ВОПРОСЫ ОНОМАСТИКИ | PROBLEMS OF ONOMASTICS

Yana Vladimirovna Malkova
Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia

INDIVIDUAL NICKNAMES INDICATING THE SPITEFULNESS OF THEIR BEARERS IN NORTHERN RUSSIAN DIALECTS

For citation
Malkova, Ya. V. (2026). Individual Nicknames Indicating the Spitefulness of Their Bearers in Northern Russian Dialects. Voprosy onomastiki, 23(1), 186–203. https://doi.org/10.15826/vopr_onom.2026.23.1.008

Received on 25 September 2025
Accepted on 12 November 2025

Abstract: The article examines individual nicknames that convey the spitefulness of their bearers from the perspective of the nominator. The study is based on onymic material recorded by the Toponymic Expedition of Ural University in the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, and Kostroma regions. The article is structured in two parts. The first part provides a semantic analysis of the selected nicknames, while the second focuses on their motivational characteristics. Drawing on contextual analysis, the study identifies character traits and behavioural features that may serve as a basis for nickname formation, including anger, irascibility, quarrelsomeness, and unsociability. The article also addresses the relationship between proper names and appellative vocabulary, offering conclusions regarding the consolidation of specific semantic features within these lexical classes. The author identifies two patterns as being productive specifically within the domain of onyms: (i) nicknames derived from names of natural phenomena and objects, and (ii) nicknames based on precedent names and culturally salient images. With regard to “natural” nicknames, one of the most productive motivational pattern is associated with cold weather and related phenomena, such as blizzards, snow, and frost (cf. Zimá ‘winter’, Moróz ‘frost’, Kuter’gá ‘blizzard, snowstorm’). The second pattern comprises nicknames derived from the names of historically significant figures (cf. Iván Grózny ‘Ivan the Terrible’, Kuchúm ‘Tatar khan of Siberia’) as well as from culturally significant images (cf. Arkhieréy ‘bishop’, Uryádnik ‘sergeant’, Monákh ‘monk’). The author also proposes etymological interpretations of some opaque nicknames such as Ryámega and Vil’gém attested in the Vologda region. The article concludes by discussing the factors underlying the productivity of the identified motivational patterns in nicknaming practices.

Keywords: Russian dialects; anthroponymy; individual nicknames; motivational pattern; Arkhangelsk Region; Vologda Region; Kostroma Region; field linguistics

Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant number 23-18-00439 Onomasticon and Linguocultural History of European Russia, https://rscf.ru/en/project/23-18-00439/).

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