The new volume brings together 19 research articles, two contributions in the section Riletture e prospettive (Reinterpretations and Perspectives), and an updated bibliography of Italian literary onomastics.
A particularly prominent theme is the onomastics of evil and antagonism. Giulia Baselica revisits Nikolai Leskov's Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, examining how the Shakespearean epithet contributes to the complex literary identity of Katerina Izmailova. Sabina Ghirardi investigates the nicknames of villains and taverns in Alessandro Manzoni's I promessi sposi, while Roberto Randaccio explores diabolical appellations in Antonio Fogazzaro's Daniele Cortis. Marie A. Rieger and Vincenzo Amendolara turn to villains and antagonists in German-language South Tyrolean crime fiction.
The relationship between naming, prejudice, and social exclusion receives particular attention in David Morariu's study of Romanian novels published between 1845 and 1947. The article examines how names participate in constructing stereotypical representations of Roma characters, calling for a stronger social perspective in literary onomastics. Laura Luche similarly explores the nickname Pinocha in Mariana Enríquez's fiction against the historical background of Argentina's last military dictatorship.
Another important strand concerns personal identity, memory, and survival. Adriano Cerri investigates the significance of proper names in Alvydas Šlepikas's Il mio nome è Marytė, while Silvia Iluț examines naming in Alexandra Furnea's autobiographical account of trauma and reconstruction. Carola Borgia studies strategies of onomastic concealment in Fabrizia Ramondino's Althénopis, and Maurizio Basili explores the construction of identity through names in Cornelia Funke's literature for young readers.
The issue also demonstrates the historical and geographical breadth of literary onomastics, with contributions devoted to Grazia Deledda, Dante's Purgatorio, Lucian of Samosata, John Steinbeck's East of Eden, seventeenth-century French literature, and the cultural world of southern Italy. Particularly noteworthy is Suzanne Romaine's examination of pseudonyms and nicknames in Ann Cornelisen's writings about rural Lucania, showing how literary naming connects individual identity, social history, and collective memory.
Beyond the research articles, Alessandro Amenta revisits Konrad Górski's historical-functionalist approach to literary onomastics, while Luigi Sasso discusses James G. Frazer and name taboos. Leonardo Terrusi contributes a valuable bibliographical survey of literary onomastic studies published in Italy during 2024–2025.
Taken together, the contributions demonstrate that literary names are far more than decorative details. They can characterise protagonists, evoke intertextual traditions, conceal identities, transmit cultural stereotypes, and articulate the relationship between individuals and their social environments.
Volume XXVIII offers a compelling illustration of literary onomastics as a field connecting linguistic analysis, literary interpretation, cultural history, and increasingly, questions of social power and identity.
Journal: il Nome nel testo. Rivista internazionale di onomastica letteraria
Volume: XXVIII (2026)
Publication date: 6 October 2026
Language: Contributions in Italian and other European languages
Access: Subscription or individual article purchase
Explore the complete issue: https://innt.it/innt/issue/view/33
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