1 Names and naming in Papuan languages of New Guinea Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald Across traditional Papuan languages and cultures, personal names are special. The principles of name-giving are in many ways as diverse as the languages and the cultures themselves. Naming systems display 'both linguistic intricacy and cultural complexity' (Kroskrity 2021). In §1, we start with the kinds of traditional names and the principles behind their choice. Name taboos are the topic of §2. Special features of personal names are discussed in §3. With the advent of Western influence, traditional names are on the wane, and European ways of naming are gaining ground — the topic of §4. The last section contains a summary. 1 To choose a name A person's name can be based on their birth-order, the name of the father, or the name of their child — see §1.1. A personal name can be associated with a clan-land or an ancestral locality — see §1.2. Or it may refer to a characteristics of a person, the circumstances of their birth or another associated event— see §1.3. Personal names may reflect an aspect of common experience— see §1.4. Across the Sepik region, personal names are owned by a clan, as tokens of power and wealth. Name ownership can be openly debated — see §1.5. Name- tunes, drum-beats and whistles as personal names are the topic of §1.6. We then turn to relations between namesakes (§1.7), and other aspects of naming systems (§1.8). 1.1 Birth-order names, patronymics, and teknonymy The practice of birth-order names is a feature of a number of languages from Morobe Province. The structure of personal names in Yagwaye (or Iqwaye), an Angan-speaking group, reflects one's clan allegiance and birth-order. A male name consists of the patriname