Naming patterns among Generation Z children in the Chinese community of Medan city
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66817/5c4d3g14Keywords:
naming patterns, Generation Z, Chinese community, socio-onomastics, cultural identityAbstract
This study aims to analyze the naming patterns of Generation Z children within the Chinese community in Medan City through a socio-onomastic perspective. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documentation, and field notes from 52 Generation Z informants of Chinese descent in Medan. The findings reveal that naming patterns among Generation Z in the Chinese community are no longer dominated by traditional naming systems, but have shifted due to the influence of globalization, popular culture, religion, and cultural assimilation. Six major naming patterns were identified: allonymy, patronymy, theonymy, necronymy, demonymy, and numeronymy. Among these, allonymy emerged as the most dominant pattern, indicating the strong influence of public figures, historical figures, fictional characters, and popular media in the naming process. This study shows that names function not only as identity markers but also as representations of identity negotiation among Chinese, Indonesian, and global cultural influences in Generation Z.
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