Every nation pays great attention to the choice of name. From time immemorial, it was believed that with the name of the child his fate, happiness and luck were decided. For Kazakhs, choosing a name is a difficult issue, and many points are taken into account, for example, gender, wishes of parents and so on. The criteria by which Kazakh names are chosen for men are peculiar and sometimes even surprising.
A bit of history
According to linguists, this people’s total number of names exceeds 10,000 marks. This is because the ancient names of the Kazakhs have been preserved and continue to operate, and new ones are added to them every year.
Thus, changes in political life and in the way of life, interconnections with other nationalities influenced the culture of the nation and, as a result, the names. There are both native Kazakh masculine names and borrowed from other peoples. Their largest number was adopted during periods of religious intervention.
With the advent of Islam in the Kazakh steppe, culture and many customs changed. At that time, Kazakh male names were enriched due to the popularization of Muslim prophets and saints, as well as the names of the Most High. For example, Muhammad, Ali, Aziz, Rahman and others.
A little earlier this list was supplemented by Jewish names that have survived to this day. These are Ilyas, Zhunis, Isa (the name of the prophet Jesus) and others.
Also, the conquests of the Mongol Empire contributed. Such names as Genghis, Altai, Zhambyl and others passed over from them and firmly entrenched.
The Kazakh names borrowed from the Iranians have a slightly different pronunciation, but in general the meaning and sound correspond to the original variants. So, “Bakhtiyar” in Kazakh sounds more sharply - “Baktiyar”, the sound [k] is sonorous here. The following Iranian names are widespread in modern Kazakh language: Yeset, Dastan, Rustem and others.
Highlights when choosing a name
When choosing a name, they rely on the opinion of the elders in the family, as a rule, these are grandparents. However, outsiders can also participate in this matter. It can be good friends, holding a high status in society or having any talents, for example, singers, composers and so on. It can also be just good friends and close people.
When choosing a name for a child, the views of the family are taken into account. For example, families with more secular upbringing prefer the latest trends in this area. At the same time, both new borrowings and primordial ancient Kazakh names for a boy can be popular . Moreover, it should be borne in mind that it is not customary to name a child here as well as a father. In families with more loyal views, names borrowed from European countries are common. For example, Arthur, Ernst, Sergey and others.
In families with a religious order, Muslim names are popular: Muhammad, Samat, Zhusyp and so on. Moreover, there are complex in structure, in which one part is one of the hundred names of God mentioned in the Holy Quran. For example, Nurali, Rayymbek.
In cases of frequent mortality of children in the family or when children are born with poor health, not very beautiful Kazakh male names or with special significance are specially chosen for them. For example, Turar (gets up), Toleu (payment), Zhursyn (let him go) and even Traktorbek. This is done in order to ward off trouble, evil eye and other troubles from children. In addition, the time of year at birth, the area and other factors are also taken into account.
Kazakh names for men have many features, and, despite all the above, I would like to note that the parents' opinion plays an important role in their choice.