From Hasan to Herbert: name-giving patterns of immigrant parents between acculturation and ethnic maintenance.
Names often indicate belonging to a certain ethnic group. When immigrant parents choose a first name for their child that is common in their host society, they show a high degree of acculturation. In contrast, selecting a name common only in the parents' country of origin indicates ethnic maintenance. Using data from the German Socio-economic Panel for Turkish, Southwest European, and former Yugoslav immigrants, the authors show that acculturation in terms of name giving depends on several factors: the cultural boundary between the country of origin and the host society, the parents' sociostructural integration in terms of education and citizenship, interethnic networks, and religious affiliation.
Gerhards
Jürgen
J
Institut für Soziologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany. gerhards@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Hans
Silke
S
D000069:Acculturation; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009275:Names; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012926:Social Control, Formal; D012933:Social Identification; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology; D015022:Yugoslavia / Q000208:ethnology