THE SOCIO-SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF NAMES IN NIGERIAN LANGUAGES A STUDY OF SOME GEOPOLITICAL ZONES IN NIGERIA

Abstract
This study examines variety of names of persons and places from three geopolitical zones in Nigeria to determine the social functions of those names and what the names mean in the context in which they are used. The main objective of the investigation is to have a broad understanding of the socio-cultural and semantic value of names ascribed to people and places in the three geopolitical zones, NorthCentral, South-West, and South -South Zones respectively.The descriptivist theory propounded by Russell and Frege (1980) and Chalmers (2005) was used to guide the study. Seven names of persons and three names of places are selected from each of the zones and analyzed. The analysis shows that names given to people and places vary and are significant in the context in which they are used.It is recommended that people in the different locations in Nigeria should not only be encouraged to bear names that help to identify them but also to consider the extended meanings of such names.