Factors Of Anthroponymic Choice Of Muslims In France: Representations And Ideologies

Abstract

Abstract: Part of social and cultural anthropology, our contribution deals with the anthroponymic choice in the Arab-Muslim community in France. The aim is to see to what extent the choice of first name is determined in the current French context. It’s a matter of taking a scientific and interdisciplinary approach. The qualitative analysis of the data collected by semi-structured interviews conducted with seven French Muslim informant parents of Arab origin reveals their representations towards the first names chosen for their children. Through these representations, we can see that the anthroponymic choice of informant parents involves various factors. The results obtained from this analysis reveal, on the one hand, factors at the micro (family) level, notably intergenerational transmission. On the other hand, at the macro (social) level, ideological and political factors have been prehended to understand the anthroponymic choice of the community concerned by our research. In addition to the factors mentioned, phonological factors are also involved . Keywords: anthroponymic choice, muslim community, French context, factors, representations.