Plants and animals in the oikonyms of Lithuania

Abstract

Two toponymical maps presented in this paper show 2332 inhabited places of Lithuania that have names (oikonyms) associated with vegetation and animals. The maps and the dataset are the outcomes of a project that is aimed at combining the outcomes of professional onomastic research with an environment that fosters exploration. The oikonyms were extracted from the reference base dataset of Lithuania by means of an automated algorithm. Original cartographic symbols have been designed for depicting categories and species. The multiscale map application, with its exploratory tools, makes it easy to see spatial distribution of geographic names related with particular groups of plants and animals. Analysis of map data enables the assertion that local toponymy reflects a distribution of species that were characteristic to the territory over past centuries. The maps are supplemented by comparative density maps and statistical charts. The reference scale of the main maps is 1: 500,000.

Keywords

• geographical names
• toponyms
• oikonyms
• plants
• animals
• origin