Azerbaijan to prohibit Russian names

PanARMENIAN.Net - The names that can be given to children in Azerbaijan could soon be strictly defined - with Russian sounding names like Maria and Mikhail banned, BBC News said.

The country's Terminology Commission has expressed concern about names which do not sound Azeri.

"Russian names like Maria, Yekaterina, Olya or Alya will not be permitted," said Sayali Sadigova, the deputy head of the commission.

Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

Sadigova has said that Russian-sounding names - even if they are not technically of Russian etymology - are of particular concern to the commission as they are still perceived as having come from the former Soviet Union.

Speaking to BBC Azeri, she commented on families who call their child Dmitri: "Not everyone in Azerbaijan wants to marry their daughter off to a boy called Dmitri."

The rules would apply only to ethnically Azeri children - people of other nationalities living in Azerbaijan will still be able to give their offspring names of their choice.

Double or triple names will also be forbidden.