How does Tajikistan’s approved baby-name list promote Tajik culture?

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Tajikistan’s approved baby-name list promotes Tajik culture by requiring ethnic Tajiks to use names officials deem suitably Tajik, while rejecting names considered foreign, including some Muslim names.

The Tajik government maintains an approved register of baby names that is meant to promote Tajik culture and limit foreign influence, including influence linked to Russia and radical Islamism. The register excludes names judged “foreign” by officials, and it has been in place for about 10 years, with the latest update in February. President Emomali Rakhmon has publicly argued that choosing first names in ways that “glorify the foreign” is “absolutely unacceptable,” and that it “distances future generations from their historical origins.”
The list is framed as an identity-control tool for ethnic Tajiks
The rules apply only to ethnic Tajiks, meaning the approval system is not positioned as universal across all communities in the country. In practice, parents must register a name that appears on the approved list to receive a birth certificate reflecting that choice. When a name is removed or not included after a February update, families can end up with no clear path forward, as illustrated by parents whose preferred names were not accepted at the point of birth registration.
“Promoting Tajik culture” is operationalised through approval and exclusion of names
The stated purpose is to promote Tajik culture by steering first-name choices away from names officials label foreign. The policy’s boundary is not simply “Muslim versus non-Muslim,” because some Muslim names are excluded while others are permitted. Examples given include excluded names such as Yassine, Amira, and Riyad, while permitted names include Muhammad and Kareem, showing that eligibility depends on officials’ judgement of what counts as an acceptable Tajik name.
President Rakhmon links the policy to redefining national identity and limiting radical Islam
Rakhmon has sought to redefine Tajik national identity by tightening control over Islam and moving away from the Soviet legacy, and the naming list sits within that broader identity narrative. He has described it as unacceptable to “glorify the foreign” through first-name choices and said such choices distance future generations from their historical origins. The broader context also includes other restrictions tied to religion, such as banning the hijab for women and outlawing long beards for young men, alongside steps to reduce certain Russian cultural markers.
Updates can change outcomes for parents and shape what names survive officially
Because the list is updated, a name that was once acceptable can later be removed, forcing parents to adjust at registration time. One mother said her chosen name, Dunyo, was on the list at the time she selected it, but it was no longer there when she went to obtain the birth certificate after her child was born following the update. Another parent reported having to use “Oisha” instead of “Aisha” after an earlier rejection, and her second child’s preferred name, Yasmina, was not on the list either, with the “Tajik version” cited as Yosuman or Yosamin.

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How does Tajikistan’s approved baby-name list promote Tajik culture?

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