Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica
2025, ol. 93, pp. 1–10
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Recei ed: / Gau a: 2025-08-23. Accep ed: / P iim a: 2025-11-13. 1
CHANGES IN THE STOCK OF GIVEN NAMES IN THE CONTEXT OF
A NEW DICTIONARY OF LATVIAN GIVEN NAMES
Va dyno pokyčiai naujojo La ijos asmen a džių žodyno kon eks e
1
LAIMUTE BALODE
La ian Language Ins i u e, Facul y o Humani ies, Uni e si y o La ia
E-mail: laimu [email protected]
ORCID ID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5036-6663
Fields o esea ch: Bal ic onomas ics, La ian oponymy, La ian an h oponymy.
RENĀTE SILIŅA-PIŅĶE
La ian Language Ins i u e, Facul y o Humani ies, Uni e si y o La ia
E-mail: ena [email protected]
ORCID ID: h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5553-2165
Fields o esea ch: Bal ic onomas ics, La ian oponymy, La ian an h oponymy, La ian and
Ge man language con ac s.
h ps://doi.o g/10.35321/all93-01
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ABSTRACT
The a icle in oduces he o hcoming Small Dic iona y o Pe sonal Names (Mazā pe son ā du
ā dnīca), planned o publica ion in 2026. The i s pa ou lines how he p inciples o compila ion di e om
hose used in he p e ious dic iona y. Special a en ion is gi en o he app oxima ely 7% o names in he new
dic iona y ha we e no included in he ea lie La ian pe sonal name dic iona y by Klā s Siliņš (La ijas
pe son ā du ā dnīca, 1990). The a icle explo es and analyses possible easons o hese di e ences. One eason
is he di e ing c i e ia and jus i ica ions used in he wo dic iona ies; ano he is ha he names may ha e sp ead
1
A icle based on he p esen a ion gi en a The 5 h In e na ional Scien i ic Aleksand as Vanagas’ Con e ence
“Language and Cul u e Dialogue in 21s Cen u y Onomas ics”, No embe 7–8, 2024, Vilnius: Ins i u e o he
Li huanian Language.
2
in La ia only a e he publica ion o K. Siliņš’s dic iona y. These include newly bo owed names such as Maikls,
Mišela, and Raiens, as well as e y a e o e en unique La ian-o igin names like Ā alda and Magone.
KEYWORDS: La ian language, gi en names, dic iona y o pe sonal names, changes in he s ock o gi en names
in he 21s cen u y.
ANOTACIJA
S aipsnyje p is a omas naujasis La ijos asmen a džių žodynas (Mazā pe son ā du ā dnīca,
numa omas publikuo i 2026 me ais). Pi mojoje s aipsnio dalyje ap a iami anks esniojo i šio žodyno suda ymo
p incipų ski umai. Daugiausia dėmesio ski iama asmen a džiams (apie 7 p oc.), ku ių nė a anks esniame
La ijos asmen a džių žodyne (Klā s Siliņš La ijas pe son ā du ā dnīca, 1990). Pa eikiamos i analizuojamos
galimos p iežas ys, kodėl kai ku ie a dai neį auk i į anks esnįjį žodyną: ai, isų pi ma, ski ingi an oponimų
a ankos p incipai, an oji p iežas is – asmen a džio papli imo laikas jau po K. Siliņio žodyno pa engimo
(pa yzdžiui, nauji pasiskolin i a dai, okie kaip Maikls, Mišela, Raiens, a ba i in e i la ių kilmės a dai,
pa yzdžiui, Ā alda, Magone).
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: la ių kalba, a dai, asmen a džių žodynas, XXI a. a dyno pokyčiai.
INTRODUCTION
The opic o his a icle is ela ed o he wo k o bo h au ho s on a new dic iona y o
gi en names o La ia scheduled o publica ion by he La ian Language Agency a he end
o 2025. The aim o he a icle, p ima ily, is o p o ide a concise o e iew o he concep ual
amewo k and s uc u al design o he o hcoming dic iona y, wi h pa icula a en ion o
he me hodological p inciples o da a selec ion and he c i e ia employed in de e mining en y
names. Fu he mo e, he s udy delinea es he dis inc i e aspec s ha dis inguish he new
dic iona y o pe sonal names om p e iously published lexicog aphic wo ks. The second pa
o he a icle is de o ed o he a ainmen o he s udy’s main objec i e: i p esen s
obse a ions and insigh s acqui ed du ing he compila ion p ocess, ocusing on ecen
de elopmen s in he co pus o pe sonal names in La ia – speci ically, on gi en names ha
a e absen om an ea lie published dic iona y and analysis o he ac o s con ibu ing o hei
omission.
The only comp ehensi e publica ion o La ian gi en names o da e is K. Siliņš’s
Dic iona y o La ian Pe sonal Names (La iešu pe son ā du ā dnīca), in his a icle he eina e
abb e ia ed as LPV, published pos humously in 1990. K. Siliņš collec ed an h oponymic
ma e ial o nea ly 50 yea s, comple ing he manusc ip in 1980 (Siliņa-Piņķe 2024: 300).
Al hough he was no a linguis by p o ession, he compiled he dic iona y wi h ema kable
ca e and dedica ion. Mo e han 30 yea s ha e passed since i s publica ion, du ing which ime
pe sonal naming p e e ences, social s uc u e, and e en b oade aspec s o socie y and cul u e
ha e unde gone signi ican change. Many new gi en names ha e been c ea ed o bo owed.
Fu he mo e, he compila ion p inciples o he wo dic iona ies di e conside ably.
1. MAIN PRINCIPLES OF COMPILING A NEW DICTIONARY
Unlike K. Siliņš’s dic iona y (LPV), which aims o co e an en i e millennium (Siliņš
1990: 8), he new dic iona y ocuses exclusi ely on gi en names cu en ly in use in La ia.
Each en y will p o ide a de ailed desc ip ion o he name’s o igin and con empo a y
3
dis ibu ion, and he dic iona y is designed o a b oad eade ship. One o he i s asks o
he au ho s o he new dic iona y was o de ine and delimi he scope o ma e ial, as he
alloca ed ime o he p ojec was e y sho .
I was decided ha he dic iona y would include en ies based on:
1) adi ional La ian calenda names (2025 da a);
2) he 200 mos popula emale and male names among La ian ci izens in 2022;
3) he 200 mos popula names gi en o gi ls and boys du ing he pas 20 yea s (2002–
2022; also limi ed o La ian ci izens) (see also Siliņa-Piņķe 2024: 301).
One o he main da a sou ces is he lis o adi ional calenda names o 2025. This
lis is upda ed e e y ew yea s by he Commission o Expe s on Calenda Names o he S a e
Language Cen e acco ding o c i e ia such as he o igin, meaning, euphony, equency,
s abili y, and adi ionali y o he name, as well as i s cohe ence wi h La ian naming adi ions
(VVC). In 2025, nine new gi en names we e added o he adi ional calenda : i was upda ed
wi h emale names as Aleksa, Dominika, G ē a, Madlēna, Mīla, Vanesa, and male names Eliass,
F ancisks, Ves a ds (VVC). These names a e also included as new en ies in he dic iona y.
Mos o he an h oponymic da a was ob ained om he O ice o Ci izenship and
Mig a ion A ai s (PMLP), p epa ed by i s s a acco ding o he pa ame e s speci ied by he
au ho s.
The ques ion – why was such a selec ion made? The au ho s had se e al speci ic goals,
namely:
1) o c ea e a clea ly de ined scope, ensu ing ha he “ ules o he game” a e
anspa en and ha name a ian s do no cause unnecessa y complica ions;
2) o add ess as b oad an audience as possible;
3) o amilia ise use s o he dic iona y wi h he o igins o gi en names included in he
calenda s;
4) o p esen he mos commonly used gi en names in La ia, hose mos equen ly
encoun e ed in e e yday li e;
5) o highligh ends in name-gi ing o e he ecen decades and o acquain eade s
wi h hese de elopmen s (Balode, Siliņa-Piņķe 2025).
A e p ocessing all collec ed da a, nea ly 1,200 gi en names we e iden i ied and
g ouped in o dic iona y en ies. Each en y p o ides in o ma ion on he o igin o he pe sonal
name and, whe e possible, he ime o i s in oduc ion o sp ead in La ia, as well as i s
popula i y bo h na ionally and egionally du ing di e en pe iods o he 20 h cen u y. Names
di e ing only in oo owel leng h, – such as Adelīna and Adelina o Zinaida and Zinaīda –
a e combined in o a single en y, while o he names ecei e hei own sepa a e en ies. As
a esul o his g ouping, he o hcoming dic iona y cu en ly con ains 1,162 en ies.
Fo he desc ip ions o name o igins, one o he main e e ences is K. Siliņš’s dic iona y
(LPV), which is c i ically assessed and compa ed wi h he mos ecen gi en name dic iona ies
in o he languages (including Ge man, English, Swedish, Russian, Polish, Li huanian,
Es onian, Finnish, e c.) as well as wi h 21s -cen u y onomas ic s udies. Addi ionally, o e i y
4
o cla i y he ime o a name’s a i al o sp ead in La ia, da a om he upcoming elec onic
His o ical Dic iona y o La ian Gi en Names is also used, d awing on i s eco ded cases om
18 h-cen u y E angelical Lu he an pa ish egis e s, as well as sou ces such as he websi e
pe iodika.l . Finally, a e compiling and e alua ing all a ailable da a, he au ho s selec he
mos c edible o plausible explana ions o o igin o he La ian con ex , occasionally
p oposing hei own in e p e a ions based on a ange o sou ces.
Du ing he analy ical p ocess, he selec ion o gi en names o inclusion in he new
dic iona y and he subsequen compa a i e analysis we e guided by he es ablished
me hodologies and p inciples employed in he compila ion o an h oponymic dic iona ies in
o he languages. The au hen ici y and eliabili y o name sou ces, as well as well-de ined
c i e ia o name selec ion, cons i u e he p incipal me hodological alues unde pinning his
app oach (Maciejauskienė 2004; Sinke ičiū ė 2010; 2014; Egge , Nissen 2023, e c.). The
expe ience o o he languages in he con ex o pe sonal name change has also been aken
in o conside a ion. Fo ins ance, S anley Liebe son’s (2000) ex ensi e s udy o changes in he
popula i y o he child en’s gi en names in he Uni ed S a es demons a es ha as es in names
(and o he ashions) e lec b oade socie al shi s. Simila ly, Ka ha ina Leib ing (2023)
compa es he co pus o spoken names among all Swedish esiden s in he la e 1990s wi h bo h
con empo a y popula baby names and he cu en s ock o names among he gene al
popula ion. The p esen s udy o La ian an h oponymy has u he mo e been in o med and
suppo ed by expe ly compiled dic iona ies p epa ed by leading specialis s in he ield, which
se e as bo h me hodological models and sou ces o alida ion.
2. NEW GIVEN NAMES AND POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THEIR ABSENCE
IN THE LPV (COMPARISON OF TWO DICTIONARIES)
Du ing he cou se o he wo k, i became clea ha no all o he planned en ies ha e
equi alen s in he LPV. O he 1,162 en ies in he o hcoming dic iona y, in o ma ion abou
82 names – jus o e 7% – could no be ound in he LPV. These pa icula names o m he
basis o he analysis p esen ed in his pape .
When conside ing he easons o hese disc epancies, one o he i s hypo heses
ad anced was ha hey a ise om he di e en selec ion c i e ia o en ies used in he wo
dic iona ies. In he LPV, K. Siliņš no es: “As a as possible, only names gi en o La ians a e
lis ed, al hough no consis en ly, as he na ionali y o he name bea e canno always be
eliably de e mined om he sou ces”
2
(Siliņš 1990: 26). Fu he mo e, “The pe sonal names
eco ded only in 1973 and/o 1975, and which a e comple ely uncha ac e is ic o he La ian
pe sonal name sys em, we e no included in he inal ex o he dic iona y” (Ibid.: 33). In
con as , he o hcoming dic iona y includes he names o La ian ci izens o di e se e hnic
backg ounds, p o ided ha hey a e among he 200 mos popula names o a e lis ed in he
adi ional name-day calenda .
2
Quo a ion ansla ed by he au ho s o he a icle.
5
A second possible eason o he disc epancies is he a i al and sp ead o new gi en
names in La ia, and wi hin he La ian an h oponymic sys em, a e he compila ion o he
LPV. To es hese hypo heses, he names we e g ouped acco ding o he analy ical amewo k
conduc ed du ing he p epa a ion o he new dic iona y. This esul ed in a ocus on 82 en y
names – 49 emale and 33 male names (see Table).
Table. La ian gi en names (in alphabe ic o de ) no included in he LPV analysed in his a icle
Female
names
Alisa, Amalda, Aman a, Amina, Anabella, Ā alda, Be nedīne, Denīze, Di e,
Dzelde, Dzied a, Dzīle, Džesika, Eimija, Emija, Emilia, Gab iella, Halina, Heidija,
Imalda, Jeliza e a, Je genija, Juno a, Kei a, Kei ija, Ke līna, K is ena, Liepa, Liza,
Magone, Ma ia, Megija, Meija, Mena da, Mie alda, Mila, Mišela, Na aļja, Nikole,
Oli ia, Oļesja, Polina, Reičela, Saman a, So ia, So ja, Vasilisa, Vik o ia, Žaklīna
Male
names
Ako, Ald is, Aleks, Alekss, An a s, Ā alds, B aiens, Dami s, Daniils, Danila,
Daņila, Denis, Digmā s, Dilans, Domeniks, Ed a s, Gai s, Gun is, Je genijs /
Je gēnijs, Ke ins, Ki ills, Maikls, Mal is, Ma kus, Meld is, Niki a, Nikolass, Raiens,
Rai s, Ri aldis, Sigmunds, Valgudis, Vies a ds
2.1. Gi en names uncha ac e is ic o he La ian an h oponymic sys em
To de e mine whe he a name is p edominan ly used by La ians o by o he e hnic
g oups in La ia, da a ecei ed om he O ice o Ci izenship and Mig a ion A ai s (PMLP)
we e analysed. Howe e , he ini ial assump ion – ha mos o he names absen om he LPV
would p ima ily be uncha ac e is ic o he La ian an h oponymic sys em and would la gely
ep esen names o Russian o igin in hei La ianised o ms ( hough no exclusi ely) – was
no con i med. O all he gi en names analysed, hose mo e ypical o La ia’s non-La ian
e hnic g oups accoun ed o less han one qua e , amoun ing o only 19 names in o al: Alisa,
Amina, An a s, Dami s, Daniils, Danila, Daņila, Denis, Jeliza e a, Je genija, Je genijs/Je gēnijs,
Ki ills, Mila, Na aļja, Niki a, Oļesja, Polina, So ja, and Vasilisa.
Only a ew o hese names can be conside ed pa icula ly popula : Daniils,
Je genijs/Je gēnijs, and Na aļja, each wi h mo e han 2,000 bea e s. In addi ion, he names
Alisa, Niki a, and Oļesja each ha e o e 1,000 egis e ed bea e s. Names such as Dami s,
Jeliza e a, Je genija, Ki ills, and Polina a e ela i ely less common, wi h 500–1,000 bea e s,
while he emainde a e a e o e y a e. Mos o hese names ha e been included in he
o hcoming dic iona y due o hei ma ked ise in popula i y in ecen decades, which has
b ough hem in o he g oup o he 200 mos popula names o boys and gi ls.
Only i e names belong exclusi ely o his ca ego y, meaning ha he only plausible
explana ion o hei absence om K. Siliņš’s dic iona y is hei a ypical use wi hin he La ian
naming en i onmen :

6
1) An a s was included in he manusc ip o he LPV wi h a da ing om 1973 o 1975,
bu he scien i ic edi o , Ojā s Bušs, decided o exclude i om he published e sion because
i was en i ely uncha ac e is ic o he La ian gi en name sys em (Siliņš 1990: 33). Today, he
name is ex emely a e and has been included in he o hcoming dic iona y only because, a
some poin a e he publica ion o he LPV, i was unexpec edly added o he adi ional
La ian name-day calenda
3
;
2) Je genija, a name ha has been occasionally gi en o gi ls in Riga and especially in
he eas e n pa o La ia – La gale h oughou he 20 h cen u y. I is no ewo hy ha he LPV
eco ds he a ian wi h pala alised consonan , Je geņija (Ibid.: 180), which in p ac ice is
conside ably less common;
3) Je genijs and i s a ian Je gēnijs, as al eady no ed, a e common male names among
non-La ian e hnic g oups in La ia. In he LPV, he a ian wi h a pala alised consonan
Je geņijs is included (Ibid.: 180), which is only sligh ly mo e popula ;
4) Na aļja, which is a mo e popula a ian o Na ālija – he o m included in he LPV
(Ibid.: 246);
5) Oļesja, a name ha ose o popula i y mainly du ing he 1980s, and is he e o e
absen om he LPV.
I emains unclea why he abo e-men ioned a ian s o he names Je genija and
Je genijs we e no included in he LPV, since pa allel o ms o many o he gi en names a e
lis ed, o example, Jelēna and Jeļena, o Joze īne, Joze īna, Jozepīne, and Jozepīna (Ibid.: 178,
183). Con e sely, a ian s o o he well-known names, such as Alisa, Jeliza e a, Ki ills, Niki a,
and Polina, may no ha e been eco ded due o hei la e sp ead in La ia.
2.2. Newly a i ed gi en names in La ia
The second aspec we conside ed signi ican conce ns he changing ends in name-
gi ing in La ia. A e compiling he da a, his ca ego y p o ed o be he la ges , comp ising
hal o all names analysed, 45 names in o al, o hese, 14 we e p e iously desc ibed as
p ima ily belonging o he Sla ic an h oponymic sys em. This indica es ha changes a e also
occu ing in he naming p ac ices o non-La ian communi ies.
The emaining 31 names, which a e no cha ac e is ic o non-La ians, include he
ollowing: Aleks, Alekss, Anabella, B aiens, Denīze, Dilans, Domeniks, Džesika, Eimija, Emija,
Emilia, Gab iella, Heidija, Kei a, Kei ija, Ke līna, Ke ins, K is ena, Maikls, Ma ia, Ma kus,
Megija, Mišela, Nikolass, Nikole, Oli ia, Raiens, Reičela, Saman a, So ia, and Vik o ia.
O hese, only Alekss, Megija, and Saman a appea in he adi ional name-day calenda ,
and hey a e also he mos common names in his g oup, wi h mo e han 2,250, 1,500, and
3,300 bea e s, espec i ely. Howe e , Kei a, al hough bo ne by o e 2,200 indi iduals, is no
3
The au ho s belie e ha his was a mis ake, as he name An a s is cha ac e is ic o he A abic an h oponymic
sys em. Compa e Anwa , an A abic pe sonal name de i ed om he A abic anwa , meaning ‘b igh ’ o ‘ adian ’
(R. Kohlheim, V. Kohlheim 2013: 57).
7
included in he calenda . Rela i ely uncommon names wi h 500–1,000 bea e s include Aleks,
Ke ins, Maikls, Nikolass, and Raiens, while he emaining names a e e en a e , wi h only 100
o 500 bea e s. All hese names ha e ne e heless been included in he o hcoming dic iona y,
as hey belong o he g oup o he 200 mos popula names o gi ls and boys
4
.
Fu he mo e, a da a isualisa ion by he Cen al S a is ical Bu eau (CSB), en i led 100
Mos Popula Names o Newbo ns O e 100 Yea s, shows ha hese names a e mos equen ly
gi en o child en bo n ab oad. I can he e o e be concluded ha ei he ac o – being an
a ypical name o La ians o being a newly a i ed name – would, on i s own, su ice o
explain hei absence om he LPV.
2.3. Changed o ms o names and sca ce names
I should be no ed ha o 11 names, he LPV p o ides a simila , usually mo e
common, o m. Fo example: Aleksis (no Alekss), Dominiks (no Domeniks), Emīlija (no
Emilia), Gab iela (no Gab iella), Heidi (no Heidija), Ma ija (no Ma ia), Ma kuss (no
Ma kus), Nikola (no Nikole), Olī ija (no Oli ia), So ija (no So ia), and Vik o ija (no
Vik o ia). All hese ( he o ms gi en in b acke s) a e included in he ex ended name-day
calenda
5
, excep o Emilia, Ma ia, Oli ia, So ia, and Vik o ia, which do no comply wi h
La ian g amma ical no ms, i.e., hey end in -ia a he han he no ma i e -ija.
Du ing he analysis, an addi ional ca ego y eme ged alongside he p e iously iden i ied
g oups: names ha a e e y a ely (o ne e ) encoun e ed in ac ual use bu a e none heless
included in he adi ional name-day calenda . I is di icul , and in some cases e en
impossible, o de e mine why hese names a e absen om he LPV, as he easons may a y.
They may ha e appea ed in La ia a e 1980, when he LPV manusc ip was comple ed, o
he numbe o bea e s may ha e been so small ha hey did no come o K. Siliņš’s a en ion
o en e his eco ds. In o al, 32 such names we e iden i ied: Ako, Ald is, Amalda, Aman a,
Ā alda
6
, Ā alds, Be nedīne, Digmā s, Di e, Dzelde, Dzied a, Dzīle, Ed a s, Gai s, Gun is,
Halina, Imalda, Juno a, Liepa, Liza, Magone, Mal is, Meija, Meld is, Mena da, Mie alda, Rai s,
Ri aldis, Sigmunds, Valgudis, Vies a ds, Žaklīna. Almos all o hese names ha e ewe han
70 bea e s, wi h he majo i y ha ing ewe han 10. Only Ed a s, Liza, and Žaklīna ha e
app oxima ely 100 bea e s, while he name Ā alda is no egis e ed a all.
3. KEY POINTS EXPLAINING THE ABSENCE OF PARTICULAR GIVEN
NAMES IN THE LPV
Fi s ly, he e is one name whose exclusion is explici ly men ioned in he LPV
in oduc ion. The scien i ic edi o o he dic iona y, Ojā s Bušs, no es ha “Li onian and
4
On ecen endencies chosing a name o newbo ns in La ia see Balode 2023.
5
Ex ended calenda is a ailable on he websi e o he S a e Language Cen e: h ps://www. c.go .l /l /kalen-
da a du-ekspe u-komisija (see he documen “Paplašinā ais ā dadienu sa aks s”).
6
In his lis o gi en names, unde lined names a e o La ian o igin.
8
Es onian names ( om ancien ch onicles)” we e among hose omi ed (Siliņš 1990: 34). Such
example is he male name Ako. I a compa able dic iona y we e being compiled oday, his
c i e ion would no longe apply, as Ako is cu en ly egis e ed as a gi en name in La ia wi h
mo e han 10 bea e s, i.e., i is no longe con ined o ancien ch onicles. Simila ly, he name
Be nadīna, which was eco ded in he manusc ip o he LPV, was excluded because i was
no a es ed in eal usage (Ibid.: 34). Howe e , a simila name, Be nedīne, wi h ewe han 10
bea e s, has been included in he o hcoming dic iona y.
Secondly, he LPV con ains speci ic names in o ms ha di e om hose in he
o hcoming dic iona y: Ā aldis (no Ā alds), Di a (no Di e), Ed a ds (no Ed a s), Gai is
(no Gai s), Haļīna (no Halina), Liepiņa (no Liepa), Līze (no Liza), Rai is (no Rai s),
Zigmunds (no Sigmunds), Vies a s (no Vies a ds), Žakelīna (no Žaklīna), as well as names
o he opposi e gende a e eco ded in LPV, o ins ance, male name Ā aldis (bu no emale
name Ā alda), Dzied is (no Dzied a), Dzīlis (no Dzīle), Gun is (no Gun a), Mie aldis
(no Mie alda), and emale name Mal a (no male name Mal is), Meld a (no Meld is).
Fo speci ic names, i may be assumed ha hey we e in use du ing he 20 h cen u y,
bu K. Siliņš may no ha e eco ded hem. This assump ion is suppo ed by sea ches in he
“Pe iodika” online a chi e, which e eal newspape a icles men ioning eal indi iduals wi h
hese names, o example, Ald is (in he 1970s), Amalda (in he 1920s), Halina (in he 1950s),
Imalda (in he 1960s), Juno a (in he 1930s), and Mena da (in he 1980s). Based on su names
and con ex ual de ails, i is highly p obable ha hese indi iduals we e La ians.
Some o hese names also appea in pe iodicals as he names o cha ac e s o li e a y
wo ks, such as Ald is, Di e, Dzelde, and Juno a, which may ha e acili a ed hei subsequen
adop ion in eal li e. Addi ionally, o example, he name Ed a s is known as a li e a y
pseudonym o he w i e Ed a s Vi za (1883–1940, eal name Jēkabs Edua ds Liekna).
CONCLUSIONS
Fi s ly, he assump ion ha one o he main easons o he absence o speci ic names
in he LPV lies in he undamen ally di e en app oaches o he wo dic iona ies – whe he
ocusing exclusi ely on e hnic La ian names o on names bo ne by La ian ci izens – was
only pa ially con i med. Among he long-es ablished, ypical names o La ian mino i ies
ha a e no included in he LPV, only Je genija, Je genijs/Je gēnijs, and Na aļja s and ou .
Mo e o en, he absence o speci ic names can be explained by hei a i al and/o
wide sp ead in La ia du ing he la e 20 h cen u y o e en only in he 21s cen u y. This g oup
includes a ious names o Wes e n Eu opean o igin (all adap ed o La ian o hog aphy, wi h
La ian g amma ical endings), such as B aiens, Denīze, Džesika, Eimija, as well as names
ep esen ing he Sla ic an h oponymic sys em, such as Alisa, Dami s, Daniils, and Denis.
These examples demons a e ha name-gi ing adi ions in La ia ha e unde gone signi ican
change in ecen decades, bo h among La ians and wi hin mino i y communi ies.
Fo nea ly hal o he analysed names, he easons o hei exclusion om he LPV
canno be de e mined wi h ce ain y. These a e e y a ely used and, in some cases, e en
9
unique gi en names ha none heless appea in he adi ional name-day calenda . Al hough
his g oup is qui e di e se, i is he e – and only he e – ha names o La ian o igin, such as
Ā alda, Dzelde, and Dzied a, a e ound. The inclusion o some o hese names in he calenda
may ha e con ibu ed o hei ans o ma ion om occasional occu ences in o sca ce bu s ill
a es ed names.
In any case, he o hcoming dic iona y will p esen a highly di e se collec ion o gi en
names. Only ime will e eal which o hese names will ake oo and lou ish in La ian
naming p ac ices, and which will g adually ade in o obscu i y.
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