More about Mongolian Clan names

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"The genealogical survey was impressive given that most Mongolians can only trace their history back two or three generations. Many have even forgotten their clan names. The recently implemented law which calls for Mongolians to take a last name has forced thousands to search out their clan name. For the past year, the project has sent urban Mongols back to their homeland to rediscover their names. The Ulaanbaatar Day competition was organized to promote such genealogical research."

http://danielroy.tripod.com/cgi-bin/alternate/mongolia/Names.html
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I guess the Mongolians can choose any name they want...

"But the big winner so far is Borjigin, the tribal name of Genghis Khan. It means master of the blue wolf, a reference to Mongolia’s creation myth in which a blue wolf mated with a fallow deer to give birth to the first Mongolian. Up to 80 percent of Mongolians so far are claiming that name, Serjee said."


other snips:

"Serjee’s job was archeology of sorts. He traveled to all of Mongolia’s counties and provinces, checking local records and conferring with wizened elders. After seven years of work, he retrieved 1,260 last names. When he published a small pink booklet last year offering advice on choosing a last name, it sold out immediately."

"In 1981, Guragchaa took an eight-day ride on a Soviet spaceship and into the history books, becoming Mongolia’s first and only cosmonaut. Earlier this year, the bearish-looking voyager had another rendezvous with destiny. He chose his family’s last name. Guragchaa picked Sansar, the Mongolian word for the cosmos."

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/515.html


So there are a lot more choices (unlimited, really) than these mentioned in Harper's (that's a relief):


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=4090147&mesg_id=4090147

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1. another post about it...

"Mongolia passed a law requiring surnames in 1997, but it was largely ignored until this year (2004), when the names became necessary for a new government identity card. Now, more than 90% of Mongolia's 2.5 million people have adopted them, experts say. Holdouts tend to be herders and nomads in the country's more remote areas."