Mansaly Jules This paper addresses personal names among the Balant, a community shared between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. It investigates giving names as an important aspect in Balant society. These names are not mere arbitrary labels. They have socio-cultural functions that depend on various contexts and include family names, honorific names, and birth names (toponyms, temporonyms, survival names, epical names, portrayal names). Balante Personennamen Senegal personal names 490 periodical academic journal 2017 1 2017 1860-7462 urn:nbn:de:0009-10-45435 http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0009-10-45435 mansaly2017