Language, Individual & Society, Volume 8, 2014

Abstract: The issue of identity in studying personal names has not got much attention in the Arab World. Those who have studied this subject were usually grammarians, historians and archaeologists. No one has paid much attention to naming practices among the different sects of Iraq using linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics. This paper is an attempt to examine the Sunni and Shiite forenames by using aspects of linguistic anthropology and some aspects of sociolinguistics. It is based on the idea that there is a strong interface between people’s languages and their cultural and social practices. Using the qualitative methods of document analysis and interview, the study questions the issue of sectarian identity and belonging in Iraq. The study concludes that in preserving their sectarian identity, Shiites and Sunnis use different personal names.