century 2 LuminiÁa diminutive form of saint’s name 19th century 3 Madalina derivational form of saint’s name 16th century 8 Magdalena derivational form of saint’s name 1472 1 Marcela form of saint’s name 19th century 1 Maria devotional name 1428 5 Mariana derivational form of saint’s name 19th century 4 Maricica diminutive form of saint’s name 16th century 1 Marinela saint’s name 19th century 1 Marioara derivational form of saint’s name 19th century 1 Mirela secular name 19th century 1 Mioara derivational secular name 19th century 9 Nicoleta derivational form of saint’s name 19th century 1

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Paraschiva saint’s name 1495 1 Ramona secular name 19th century 1 Rodica secular name 19th century 1 Raluca secular name 17th century 1 Silvia secular name 19th century 3 Simona saint’s name 19th century 1 Teodora saint’s name 1479 1 Vasilica diminutive form of saint’s name 1535 1

Table 2: Common first names of Gypsy/Roma schoolgirls from NeamÁ and Bacau counties

As indicated in the statistics, there are more religious/devotional names compared to secular names. In the case of masculine names, saint’s names are more numerous than recently attested mundane names. Moreover, old names with obsolete variants have fallen out of use. In our sampling units, names with derivational and hypocoristic variants had the highest rate of occurrence (e.g. Ion with the derived forms IonuÁ, Ionel being given to 27 boys). For girls, secular names that entered the Romanian anthroponymic system in the 19th century do not have a high rate of occurrence and are less numerous than devotional names. The list of affectionate and celebratory names is continuously enriching under foreign influence; however, their derivative potential is reduced and they undergo pho- netic and lexical adaptations that are compliant with the Romanian naming patterns. The majority of the sampled names demonstrate that this ethnic group has not largely adopted the new fashion of bestowing two and even three names on a child. Out of the 530 first names analysed, only 87 children (16%) have double forenames, some of them in rather amusing combinations of foreign and traditional name (Antonio-Bel- mondo, Antonio GheorghiÁa, Angelo-Catalin, Cool-Adrian, Gioni Vasilica), which might be interpreted as a sign of a conservative atti- tude, against the general trends. As for names formed of three lexemes, only one name is reported in our sampled units. Moreover, the overall number of typical female or male first names included in Western European and American name lists is slightly reduced in comparison with their Romanianized versions and traditional Romanian names.

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6. Peculiarities of first name-giving practices of Romanian Gypsies/ Roma groups There is a set of unusual names that Gypsy/Roma parents in the sampling units officially give to their children and our inquiry has found evidence supporting this idea. In most cases, the explanation from the outside is not found in cultural practices of double naming (these oddities clearly appear when a nickname or byname is turned into the official name) but in parents’ illiteracy and bad taste. However, the tradition of name-giving as presented from an in- group perspective of an anthropologist of Gypsy/Roma origin indicates that such names are never neutral or randomly chosen. Delia Grigore has provided some valuable insights into the psychology of naming in her ethnic group (Jinaru, 2007): a. The first name of Ministru (Minister) or Pre≥edinte (President) for a boy represents for the parents, who strongly believe in predestination, a guarantee that the child will have a brilliant future; b. Names that recall celebrities (movie stars, musicians, etc.) project the parents’ wishes that their offspring be endowed with the qualities for which such cultural icons were made famous; c. Names originating in place name such as Simeria, Argentina, Sâr- bianca, Media≥ reflect attachment to a place that the parents visited or wanted to visit. d. These concrete examples increase our awareness of how important the name is to social integration. The official name of the person, moreover, is often a popular Romanian name, which does not entirely represent the person known in his group by an affectionate, descriptive appellative (Jinaru, 2007).

Crt. Masculine Frequency Observations no. first names 1. Alehandro 1 incorrect spelling of Spanish name Alejandro, possibly given under the influence of popular South American soap opera characters 2. Amar 1 name with gustatory resonance, as amar means ‘bitter’ in Romanian 3. Alberto 1 Italian and Spanish name 4. Angelo 1 Italian and Spanish name

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5. Antonio 3 Italian and Spanish name 6. Antonio- 1 combination of an Italian/Spanish name with the Belmondo name of the French actor Jean Paul Belmondo 7. Beneamin 2 Jewish name 8. Belmondo 1 name that refers to the French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo 9. Bercu 1 toponym of Hungarian origin meaning ‘dum- brava’ (‘grove’) 10. Biter 1 drink name 11. Biger 1 possible origin in the English comparative form of ‘big’ 12. Bobi 2 English pet name 13. Boboc 1 Romanian name for ‘flower bud’ or ‘gosling, duckling’ 14. Cercel 1 Romanian term for ‘ear ring’ 15. Cool-Adrian 1 combination of the English adjective ‘cool’ with a common given name in different naming systems 16. Daravin 1 obscure name 17. Denis 2 French variant of the Greek name Dionysios 18. Diamant 1 name of a precious stone (‘diamond’) 19. Dobrin 1 name of a notorious Romanian football player 20. Elvis 2 name of the famous rock-and-roll star 21. Elizar 1 variant of name of Hebrew origin 22. EnuÁ 1 diminutive form with obscure origin 23. Evelin 1 spelling variant of the English name Evelyn 24. Gioni-Vasilica 1 odd combination of name with Italian resonance with diminutive form of the Romanian correspondent of Basil 26. Ghiocel 1 Romanian flower name ‘snow drop’ 27. Juja 1 opaque name 28. Floricel 1 diminutive of ‘flower’ 29. Luis 1 Spanish name 30. Margaritar 1 mineral name meaning ‘bead’, ‘pearl’ 31. Media≥ 1 locality name—Romanian town 32. Mirel 1 the masculine of Mirela 33. Moise 1 Hebrew name with biblical connotations

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34. Mohammed 1 Muslim name 35. Mugurel 1 diminutive form of ‘mugur’ (‘bud’) 36. Narcis 1 derived from flower name meaning daffodil 38. Pardailan 2 adapted form of French name 39. Pârpau 1 opaque name with unpleasant sonority 40. Pi≥olea 1 name derived from the process of urination 41. Ronaldinio 1 Romanianized form of the diminutive name of a Brazilian footballer 42. Rudolf 1 German name 43. Samuel 1 biblical name 44. Samuil 1 popular version of biblical name 45. Strugurel 1 diminutive form of the Romanian term for ‘grape’ 46. Suraj 1 Indian name 47. Tarzan 1 name of fictional character 48. Tigno 1 name with Italian resonance 49. Tebor 1 Hungarian name 50. Vandam 1 Romanianised name of the American actor of Belgian origin Jean-ClaudeVan Damme 51. Voronel 1 diminutive form of name with Slavic resonance 52. Zacheu 1 biblical name 53. Zoridezi 1 composed Romanian name meaning ‘dawn’ 54. Winetu 1 Romanianised form of Winnetou, the name of Karl May’s Native American character 55. Wilh 1 German name

Table 3: Unfamiliar first names of schoolboys of Gypsy/Romani origin

Crt. Feminine first Frequency Observations no. names 1. Agripina 1 name of Roman origin 2. Angelina 2 Italian name 3. Argentina 2 country name 4. Boboaca 1 feminine of boboc, meaning ‘bud’ or ‘gosling’ 5. Cleopatra 1 name of the Egyptian queen 6. Craiasa 1 feminine name derived from term of Slavic origin, a synonym of ‘queen’, ‘empress’

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7. Didina 3 typical name for bourgeois girls in the past 8. DraguÁa 1 diminutive form of draga, meaning ‘dear’ 9. Garoafa 1 Romanian flower name (carnation) 10. GarofiÁa2diminutive of Romanian flower name (carnation) 11. Ida 1 German name 12. FraguÁa 2 Romanian fruit name, diminutive form of fraga 13. Lamâia 2 Romanian fruit name (‘lemon’) 14. Luzia 1 a name that may be an adapted form of the Spanish name Lucía 15. MariÁa 2 obsolete Romanian name derived from Maria 16. Mândra 1 adjectival feminine form meaning ‘proud’ 17. MâÁi≥oara 1 diminutive form of regional term for cat 18. Minilha 1 unknown origin 19. Mica 5 adjectival feminine form for ‘little’, ‘small’ 20. MusâÁa 1 opaque name with unpleasant euphony 21. Nanica 1 diminutive form of nana (‘godmother’) 22. Pamela 1 name of the American Playboy star 23. Pi≥oleta 1 name derived from the act of urinating 24. Rita Italian name 26. Rosyna 1 foreign name, of Italian/Spanish origin with Anglicised form 27. SperanÁa 1 abstract noun meaning ‘hope’ 28. Sîrbianca 1 derived name for a woman inhabitant of Serbia 29. Soleda 1 a name that looks like an adapted form of the Spanish name “Soledad” 30. Somna 1 feminine form of somn, meaning ‘sleep’ or ‘cat- fish’ 31. Somona 1 non-literary feminine form of ‘salmon’ 32. Êura 1 name of a popular dance in the Bihor region 33. Vandana 1 Bollywoodian name 34. Variola 1 name of a contagious disease (‘smallpox’) 35. Vi≥ina 1 Romanian fruit name (‘sour cherry’) 36. Zînica 1 diminutive form of zâna (‘fairy’)

Table 4: Unfamiliar first names of schoolgirls of Gipsy/Romani origin from Bacau and NeamÁ counties

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An etymological approach to this category indicates the origin of foreign names and the presence of some recurrent themes, specific to descriptive names (flower names, jewel names, colour names, animal names, seasonal names, biblical and saint’s names, theophoric names etc.), which result in a great variety of feelings, as well as social atti- tudes towards an individual (Morara≥u 2007: 262). In presenting the prototypical structure of the category of proper name, Jonasson (1994: 22–24) points to the typical linguistic properties of its members: a) usually capitalized; b) displaying fixed flexionary forms; c) devoid of lexical meaning; d) mono-referential (in discourse); e) mono-lexical; f) untranslatable. We may observe, however, that some of these properties are not confirmed by the choice of given names made by Gypsy/Roma parents for their children: names such as Mândra, FraguÁa, Lamâia, SperanÁa, DraguÁa, Sârbianca, Boboaca, Craiasa have lexical meaning (are based on appellative terms) and are translatable. Transitory fashions are manifested in the usage of masculine and feminine hypocoristic forms (built upon the American model but with Romanianized endings: e.g. Bobi from Bobby); recently imported foreign names are numerous, but the names in question occur infrequnetly. As predictable, most names of foreign origin come from urban areas and the explanation lies in the fact that the families have better access to the modern means of communication and are frequently migrating to other European countries. By contrast, obsolete names belong to the rural space, where many families still live in poverty and lack the minimum of utilities (water, electricity).

7. Conclusions The growing tendency towards the penetration of etymologically different names into the onymic system of Gypsy/Romani names is made obvious in our survey. Fashion/transitory trends play a significant role in transforming and subverting traditional naming systems (Zabava 2009: 160), under the influence of extralinguistic factors implying all living conditions (economic, cultural, social and political). Conse- quently, devotional names are less numerous than affectionate and descriptive ones, but the rate of frequency (within the group and nationwide) is significantly higher for saint’s names. The place where we live and work may have a strong imprint, not only on our way of living, but also on the linguistic choices that

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we make, especially when it comes to assuming the responsibility of giving a name to a child who will be permanently exposed to social contacts, throughout his whole life. The growing awareness of this sense of responsibility is manifested in both rural and urban communities. The fact that only 91 first names out of the 530 included in the sampling unit represent deviations from the Romanian anthroponymic system suggests the increasing tendency of this ethnic group of con- forming to official naming patterns that ensure faster integration and acceptance by others.

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Itu, Mircea, Moleneau, Julieta. 2001. Cultura ≥i civilizaÁie indiana. [Indian culture and civilisation.] Bucure≥ti: Editura Credis. Jinaru Geanina. 2007. Nume de bafta. [Laughable names.] BanaÁeanul, MediaPro weekly, online version, http://old.banateanul.ro/articol/ ziar/timisoara/nume-de-baft/14985/. Jonasson, Kerstin. 1994. Le nom propre. Construction et interpréta- tions. Louvain-la-Neuve: Duculot. Kenrick, Donald. 1997. Rromii: din India la Mediterana. [Roma people: from Indian to the Mediterranean.] Bucuresti: Editura Alternative. Marin, Ana. 2003. ConsideraÁii privind structura semantica ≥i lexicala a numelor de botez laice din Dobrogea. [Considerations on the semantic and lexical structure of secular baptismal names from Dobrogea.] Annals of Philology XIV, 181-199, Ovidius University. Morarasu, Nadia N. 2007. The Shaping of Narrative Identity through the Act of Naming. Iasi: Editura Pim. Morarasu, Nadia. 2009. CombinaÁii sintagmatice ≥i contextualizari socio-culturale ale numelui etnic de român. [Syntagmatic combinations and socio-cultural contextualization of the ethnonym Romanian.]. In: Cmeciu, Doina, Danila, Ioan (eds.), Starea de a fi român, 137-154. Bacau: Ed. „Alma Mater”, Bacau. Munteanu, Eugen. 2008. Lexicologie biblica româneasca. [Romanian biblical lexicology.] Bucure≥ti: Editura Humanitas. Nicoara, Toader. 2005. Istoria ≥i tradiÁiile minoritaÁilor din România. Ministerul EducaÁiei ≥i Cercetarii. Proiectul pentru ÎnvaÁamântul Rural. [History and traditions of minorities in Romania. Ministry of Education and Research. Rural Education Project.] Oanca, Teodor. 1995. TendinÁe noi in antroponimia romaneasca. Schimbari de nume. [New trends in Romanian anthroponymy. Name changes.] Studii si Cercetari de Onomastica, no. 1/1995, 7-24. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Petrache, Tatiana 1998. DicÁionarul enciclopedic al numelor de botez. [The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Christian names.] Bucuresti: Editura Anastasia. Poruciuc, Norbert. 2005. The Status of Anthroponyms in 20th Century English and Romanian Fiction. Ia≥i: Casa Editoriala Demiurg. Popa, Ioan Lucian (ed.). 2011. Dictionar de proverb român-englez. [Romanian-English Dictionary of Proverbs.] Bacau: Ed. Alma Mater. Raátz, Judit. 2005. Trends in the choice of first names in Hungary since the second half of the 20th century, mnytud.arts.unideb.hu/ nevtan/informaciok/pisa/rj-a.pdf.

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Stellatt, Enzo la. 1993. Santi e Fanti – dizionario dei nomi di persona. Bologna: Zanichelli. Strauss, Claude Lévi. 1962. La Pensée sauvage. Paris: Librarie Plon. Tomescu, DomniÁa 1998. Gramatica numelor proprii în limba româna. [Grammar of proper names in Romanian language.] Bucure≥ti: Editura “All”. Van Langendonck, Willy. 2007. Theory and Typology of Proper Names. Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Vallentine, Tim, Brennen, Tim, Bredart, Serge. 1996. The Cognitive Psy- chology of Proper Names: On the Importance of Being Earnest. London: Routledge. Zabava, Elena Camelia. 2009. Prenumele român – între moda ≥i tradiÁie. [Romanian Christian name—between fashion and tradition.]. Studii de ≤tiinÁa ≥i Cultura, year V, 4(19), 160-164. DELR: DicÁionarul Explicativ al Limbii Romane, Bucuresti: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1998. SCOL: Studii ≥i Cercetari de Onomastica ≥i Lexicologie, year II, 1-2/2009. http://www.romaeducationfund.ro/. http://romani.uni-graz.at/rombase/cgi-bin/art.cgi?src=data/ethn/topics/ names.en.xml#id52237.

Nadia Nicoleta Morara≥u LuminiÁa Druga Faculty of Letters of “Vasile Alecsandri” University of Bacau 8 Spiru Haret Street, Bacau, 600115 Romania [email protected] [email protected]

Summary: Projecting the ethnic identity of Romanian gypsies/roma through contemporary first name-giving practices Our study is grounded in the hypothesis that the ethnic identity of Romanian Gypsies/Roma was achieved through self-identifying anthroponymic devices (ways in which names such as Roma or Romani are endogenously assigned and used within the ethnic group) and maintained through social classifying devices (images projected on others, when individuals who are exogenously called Gipsies/Gypsies are positioned in a system of classification in terms of social, ethnic and geographical groups—Vallentine et al. 1996). In analysing official first names of children of Gypsy/Romani origin from two Romanian counties in terms of their identifying and classificatory potential, we intend to prove that, in addition to conferring sacred or secular names

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derived from ancient languages or from more recent historical sources, there is a specific practice of giving fancy or odd names, often recorded in the national mass-media and exposed to public mockery for their comic and deri- sive connotations.

Résumé: L’identité ethnique des tsiganes / roms roumains à travers leurs pratiques contemporaines de la prénomination Cette étude repose sur l’hypothèse que l’identité ethnique des tsiganes / roms roumains s’est réalisée grâce aux moyens anthroponymiques d’auto-identification (manières dont les noms comme Roma et Romani sont affectés et usités de façon endogène à l’intérieur du groupe ethnique), et maintenue grâce à des moyens de classification sociale (images projetées sur les autres quand des individus appelés de façon exogène tsiganes sont placés dans un système de classification en fonction de groupes sociaux, ethniques et géographiques— Vallentine et al. 1996). En analysant les prénoms officiels d’enfants d’origine tsigane de deux pro- vinces roumaines, en fonction de leur potentiel identifiant et classificateur, l’étude a pour but de prouver que, outre l’attribution de noms religieux ou séculiers dérivés de langues anciennes ou de sources historiques plus récentes, il existe une pratique spécifique qui consiste à attribuer des noms fantaisistes ou bizarres, souvent cités dans les médias nationaux et exposés à la risée publique pour leurs connotations comiques et moqueuses.

Zusammenfassung: Die Projektierung der ethnischen Identität rumänischer Sinti/Roma durch zeitgenössische Methoden der Vornamengebung Unsere Studie gründet sich auf der Hypothese, dass die ethnische Identität der rumänischen Sinti/Roma durch selbst-identifizierende anthroponymische Hilfsmittel erreicht (durch Methoden der endogenen Zuordnung von Namen wie Roma oder Romani und des Gebrauchs innerhalb der ethnischen Gruppe) und mit Hilfe von Mitteln der sozialen Klassifikation aufrecht erhalten wird (durch Vorstellungen, die auf andere projiziert werden, wenn exogen “Zigeu- ner (Gipsies/Gypsies)” genannte Individuen in einem Klassifizierungssystem hinsichtlich sozialer, ethnischer und geographischer Gruppen positioniert werden – Vallentine et al. 1996). Mit der Analyse offizieller Vornamen von Sinti-/Roma-Kindern zweier rumä- nischer Gerichtsbezirke hinsichtlich ihres identifizierenden und klassifikatori- schen Potenzials beabsichtigen wir zu belegen, dass zusätzlich zur Verwendung heiliger oder weltlicher Namen aus früheren Sprachen oder jüngeren histori- schen Quellen, eine besondere Praxis der Namengebung ausgefallener oder skurriler Namen besteht, die oft in den Massenmedien des Landes vorkommen und wegen ihrer komischen und verächtlichen Konnotationen öffentlichem Spott ausgesetzt sind.

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