Mongolian names have undergone a number of changes in the history of Mongolia, both with regard to their meaning and their source languages.
For example, it is said that in the 13th century, the prominent shaman, Teb-tengeri, saw in the stars a great future for Tolui's eldest son and bestowed on the child the name Möngke (meaning "eternal" in the Mongolian language).
[1] Nowadays most parents give Mongolian names to their children, often in the form of compounds consisting of two nouns or adjectives, representing qualities such as solidity and strength for boys or beauty in the case of girls.
The most common category of Mongol names were those of auspicious or (for boys) manly things, such as gold (altan), eternity (Möngke), surplus (hulagu),[3] blue (köke), white (chagha’an), good health (esen), uncle (abaqa),[4] firmness (batu), stability (toqto'a), bulls (buqa, for men), iron (temür), steel (bolad), black (qara), hardness (berke), nine (yisü) Munkhchuluun (Eternal) or Nomt (Book).
One finds a number of degrading or inauspicious names during the 13–14th centuries such as Sorqaqtani, "Pox girl", or Nohai (~Nokai) "dog", in an attempt to fool bad spirits or disease into thinking it had already afflicted them.
However, names of other foreign origin were introduced when the Mongol Empire expanded all over Eurasia, increasing international trade and cultural connections and also partly due to religious dignity.
Christian names also existed among the Turkic and Mongol peoples (especially Onguts and Keraits) on the Mongolian Plateau.
For example, the Buddhist monk, Haiyun, bestowed the name Zhenjin (True-gold) to Khubilai and Chabi's eldest son.
In the late 13th century, many newborn children in Italy were named after Mongol rulers, including Hülegü.
For example, some of the later Mongolian Emperors' names include Batumöngke, Buyan, Esen, Toγtoγa Buqa and Manduul.
A number of Mongolian-language names survived, particularly with more pacific elements designating peace (Engke, Amur), happiness (Jirgal), long life (Nasu), and blessing (Öljei, Kesig).
The most common for laymen are based on the Tibetan or Sanskrit names of powerful deities: Damdin/Damrin (Hayagriva), Dulma/Dari (Tara), Gombo (Mahākāla), Cagdur/Shagdur (Vajrapani), Jamsrang (Begtse), Jamyang (Manjusri), etc.
Another astrological scheme divides the days of the month into five classes, each under an element: Dorji (power bolt), Badma (lotus), and Sangjai (Buddha).
Finally, some names, particularly for monks, were based on Tibetan words for desired qualities or aspects of the religion: Lubsang "good intellect", Agwang "powerful in speech", Danzin "instruction keeper", Dashi/Rashi, "blessed".
Politically active parents may have chosen Oktyabr (October), Seseer (SSR), Mart (March) and even Molotov as names for their offspring.
Women's names commonly refer to fine colours or flowers, the sun and moon, or may be made up of any other word with positive connotations using the feminine suffix -maa (Tib.
Many gender-neutral name components refer to auspicious qualities such as eternity or happiness: some examples are Mönkh 'eternal', Erdene 'jewel', Oyuun 'mind', Altan 'golden', Saikhan 'fine' and Enkh 'peace'.
For example, Otryadyn Gündegmaa, a Mongolian shooter, is often incorrectly referred to as Otryad, i.e. by the (given) name of her father.
Sometimes in such Chinese transcriptions of Mongolian names, the first syllable is sometimes reanalyzed as the surname, i.e. Ulanhu becomes Wu Lanfu.
Other examples include Nekhii 'Sheepskin', Nergüi 'No Name', Medekhgüi, 'I Don't Know', Khünbish 'Not a Human Being', Khenbish 'Nobody', Ogtbish 'Not at All', Enebish 'Not This One', Terbish 'Not That One'.
Couples whose previous boys have died would give female names to their son to mislead the evil spirits, and vice versa.
Synchronically, taboo meaning may be stronger or obliterated: Nergüi, for example, is very common and does not immediately raise any association, while Khünbish might semantically be perceived as khün bish (cf.