Hungary Naming Customs

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Hungary

Names Personal

Understanding customs used in surnames and given names can help you identify your ancestors in records. Learn to recognize name variations and see clues in names.

Online Tools

• Behind the Name: Hungarian Surnames
• Behind the Name: Hungarian Given Names
• Hungarian Given Names (Wiktionary)
• Hungarian Personal Names (CIA)

Surnames

Name Order

In Hungarian, the surname (or a family name) is used first, followed by the given name. For example:

Hungarian Name Surname--Given Name	English Name Given Name--Surname
NAGY János	John Nagy
KOVÁCS Mária	Mary Smith

• there is usually just one given name
• surnames are generally a single name
• patronymic names were usually not used as a fixed surname
• this rule is also followed in Hungarian parish registers

Surname Origins

Surnames were usually derived from common sources such as trades, characteristics, ethnic origins, place names etc.:

Occupation	SZABÓ Ferenc	Frank Taylor
Occupation	MOLNÁR Lajos	Louis Miller
Characteristics	KIS Mihály	Michael Little
Characteristics	FEHÉR Erzsébet	Elizabeth White
Ethnic Origin	TÖRÖK Katalin	Catherine Turk

Nobility

Titles of nobility are put before the surnames:

gróf NAGY János

Count John Nagy

Bynames and Patronymics

• Hungarians use a "byname" to help distinguish people with the same given names.
• The byname might be created from the father's given name (as a patronymic name).
• Other bynames might be created from an occupation or even a physical description.
• The byname might be used within the village or town, but were not fixed surnames.
• Further, a person might be known by one byname in a town, and be called by a different byname when traveling (referring to where they are from.)
• Bynames were not hereditary.
• The first major class of bynames were patronymics that were created using the father's given name. It might be created by adding "-fi" to a father's meaning "his son" but may appear in records as "-fi, -fia, -fy, or fÿ". For example:

• Fodor Jákobfi (Theodore, son of Jacob)
• Domokos Bertoldfia (Domokos, son of Bertold)
• Miklós Oszkárfy (Nicholas, son of Oscar)
• Simon Vilmosfÿ (Simon, son of Vilmos)

Married Women

In Hungary women keep their birth name throughout their life, married or not. There is no married name and maiden name in the sense familiar to Americans.

Suffix -né on a given name

In Hungarian language, to refer to a married woman as a man's wife, the suffix -né is attached to the man's given name. For example:

Hungarian	Klausenberger Ignáczné Bival Rosália
English	Rosália Bival, wife of Ignácz Klausenberger

Although Nagy Jánosné resembles the American formal Mrs. John Nagy, use of -né belongs to Hungarian language grammar, and is not a traditional Hungarian naming convention. Records of women named in this manner are rare. Most prevalent are 19th century and early 20th century United States immigration records and, in recent decades, grave markers in Hungary. Example of a grave marker:

Original Hungarian	English translation
Nagy Lajos	Lajos Nagy
1914 – 1984	1914 – 1984
Nagy Lajosné	Mrs. Lajos Nagy
1923 – 2001	1923 – 2001

See more about "-né" on Wiktionary.

Given Names

Name Days

Hungarians also celebrate name days (each day in the calendar has one or more designated names.)

Second given names and religious names

• Hungarians do not commonly use second given names, nor their corresponding initials. While it is increasingly frequent that they are given one, they tend to choose one they prefer to use.
• When baptized, a child can get an additional name (baptismal name), especially if there is no saint who bears their name, so they take a name associated with a patron saint. In confirmation, children receive another given name, but it is not used. Both baptismal and confirmation names have religious significance only, and they are not on any official records.

For Further Reading

• Hungarian names
• Hungarian Names 101
• Hungarian Personal Names of the 16th Century

FamilySearch Library

• Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog:
  • Hungary - Names, Personal