Innovations and Transformations in the Anthroponymy of a Village at the End of the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Centuries

Through examples extracted from population registers of a village, the paper illustrates some aspects of change in the Bulgarian naming system at the turn of the 20th century. The main results refer to two trends of modernization of anthroponymy: introduction of names belonging to members of the Bulgarian ruling house, and replacement of the original form of the name in the process of “renewal” in subsequent generations. These innovations were reflected in changes of the traditional rhythm of naming, and were most likely provoked by the introduction of population registration and the need for written forms of specific folk names.