The name as a source of order and disorder in Benin

The question of anthroponymy can be understood as a multidimensional concern since the individual name is an instrument of identification and social and cultural integration. Unfortunately, we notice nowadays that personal names among the Maxi, true cultural heritages, bearers of meaning and significance, are disappearing. Hence this reflection with the objective of contributing to an analysis of the system of dation of names in the Mahi environment of Benin. The production of data is qualitative in nature and is based on a sample of twenty-one (21) social actors. The sample was identified using saturation sampling techniques (Deslauriers, 1991) and purposive sampling. The data was collected using two tools, namely the interview (interview guide and life story) and the documentary study. The empirical data were analyzed according to Raymond Boudon's methodological individualism (1992). The theoretical corpus reveals that the name can have an influence on the individual who bears it, depending on whether it has an unsympathetic or sympathetic connotation.