• It is believed that this kind of name is a relic of totem beliefs.

• Places of birth, for example, Urman (Урман) "forest", Dala (Дала), Aran (Аран) "lowland", Agish “highland”.

• Geographical names, for example, Ural (Урал), Irendek (Ирендек), Asiya (Асия/Азия), Dunai (Дунай), Elbrus (Эльбрус), Madina (Мэдинэ), Mayka (Мэикэ) – ‘Mecca” etc.

• Time of birth, for example day of the week, as in Shambe (Шэмбе) means "born on Saturday", Aznabay “born on Friday”, or the holiday on which one was born, for example, the name Ramazan (Рамазан) "Islamic holy month", or the part of the day, for example, “kon” (“day”), “tan” (“dawn”) Konbika, Kontimer, Tangatar, Tansylu, Tansulpan.

• Names, reflecting attitude toward child, whether she was longed for (for example, Shatlyk (Шатлык) "joy", Bakhet (Бэхет) ‘happiness’, Ilshat (Илшат) "nation’s joy", Morat (Морат) " awaited one ", Iotkilde/ Yrydnilde (Иоткилде, Ырыднилде) "happiness came", Fazhiga (Фажигэ) "unluck", Bulyakbika “present” (this name is usually given to the newborn who was born after the father’s death), etc.

• names given by their parents to defend their babies from evil spirits and bad luck or tend to attract benefits to the child, for example, Almas means that parents want their child to be as strong as a brilliant; Nagim “living in wealth”, Mubarak “happy”.

• During the first years of the Soviet period names reflecting new social life appeared in the Bashkir language, for example, Darvin, Marx, Engels, Razin, Telman, Frunze, Aida, Dezdemona, Kommuna, Lirika, Madrid, Fidel and so on.

Most names in Bashkir are specifically masculine or feminine, for example, Amin/Amina, Khanif/Khanifa; but there are many unisex names as well, such as Firdaus, Narkas, Chulpan, Aynur. Often, one gender is predominant.

Most common given names in Bashkir can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:

• Arabian names were penetrating the Bashkir language after the official adoption of Islam during XVII – XVIII centuries. They (or some elements of names) are very common in the historically Muslim countries.  These are Akham “decision”, Bary “creator”, Borkhan “proof”, Bakira “girl”, Bibi “mistress”, Zamira “heart”. Some names have religious elements, for example, meaning "God", especially "ala", or “Islam”. Examples: Abdulla (God’s slave), Azamat ‘knight, hero’, Amin/Amina ‘honest, loyal’, Islamgul, Islambek, Nurislam, Dinislam and so on. The names of Prophet Mukhamed and godly caliphs as well as epithets of Allah came into the Bashkir language. Some feminine names were adopted from the names of the prophet’s mother and wives, for example, Amina “faithful, true”, Khadicha (the prophet’s first wife), Sauda, Aisha, Khafsa, Zaynab, Safiya, Maymuna, Umkhabiba. Some Bashkir names Have the element “din” as belonging to Islam: Dinakhmat, Dinbay, Dindar, Kamaletdin, Sharafutdin, etc.

• Persian names, for example, Azat “noble, free”, Danis “knowledge”, Dilbar “beloved”

• Altaic names are the oldest names or parts of names in Turkic and Mongolian languages. They have the Altaic words altyn (алтын) "golden", bay (бай) "rich", gerey (герей) (Mongolian ending ay (ай) Geray (Герай), Ieray (Иерай) "persistence")

• old-Turkic names form the basis for Turkic names almost in all the modern Turkic languages: Aybars (Айбарс - ай "moon" + барс “tiger”), Aktimer (Актимер- ай "white" + тимер"iron"), Aygul ‘moon flower’, Aynur ‘moonlight’, Aygiz “Moon, travel”, etc.

• old-Bashkir names genetically refer to old-Turkic ones. The main part of old-Bashkir names go back to Kypchak names.

• Germanic names are characteristically warlike; roots with meanings like "glory", "strength", and "will" are common. The "-bert" element common in many such names comes from beraht, which means "bright". Examples: Robert, Eduard,  Alfred, Elza, Eric, Albina ‘white-eyed’, Elvira, Adelina “honest”, Alisa “noble”.

• Latin names, for example, Azalia “flower”, Albert ‘famous’, Klara “clear”

• Hebrew names, for example, Tamara “date-palm”.

• Word names come from English vocabulary words. Feminine names of this sort frequently derive from nature, flowers, birds, colors, or gemstones. Male names of this sort are less common—examples like Almas, or names associated with strong animals, such as Artur “strong bear”.

Comparative characteristics of British, Russian and Bashkir names

Similarities:

All the people in Britain, Russia and Bashkortostan have their first names.

Given names most often derive from the following categories:

• Aspiring personal traits (external and internal). For example, English examples include Faith, Hope, Prudence “wise”, and August “venerated”, Physical characteristics, for example Calvin means "bald".

Russian ones - Chernysh, Chernyai, Chernyava, (=black one) Bel, Belyai, Belyak, Beloukha (=white one), Mal (Small), Malyuta (Малюта), Maloy (Малой “Smaller”), Dolgoy (Долгой “Tall”), Sukhoy (Сухой “thin one”), Tolstoy (Толстой “Fat one”), Golova (Голова “Head”), Golovach (Головач), Loban (Лобан “forehead”), Bespaloy (Беспалой “Fingerless”), Vera “faith”, Nadezhda “hope”, Lyubov “love”. Bashkir names of this kind are Sabir (Сабир) "patience", Omat (Омэт) "hope", Tudem (Тудем) "patience". It should be pointed out that nowadays these names are very rare, if we cannot say that they are not in use.

• Numerical names representing birth order in a family: in Russia - Perva, Pervoy (the first), Vtorak (the second), Tretyak (the third), Chetvertak (the forth) and so on; in England -the Latin name Quintus, which was traditionally given to the fifth male child; in Bashkortostan - Saniya (Сания) - "second", which was traditionally given to the second female child, Kiniya (Кинья) – “the last’, which was traditionally given to the last child in the family.

• Time of birth, for example, in England the holiday on which one was born, for example, the name Natalie meaning "[born on] Christmas day" in Latin. In Russia seasonal names: Veshnyak (spring one), Zima (winter), Moroz Мороз (frost). In Bashkortostan, for example day of the week, as in Shambe means "born on Saturday", Aznabay “born on Friday”, or the holiday on which one was born, for example, the name Ramazan "Islamic holy month", or the part of the day, for example, “kon” (“day”), “tan” (“dawn”) Konbika, Kontimer, Tangatar, Tansylu, Tansulpan.

• Germanic names are common to English, Russian and Bashkir languages. Examples: Robert, Edward, Richard, Albert, Carl, Alfred, Rosalina, Emma, Eric, Alisa.

Most common given names can be grouped into broad categories based on their origin:

• Increasing influence of religion in the researched countries on social life led to gradual elimination of pagan nicknames. Some names have elements meaning "God" or refer to prophets and holy men. Examples in English: Michael, Joshua, Daniel, Joseph, David, Adam, Elizabeth, Hannah and Mary; in Russian: Mariya, Gavriil, Mikhail, Foma. These are Akham “decision”, Bary “creator”, Borkhan “proof”, Bakira “girl”, Bibi “mistress”, Zamira “heart”. Some names have religious elements, for example, meaning "God", especially "ala", or “Islam”. Examples: Abdulla (God’s slave), Azamat ‘knight, hero’, Amin/Amina ‘honest, loyal’, Islamgul, Islambek, Nurislam, Dinislam and so on. The names of Prophet Mukhamed and godly caliphs as well as epithets of Allah came into the Bashkir language. Some feminine names were adopted from the names of the prophet’s mother and wives, for example, Amina “faithful, true”, Khadicha (the prophet’s first wife), Sauda, Aisha, Khafsa, Zaynab, Safiya, Maymuna, Umkhabiba. Some Bashkir names Have the element “din” as belonging to Islam: Dinakhmat, Dinbay, Dindar, Kamaletdin, Sharafutdin, etc.

• Latin names can also be adopted unchanged, or modified; in particular, the inflected element can be dropped, as often happens in borrowings from Latin to English. Examples: Laura, Victoria, Marcus, Justin (Latin Justinus), Paul (Lat. Paulus), Julius, Cecilia, Felix, Julia, Pascal (not a traditional-type Latin name, but the adjective-turned-name paschalis, meaning 'of Easter' (Pascha)).

• Word names come from English vocabulary words. Feminine names of this sort—in more languages than English, and more cultures than Europe alone—frequently derive from nature, flowers, birds, colors, or gemstones. Examples include Jasmine, Lavender, Dawn, Daisy, Rose, Iris, Petunia, Rowan, Jade, and Violet. Male names of this sort are less common—examples like Hunter and Fischer, or names associated with strong animals, such as Bronco and Wolf.

• Feminine variations exist for many masculine names, often in multiple forms. Examples: Charlotte, Stephanie, Victoria, Philippa, Jane, Jacqueline, Josephine,Danielle, Paula, Pauline, Patricia, Francesca.

Most names in English are specifically masculine or feminine, but there are many unisex names as well, such as Jordan, Jamie, Jesse, Aaron/Erin, Alex, Ash, Chris, Hilary/Hillary, Kim, Leslie/Lesley, Joe/Jo, Jackie, Pat, Dana, Sam or Ryan/Ryann. Often, one gender is predominant. Also, a particular spelling is often more common for each of the two genders, even when the pronunciation is the same. Predicting gender using names in the US or Europe is about 99% accurate.