Diachronic Aspects of the Bulgarian Anthroponymic System in the 19th Century. Linguistic Features. Trends

Abstract

The article presents results of a study of the historical aspects of Bulgarian anthroponymy obtained as part of a postdoctoral project. The study is based on 19th-century archival materials that have been introduced into scientific circulation only recently. It reveals the unique features of the formation of the anthroponymy characteristic of a Bulgarian community outside Bulgaria’s ethnic territory. The study presents linguistic and statistical data on 19th-century Bulgarian personal names, highlighting the changes in the personal name system of the settlers in Tabak (South Bessarabia) that took place under polylinguistic influence.