A Study of the Names of the Bayan-Ölgii People

This paper examined the data of 6,186 full names from 14,784 residents of Bayan-Ölgii aimag(province), Mongolia. As a result, it was discovered that 1,402 people share 808 traditional Mongolian names while remaining 13,382 people share 5,378 traditional Kazakh names in the data. The study analyzed the 103 most common names at the morpheme level and the 30 most common morphemes to know the etymological origins and lexical meanings of the words that constitute the names of the Bayan-Ölgii people. As a result, the study confirmed that the Persian, Arabic, and Common Turkic words are prevailing elements in the Kazakh names of the Bayan-Ölgii people, and some Russian elements are also being used in their names. The wishes of the Bayan-Ölgii parents and grandparents for their children, or future generations were speculated. Some remarkable wishes are: happiness, health, being well-off, respected and beloved, and becoming friends of other people and being surrounded by friends. It was confirmed that for both the Kazakh and Mongolian parents and grandparents, their children are so dear, lovely, and valuable. It is clear that both the Kazakh and Mongolian parents and grandparents want their children to become a person of endurance who is strong enough to overcome any difficulties in the life. It is also confirmed that they want their children in the light, bright world following the right path of the life. Interesting aspects of Mongolian elements in Kazakh names, Mongolization of some Turco-Mongolic cognates, the Russian elements in Kazakh names, and cross ethnic names are introduced for the future studies.