Onomastic features of the 1921 Czechoslovak census in Bereg County

Abstract

Among the major historical transformations of the twentieth century, from the perspective of Hungarians, the Treaty of Trianon, which concluded the First World War, and the subsequent territorial reorganisation can undoubtedly be regarded as among the most significant events, with consequences that remain relevant to the present day. The creation of the new states involved not only the loss of territories by Hungary but also the incorporation of approximately one third of the Hungarian population into neighbouring states. Hungarians living beyond the newly established borders, having become citizens of other states and members of minority communities, experienced restrictions on their linguistic and political rights, which were reflected not only in the use of their mother tongue but also in naming practices.

Most of present-day Transcarpathia, including a large part of historical Bereg County, became part of Czechoslovakia. The first census in the newly established Czechoslovak state was conducted in 1921. Its purpose was, on the one hand, to register the population of the state and, on the other, to demonstrate the legitimacy of the territorial changes by reducing the officially recorded number of Hungarians through various methods. The census forms preserved in the State Archives of Transcarpathian Oblast were digitised in 2017 and are now accessible online for research purposes. Although the census data have been analysed in numerous historical and sociological studies, no specifically onomastic investigation of this material has yet been undertaken. The present study represents a preliminary attempt to fill this gap.

The aim of the study is to describe the onomastic characteristics of the census on the basis of forms from Hungarian-inhabited villages in Bereg County. The analysis examines the characteristic ways in which Hungarian and Rusyn surnames were transcribed according to Czech orthographic and phonetic conventions. It then addresses the Slavicisation of given names, including the replacement of Hungarian given names with their Slavic, Czech, or Rusyn equivalents. Finally, it discusses the recording of women’s names, particularly those of married women, with special attention to the use of the Czech suffix -ová. The digitised archival material constitutes an important source for research on Hungarian and Rusyn surnames in Transcarpathia, and its further systematic study may contribute to a better understanding of the region’s anthroponymic and demographic history.