ABSTRACT
For ancient peoples, all proper nouns were originally meaningful. The name showed a road and could thus have a bearing on the child's fate. The need to associate the name to a semantic meaning is revealed by an Arabian anecdote. Names are never chosen randomly: for each giver or author, the meaning of the name is related to a meaningful motivation. To give a name is the same as giving life; it means participation in the creation of a life. The name in the Roman conception is not intended simply to individualize a person, but must also inform his condition in his family and in society. Eskimo culture assigns privileged importance to names which are the master key to their entire belief system. The naming system in Vietnam is relatively complex. A complete inventory of Chinese names would be impossible, since all the signifying elements in the language may be used.
