Albania Naming Customs

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Albania

Personal Names

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[edit | edit source]

Surnames[edit | edit source]

Albanian names are names used in, or originating in, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and the Albanian diaspora. In Albania a complete name usually consists of a given name (Albanian: emri); the given name of the individual's father (Albanian: atësia), which is seldom included except in official documents; and a (most commonly patrilineal) family name or surname (Albanian: mbiemri). They are invariably given in the Western name order, or given name followed by family name.^[1] Hereditary family surnames developed quite late in Albania. The practice was not well established until the early 1900s.^[2]

Given Names[edit | edit source]

Albanian given names are traditionally original Albanian-meaning names, or religious names (Islamic or Christian). During the Communist regime, based on the theory of the Illyrian origin of Albanians, supposedly Illyrian names were constructed as appropriate names instead of religious ones. The government issued a decree ordering people to change their religious names to "pure Albanian names", while newborns had to receive non-religious names.^[3]

For Further Reading[edit | edit source]

For more information on naming practices in Albania, see the Wikipedia article Albanian name.

References[edit | edit source]

↑ "Albania name", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_name, accessed 27 February 2021.
↑ The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Albania,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1991-1998.
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Alb

[1] "Albania name", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_name, accessed 27 February 2021.

[profile-2] The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Albania,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1991-1998.

[Alb-3] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Alb

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