Family names of Moldovan settlements in the 17–18th centuries

Abstract

Family names of Moldovan settlements in the 17–18th centuries  

Based on three written records, the paper describes, from a diachronic point of view, the names of the Moldovan Hungarian inhabitants of the settlement called Forrófalva and of its neighbourhood in the 17–18th centuries. The examined censuses, carried out in different time periods, display the continuity of family names, including both permanent ones and those more recently introduced by migrants. Regarding their origin, both the permanent and the occasional family names are strongly connected to the Hungarian family names recorded in Transylvania. In the 18th century, apart from the multiplication of the permanent family names as a result of bequest, new and so far unknown family names also appeared in large quantities. One can often identify the appearance of family names in blocks in the observed settlements. The Christian name stock of the settlements, inhabited by Catholics, is characterised by the preference for biblical names from the New Testament, which tendency is in accordance with the contemporary name giving practices of other Hungarian territories.