Nicknames from three villages situated on the Mara river

This paper aims to identify and classify the nicknames from three villages (Sat-Şugatag, Giuleşti, Berbeşti), which are situated along the Mara river. The corpus consists of approximately two hundred nicknames which were registered during field research in the aforementioned settlements. The study will analyse the endurance of the nicknames across generations, as well as the reason behind their appearance. It must be noted that a considerable number of nicknames pertain to Roma ethnics, which make up an extended community in Sat-Şugatag, or to the Jewish people, very numerous in Berbesti, where they left a mark on the local population. These names will be grouped into different categories, such as nicknames derived from animal names: Hulpea (‘the fox’), Ursu (‘the bear’); nicknames based on the bearers’ craft: Stolnicul (‘the high steward’) or connected with some physical incapacity: Orbul (‘the blind man’), Schiopul (‘the lame man’).