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The contribution of this book to existing work in socio-onomastic research is its treatment of the official and unofficial names of the two Indian Christian communities (i. e., Kerala Syrian Christians and Telugu Catholics), in terms of the functions they fulfil in the lives of the community members. This work is based on empirical data and thus highlights empirical issues and applications, meant to make the book of use to the current generation of linguists and sociolinguists. The author strikes a balance between qualitative and quantitative approaches and analyses of data. In addition, both reflexive and constitutive approaches to naming have been used.

The contribution of this book to existing work in socio-onomastic research is its treatment of the official and unofficial names of the two Indian Christian communities (i. e., Kerala Syrian Christians and Telugu Catholics), in terms of the functions they fulfil in the lives of the community members. This work is based on empirical data and thus highlights empirical issues and applications, meant to make the book of use to the current generation of linguists and sociolinguists. The author strikes a balance between qualitative and quantitative approaches and analyses of data. In addition, both reflexive and constitutive approaches to naming have been used.

This book gives a sociolinguistic account of Syrian Christian and Telugu Catholic personal names. Unlike previous works on the linguistic or sociolinguistic analysis of the personal names of Indian Christians, which have mainly used a reflexive approach to analyse names, this book takes a constitutive approach by analysing the personal names of two Indian Christian communities (Telugu Catholics and Syrian Christians) from the perspective of community members. This novel approach provides greater insights into individuals'motivations for naming and how names are used to create social identities.'A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Indian Christian Names: The Case of Telugu Catholics and Syrian Christians'also provides a historical background of how names have evolved in these communities and explores the adaptation strategies used by Indian Christians through the act of naming (e.g., appending caste titles to Christian names, the use of Sanskrit personal names and Christian surnames) as well as the role of culture in naming (e.g., the use of other names, the role of caste titles in indicating one's identity). This book paves the way for more qualitative studies to arise in the analysis of first names and will be valuable to graduate students and academics in the fields of onomastics, linguistics, religious studies, and history. It will also appeal to those interested in Indian Christianity in general.