SURNAME AS AN OIKONYM

(For the example of the Village Minadze in Akhaltsikhe Municipality)

Abstract

Oikonyms (names of settlements) are the basic toponymic units of a language, the main function of which is   to mark and perceive a specifie  territory  by  a distinctive sign. An anthroponym is often used as the etymon of oikonym. Nominations of anthropotoponymic origin, namely, surnames as oikonyms, are not foreign to Georgian toponymy. There are   Iremadzeebi, Chinkadzeebi, Gogadzeebi, Khabelashviliebi, Kokoladzeebi, Gogolaurta, Migriaulta, Veshagurni   and others as  villages in Georgia. Similar cases are also common in the nomenclature of  other countries  place names.

The main motive for naming a populated area by a surname is the abundance of the dominant surname, or important factors related to them. The forming  of oikonyms by linguistic producers  with appellative vocabulary is, to some extent, conditioned by different times and circumstances of the development of society.

 In the context of the target issue, among the diverse oikonomyms of Akhaltsikhe Municipality, the name of the village - Minadze - is noteworthy. In this regard, it is interesting to note why the surname is presented as an oikonym in the singular form, when in such cases we mainly find generic names in the plural forms, because in the territory  named after the surname, a large number of its representatives were observed.  Although, today  the  surname named after a village may no longer be presented  there, as in the case of  Minadze, oikonyms are so durable that they retain their identity for a long time. The name of the village of Minadze, of eponymous origin and with clear semantics, belongs to this group of place names.