Onomastics and Historical Sciences Studies

Onomastics (or onomatology) refers to the study of proper names of any kind including the names of people (anthroponyms) and places (toponyms). The purpose of this article is to explain different aspects of onomastics and its related knowledge, as well as its necessity and importance. Scrutinizing onomastics research background and the status of this knowledge in scientific studies of Iran is the other purpose of this article. Since names change with geography, language, religion, and time, studying the process of these changes at different historical periods and geographical areas can answer many questions. In fact, the importance of Onomastics is its secondary functions, such as cultural, social, political, and historical ones, which can have important results. For instance, it can determine the reasons for the changes in the names of people and places in different historical periods as well as the extent of the influence of different languages ​​in a particular geographical area. It is important to consider that onomastics in Iran requires further research in various branches; because most of the studies on names are devoted to the contemporary period and the names before this period have been given less attention.