Formational Features of Agronyms Based on Personal Names in the Darbėnai, Kartena, Kretinga, and Salantai Districts of Kretinga County

Abstract

The article is focused on the analysis of 216 agronyms (195 lexical units) from the districts of Darbėnai, Kartena, Kretinga, and Salantai of Kretinga County, derived from personal names and analysed from the morphological perspective of formation. The research material was collected from the interwar period Lithuanian ‘Land Names’ Questionnaires (1935–1939), one of the most important sources of toponyms based on spoken language. These questionnaires are of great scientific value as they reflect the authentic geographical and linguistic conditions of the regions, which remained unaffected by various phenomena (such as collectivisation, land development, Slavicisation, etc.).
The derivational analysis shows that secondary agronyms dominate in the studied region (~98%), and most of them exhibit derivational features. Suffixal derivatives (~73% of the studied agronyms) are the most productive. Among nine Lithuanian (Baltic) suffixes (-alė, -ienos, -inas, -inė, -inės, -iškė, -iškės, -iškis, -ynas), -iškė and -inė, which indicate possessions, are the most derivational. Compound agronyms rank second in terms of productivity (~13%). Most of them are primarily formed from the genitive of a personal name and appellative. Prefixal derivatives (~5%), ending derivatives (~3%), compound agronyms (~3%), and primary agronyms (~1.5%) are less frequent in the studied area. There are also some hybrid-formation agronyms (formed with a suffix and a prefix).
The agronyms studied are most often related to surnames and less frequently to first names and nicknames. Surnames are generally common in the same region. Some base personal names have been reconstructed. In terms of origin, most base personal names are derived from nicknames (~40%) or are of Christian origin (~30%).