L. Balode. Recent trends in changing first names in Latvia. Paper International Scientific Conference “Onomastic Investigations”. Riga, May 10-12, 2018. Abstracts, Riga: Latvian Language Institute of the University of Latvia, 14–15. ISBN 978-9984-742-97-7

Contemporary socioonomastics throughout the world is interested
in changes that occur in personal names, although this topic still has not
been researched thoroughly in the field of Baltic anthroponymy. This is
the first presentation on changes in Latvian given names and this analysis
is based on data from the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of
Latvia, consisting of the lists of changes in 2004-2016 (a total of more than
12 600 different cases). Although the personal motives of these changes
are not available for researchers, the lists of the changed names and the
newly selected names testify to the several types of alterations, such as
when one name is changed to another name (1 → 1). This occurs when
the same name is most often preserved, but an alteration is made only in
some diacritical marks (Arturs → Artūrs, Olģerts → Oļģerts), by changing
one vowel or some consonant of the root (Lija → Leja, Ludviks → Ludvigs),
by changing an ending or suffix + ending (Pēteris → Pēters, Elvijs → Elvis).
Furthermore, often a new name is very similar to the previous name
(Aina → Anna, Alistra → Austra, Uldis → Voldis), or a new chosen name
is the hypocoristyc of the previous name (Alfreds → Alfs, Inguna → Inga).
The linguistic law of the economy applies to alter two or three names
to one (2 or 3 → 1), especially when the second name is unusual (Līga Īrija
→ Līga, Imants Niels → Imants). Some highly rare changes occur when
three names are changed to two (3 → 2) (Lilija Marta Eleonora → Lilija
Eleonora). 2 → 2: this type of change predominantly occurs when the
names change places (Agnese Margrieta → Margrieta Agnese). Very rare
cases arise when two names are replaced by two other different names
such as Baiba Barbara → Barba Beāte. It is interesting that both directions
of change can be fixed (Veronika Velta → Velta Veronika, and Velta Veronika
→ Veronika Velta).