This paper will review the literature on First Nations' personal names in Australia drawing out the key themes in this writing. I will then situate the Yolŋu naming system within this literature highlighting similarities and differences in origin, use, meaning and significance.
Paper long abstract:
There has been little written about First Nations' personal names in Australia. This is attributed to the sacred nature of names, the fact that they are often not used as terms of address, and bias in research. This paper will review the literature on First Nations personal names in Australia (Stanner 1937; Thomson 1946, Dussart 1988, McIntosh 2004, Barber 2005, Tamisari 2009, Wilkinson et al. 2009, Bradley & Kearney 2009, Garde 2014) drawing out the key themes in this writing. I will then situate the Yolŋu naming system within this literature highlighting similarities and differences in origin, use, meaning and significance.