Hungarian Personal Names

The aim of the current chapter is to provide information about Hungarian names and to highlight related cataloging issues.

Structure of Hungarian personal names

Hungarian is the only European language in which the surname always precedes any given names (a feature sometimes referred to as the Eastern name order); thus, the structure of a personal name is [surname] + [given name(s)]. This is especially important to keep in mind for catalogers constructing name authority records, since widely-used macros will automatically flip the name order when generating a Name Authority Record (NAR) from the bibliographic record.

Example (in MARC format):

100 1 Arany, János, ǂd 1817-1882

374 Poets ǂa Translators ǂ2 lcsh

400 1 Arany, Johann, ǂd 1817-1882

~~400 1 János, Arany, ǂd 1817-1882~~ [Incorrect]

670 A világirodalom legszebb drámái az ókortól ... 1974: ǂb t.p. (Arany János)

670 Ungarische Dichtungen, 1861: ǂb t.p. (Johann Arany)

670 Új magyar irodalmi lexikon, 2000: ǂb (Arany János; b. March 2, 1817, in Nagyszalonta; d. Oct. 22, 1881, in Budapest; poet, translator, editor)

Note that the form 400 1 János, Arany, ǂd 1817-1882 is incorrect, since it wrongly places the given name in place of the surname and vice versa.

Compound surnames

In pre-19th century personal names and in the names of nobility, the surname proper is sometimes preceded by another name derived from a geographic name (almost invariably ending in -i or -y). Usage of such names is not consistent, and accordingly, they have been treated in a variety of ways in NARs generated by the Library of Congress.

Examples (in MARC format):

Element considered part of compound surname:

100 1 Misztótfalusi Kis, Miklós, ǂd 1650-1702

400 1 Kis, Miklós Misztótfalusi, ǂd 1650-1702

400 1 Tótfalusi Kis, Miklós, ǂd 1650-1702

400 1 Kis, Nicholas, ǂd 1650-1702

400 1 Misztófalusi, Kis Miklós, ǂd 1650-1702

670 Molnár, J. Misztótfalusi Kis Miklós, c2000: ǂb t.p. (Misztótfalusi Kis Miklós) p. 13, etc. (b. 1650 in Alsómisztótfalu, d. 03-20-1702 in Kolozsvár; type cutter, printer)

670 Magy. életr. lex., 1969 (Tótfalusi Kis Miklós)

670 Nicholas Kis, 1983: ǂb t.p. (in title: Nicholas Kis) verso t.p. (Tótfalusi Kis Miklós)

670 Nicholas Kis, a Hungarian punch-cutter and printer, 1650-1702, 1985

670 Myfonts, viewed January 28, 2009 ǂb (Miklós Tótfalusi Kis; 1650-1702; Transylvanian protestant who went to Holland to learn printing; his typeface was the revived as the modern Janson typeface in 1937)

670 Misztófalusi, Kis Miklós. Szakats mesterségnek könyvetskéje mellyben külömbkülömbfele válogatott tzifra, jó, egésséges, hasznos, tiszta és szapora étkeknek megkészítése, sütése és fözése, mintegy élés-kamarában, rövideden leirattatik, és kinek-kinek hasznára leábrázoltatik, c2003: ǂb leaflet, p. 1 (Misztófalusi Kis Miklós) leaflet, p. 2 (b. 1650, d. 1702)

Name including the element considered to be a variant name:

100 1 Mikes, Kelemen, ǂd 1690-1761

400 1 Zágoni Mikes, Kelemen, ǂd 1690-1761

670 Letters from Turkey, 2000: ǂb t.p. (Kelemen Mikes)

670 Uni. of Camb. Lib., 26 Jul. 2001 ǂb (hdg: Mikes, Kelemen, 1690-1761)

670 LC auth. file, 26 Jul. 2001 ǂb (ref: Zágoni Mikes, Kelemen)

Element treated as title of the person:

100 1 Horthy, István, ǂc nagybányai, ǂd 1904-1942

400 1 Nagybányai Horthy, István, ǂd 1904-1942

670 1942. augusztus 20. 5 óra 7 perc, 1989: ǂb t.p. (Horthy István) p. 301 (vitéz nagybányai Horthy István 1904-1942)

670 Magy. életr. lex., 1967 ǂb (Horthy István; b. 12-09-1904, d. 08-20-1942; mech. eng., 1st lieut. Air Force, vice-regent of Hungary)

AACR2, LCRI 22.5C2 contains detailed instructions on compound surnames specific to certain languages. Under “Hungarian,” it states the following: “If a Hungarian name consists of two surnames and the first surname is represented by an initial or an abbreviation, enter the name under the second surname. Make a reference from the first surname.” There is no corresponding instruction in RDA. RDA 9.2.2.10.2 refers the cataloger to IFLA’s “Names of persons: national usages for entry in catalogues”. However, most NARs for names falling in the category described above have been constructed in accordance with these instructions.

Example (in MARC format):

100 1 Szabó, László Cs., ǂd 1905-1984

400 1 Szabó, László, ǂc csekefalvi, ǂd 1905- ǂw nna

400 1 Cs. Szabó, László, ǂd 1905-1984

670 His Alkalom, 1982: ǂb t.p. (Cs. Szabó László)

670 LC data base, 1-10-84 ǂb (hdg.: Szabó, László, csekefalvi, 1905- ; usage: Cs. Szabó László)

670 His Erdélyi metszetek, 2004: ǂb t.p. (Cs. Szabó László) p. 225 (d. in 1984)

Names of Hungarian married women

The most common indicator of a woman’s married status is the presence of the suffix -né (“wife of…”). It can be appended to various elements of the personal name, depending on the woman’s preference for a particular form of married name.

1. The wife assumes the husband’s surname (with no change) and his given name with the suffix -né added to the end. This version of the married name is considered old fashioned and is rarely used nowadays.

Examples (in MARC format):

NAR for the wife:

100 1 Császár, Ákosné

670 Her Valós függvénytan, 1980: ǂb t.p. (Dr. Császár Ákosné)

NAR for the husband:

100 1 Császár, Ákos

400 1 Császár, Á. ǂq (Ákos)

670 Riesz, F. Riesz Frigyes összegyűjtött munkái, 1960.

670 Topology, c1993: ǂb t.p. (Á. Császár)

Note: obviously, with this kind of a name there is always some danger of the creation of a redundant NAR for the same individual under another form of her name. In the above example a Google search will show that the maiden name of Dr. Császár Ákosné is Cseley Judit, and that she is a noted mathematician in her own right. Therefore, it is important to include a reference from the maiden name if it can be established.

Sometimes a woman who has adopted and adapted her husband’s name might publish under a form which contains both her pre-marriage and married names. This standardly follows the format “new name-old name”, as in the examples below. The name should be established with the two forms separated out, as below.

Example including maiden name as variant:

100 1 Széchenyi, Istvánné, ǂc grófnő, ǂd 1799-1875

400 1 Seilern, Crescence, ǂc grófnő, ǂd 1799-1875

670 Széchenyi választása, 2001- : ǂb v. 1, t.p. (Seilern Crescence) p. 250, etc. (Széchenyi Istvánné)

670 Magy. életr. lex., 1969 (Seilern Crescentia, grófnő, b. May 13, 1799, d. July 30, 1875; wife of Széchenyi István)

NAR established for maiden name, reference is made from married name:

100 1 Tatár, Ilona, ǂd 1919-1997

400 1 Katona, Istvánné, ǂc Dr., ǂd 1919-1997

670 Katona, István, Dr. Ila testvér, c2004: ǂb p. 5 (Dr. Katona Istvánné, born Tatár Ilona) p. 11 (b. May 19, 1919, Bölcske, Hungary, d. 1997 Budapest, Hungary; married Dr. Katona István 1946; Red Cross nurse)

2. The suffix -né is added to the husband’s surname, followed by the full maiden name of the wife. The husband’s name with the suffix -né and the surname from the wife’s maiden name form a compound surname.

Example (in MARC format):

100 1 Szentmihályiné Szabó, Mária

400 1 Szabó, Mária Szentmihályiné

670 Her Zrínyi Ilona, 1992: ǂb t.p. (Szentmihályiné Szabó Mária)

670 Új magyar irod. lex., 2000: ǂb (Szentmihályné Szabó Mária; b. Oct. 31, 1888; d. June 24, 1982; author & trans.)

3. The wife uses the husband’s full name with the suffix -né and appends her full maiden name. Thus the structure of the name is [husband’s surname] + [husband’s given name + -né] + [wife’s maiden name] + [wife’s given name].

This form of the married name poses the greatest challenge for the cataloger. A variety of treatments can be seen in the Name Authority File.

Examples (in MARC format):

In some authority records these kind of names appear as compound surnames consisting of three elements.

In the following example, “Kiss” is the husband’s surname, “András” is the husband’s given name, “Kószó” is the wife’s maiden surname, “Veronika” is the wife’s given name.

100 1 Kiss Andrásné Kószó, Veronika, ǂd 1885-1946

400 1 Andrásné Kószó, Veronika Kiss, ǂd 1885-1946

400 1 Kószó, Veronika Kiss Andrásné, ǂd 1885-1946

670 Tüzpróbára tétetett, 1986: ǂb p. 234 (Kiss Andrásné Kószó Veronika; 40th anniversary of her death in 1986, 100th anniversary of her birth 1985; biography written in America 12 years after her death, and published for the first time in 1985, second edition published 1986)

In the following record the creator of the NAR included a reference combining the two surnames:

100 1 Györfi Péterné Zsupos, Julianna, ǂd 1944-

400 1 Zsupos, Julianna Györfi Péterné, ǂd 1944-

400 1 Györfi Zsupos, Julianna, ǂd 1944-

400 1 Péterné Zsupos, Julianna Györfi, ǂd 1944-

670 "Ha kibontom az emlékezés fonalát--", 2010: ǂb t.p. (Györfi Péterné Zsupos Julianna) p. 149 (b. Nov. 19, 1944, Balmazújváros, Hungary)

In quite a few NARs, the [wife’s maiden name] + [wife’s given name] elements are treated as a variant name. As the official name of the married woman consists of four elements, this should not be considered the correct way of establishing the name, though one could argue for creating a reference from the maiden name:

100 1 Szabó, Andrásné

400 1 Peregovics, Vilma

670 Páty, 1986: ǂb verso t.p. (Szabó Andrásné Peregovics Vilma)

The following example is made even more complicated by usage including an abbreviation. However, the second reference with a comma separating the husband’s name from the wife’s maiden name is incorrect.

100 1 Horváth, Gáborné

400 1 Dobos, Mária H.

400 1 Horváth Gáborné, Dobos Mária, ǂc Dr.

400 1 H. Dobos, Mária

667 Cannot identify with: Horváth, Gáborné, Dr.

670 Tankönyvelméleti tanulmányok, 1986: ǂb t.p. (Horváth Gáborné)

670 Her Kereszt-utak, 2008: ǂb t.p. (H. Dobos Mária) cover etc. (H. (Horváth Gáborné) Dobos Mária, b. 1935; philologist, high-school teacher; Horváth Gáborné dr. Dobos Mária)

670 OSZK Katalógus - Amicus (viewed 20 April 2009): ǂb hdg. (Horváth Gáborné, 1935-)

4. It is becoming increasingly common for Hungarian married women not to use the suffix -né at all. A popular alternative is [Husband’s surname] + [wife’s given name].

In the following example there is a reference to the traditional version from such a form.

Example (in MARC format):

100 1 Pongrácz, Tiborné

400 1 Pongrácz, Marietta

670 Her Public opinion survey ... 1976.

670 Her A gyermekvállalásról és a népesedéspolitikáról alk. vélemények több gyermeket gond. anyák körében, 1980: ǂb t.p. (Pongrácz Tiborné dr.)

670 Information from 678 converted Dec. 18, 2014 ǂb (Dr.)

For discussion of Hungarian names, see Wikipedia, n.d., “Hungarian names,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_names.

For legal regulations governing the choice of married names, see http://www.mfa.gov.hu/kulkepviselet/BR/hu/Konzuliinfo/konz_nevviselesi_szabalyok.htm

Other sources used:

Names of persons: national usages for entry in catalogues. 4th revised and enlarged edition. Munchen: K.G. Saur, 1996. Online: http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/cataloguing/pubs/names-of-persons_1996.pdf
Továry, Judit. Bibliográfiai adatfeldolgozás II. Asszonynevek. http://www.tankonyvtar.hu/hu/tartalom/tamop425/0005_09_biblio_ii_scorm_06/635asszonynevek.html

Revised: Oct. 15, 2015