National Identity and the Naming of Children in Interethnic Marriages of Kazakhs in the North Kazakhstan Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Национальная идентичность и имянаречение детей в межнациональных браках у казахов в СевероКазахстанской области Республики Казахстан
Kaziev S. Mogunova M.
2025Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences
Etnografia
2025#2025Issue 4178 - 199 pp.
This study examines the role of naming practices in interethnic marriages among Kazakhs in the North Kazakhstan region, with a particular focus on their impact on national identity formation and evolving gender dynamics. While naming is often assumed to be linked to national identity and affected by modernization and changing family structures, limited research has examined how national boundaries are actively negotiated within interethnic marriages. Traditional perspectives tend to view intermarriage as a driver of cultural blending, erosion of national distinctions, and eventual assimilation. This study argues that name selection is not merely a conventional act of choosing from a predefined set of names, but a socially complex process that reflects an individual’s cultural positioning within society. It is shaped by ethnocultural influences and the degree of societal modernization, making naming a critical tool enabling self-identification within a broader societal context. In the context of interethnic marriages, naming also reveals negotiations within gender relations between parents. Moreover, the chosen names can signal the emergence of hybridized identities. Drawing on empirical methods, which included surveys and participant observation, the study investigates identity dynamics and competition in naming practices within mixed families. It also examines family strategies that either reinforce or weaken core markers of Kazakh national identity, such as genealogical lineage, tribal affiliation, gendered norms, and traditional family practices. The findings suggest that naming practices in interethnic Kazakh families reflect a broader transition from primordial to symbolic foundations of national identity.
assimilation , identity , interethnic marriage , Kazakhs , naming , Russians
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Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University, Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan
Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
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