ABSTRACT
Cultural anthropology focuses on the study of similarities and differences in culture. Cultural variation comes about through historical contingencies. Societies have their own unique histories of political developments, population growth or decline and technological change. Cultural institutions are fundamental building blocks in society, practices or beliefs that people identify as central or fundamental to who they are culturally. Ethnologists explore the reasons for and expressions of cross-cultural variation in institutions. The universal of sociality means all human societies include social institutions that formally connect some people to others. In many societies, people only get one name at birth or shortly thereafter. Personal names, though, can be potentially dangerous, depending on the cultural context. In criminal subcultures of the United States and elsewhere, it is common practice for an individual to go by numerous different names—or aliases—during her/his lifetime to avoid detection and arrest.
