Record and study of the names of people in Greece in the post- Middle Ages and early modern times. Names of people of Thessaly and Eastern Macedonia.
The aim of the project is to collect and organise a huge volume of data so as to facilitate utilization for further study. This data concerns material relating to the names of people which were used during the period on which the research focuses, and which constitute a partial aspect of the social reality of the time and can represent a starting point for the study of basic historical issues.
Project director: Konstantinos Moustakas, Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete
The aim is to collect and organise a huge volume of data so as to facilitate utilization for further study. This data concerns material relating to the names of people which were used during the period on which the research focuses, and which constitute a partial aspect of the social reality of the time and can represent a starting point for the study of basic historical issues.
On account of the large volume of the material, the research focuses on the first stage in two areas of Greece, Thessaly and Eastern Macedonia. By focusing on two distinct geographical units the project will throw into relief the comparative character of the research as well as the potential for determining possible differences in customs and practices regarding names between individual areas. If there is the possibility of continuing the project in the future, then the research will be extended to other areas and will ultimately cover the whole of Greece.
Regarding the sources which will yield the material to be recorded and studied, they consist of Greek and Ottoman texts and documents. The material relating to people's names is entered in a data base, with family names being distinguished from given names, and the introduction of a series of variables according to name, such as frequency of appearance, geographical location both within a general framework (geographical area) and a particular location (town, village), type of name (saint?s name, secular name, nickname, name denoting geographical origin or profession, etc), together with extra information, such as etymology, national identity, historicity, relationship to individual social category. The accompanying study of the above record and organisation of the material may be in electronic form or printed (brief monograph). This study will summarise the statistical data of the record, pinpoint the similarities and differences in selection of names between the two areas being studied, and furthermore, an analysis will be made of certain aspects of the social reality of these areas, such as emigration, the possible distinction between individual national groups of the population, ideological influences which become apparent because of the evidence of the names.
The chief academic contribution of the research project, however, is the fact that other academics will be able to use this material via the data base in order to complete studies in respect of names, linguistics, social history, the history of attitudes, historical demography, et al.
Project Team
