Individual Nicknames in Kostroma Dialects: A General Motivational Overview

Individual nicknames, as a distinct class of onyms, serve not only a nominative function but also a descriptive one. This article explores the motivational principles underlying the attribution of such nicknames, based on data collected by the Ural University Toponymic Expedition in the Kostroma region. Many of the nicknames presented here are introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. The proposed motivational classifi cation draws on contextual information recorded during fieldwork — specifi cally, informants’ explanations regarding the origins of each nickname. Since formally identical nicknames may arise from diff erent motivations (cf. Kot “Vasya Kot — many cats are called Vas’kas, so he’s aVasya Kot, too” vs. Kot “We had a cat — he had whiskers like a cat”), this context captures the workings of naive linguistic consciousness in the interpretation of onymic motivation. The study identifi es eleven key motivational categories relevant to nickname formation: family ties, place of residence or origin, biographical facts, occupation, appearance, physical disabilities, character and behaviour, intellectual abilities, habits and pastimes, speech, and fi nancial status. The most productive categories include nicknames derived from personal names or kinship terms, as well as those referencing physical appearance. Nicknames based on distinctive speech patterns are also relatively common. A large, though heterogeneous, group includes nicknames that refl ect societal behavior or attitudes towards others, life, and material possessions.