Лексико-семантическая специфика калмыцких фамилий

Эльза Очир-Горяевна Дальдинова; Татьяна Михайловна Кекеева; Надежда Андреевна Кичикова; Нина Юрьевна Микитенко

doi:10.25178/nit.2026.2.19

Authors

Elza O.-G. Daldinova B. B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5005-024X
Tatyana M. Kekeeva B. B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7470-1454
Nadezhda A. Kichikova B. B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University
Nina Yu. Mikitenko B. B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2725-1283

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25178/nit.2026.2.19

Keywords:

anthroponymicon, system of personal names, family anthroponym, surname, passportization, Kalmyk language, naming practices

Abstract

The article analyzes the lexico-semantic component of modern Kalmyk surnames which do not belong to the traditional anthroponymicon of the Kalmyks and emerged as a Soviet innovation. The research material consists of the surnames of Elista residents recorded in the 1992 telephone directory, in Internet publications, and in archival documents.

A classification of surnames is proposed based on their semantics: 1) surnames with a patronymic basis; 2) surnames based on ethnonyms and sub-ethnonymic names; 3) surnames derived from status-functional and military-administrative designations; 4) surnames associated with Buddhism; 5) surnames containing totemic, sacral, and symbolic motifs. It is established that many surnames are based on the personal names of the father, grandfather, or a more distant male ancestor. The wide spread of surnames grounded in Buddhist symbols is noted.

The study reveals the fixation of mythological conceptions and astrological traditions in surnames that reflect calendar-based naming practices. The ancient origin of surname bases denoting numbers, colors, and the plant and animal world is noted. Ethnic and sub-ethnic components of family anthroponyms are identified, their regional specificity is determined, and traces of historical contacts of the Kalmyks with other ethnic groups are traced.

It is concluded that, while being a Soviet innovation, Kalmyk surnames have nonetheless preserved cultural and historical information about the life of the ethnos, since they are grounded in personal names as well as in terms of the Kalmyk language.

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