On One Paradoxical Type of Proper Names (With Reference to the Names of Legal Entities of the Residential Community of Gorny Shchit, Ekaterinburg)

The article argues that judicial persons (legal entities) constitute a particular class of objects that are able to receive proper names and that are distinct from typical ergonymic objects — business institutions. To designate the corresponding class of proper names the author suggests the term themonym (from Ancient Greek θέμις ‘law, habit, custom’). Based on themonyms pertaining to the residential community of Gorny Shchit (Chkalovsky district, Ekaterinburg, Russia) as registered in the Unified Federal Register of Legal Entities, the author studies the situation of naming as applied to this kind of objects. The article illustrates the almost complete absence of functional specificity of themonyms as proper names: they are not uniques, being used alongside with more reliable and more unambiguous designators like VAT identification number or Primary State registration number which explains the existence of specific homonymy among themonyms (the latter is sometimes due to the shadow economy). Besides that, themonyms do not display the ability to be used for advertising purpose which is far from being typical for names used in business, although the author is inclined to believe that the advertising function can be realized under some circumstances.