Book excerpt: The contribution of this book to existing work in socio-onomastic research is its treatment of the official and unofficial names of the two Indian Christian communities (i. e., Kerala Syrian Christians and Telugu Catholics), in terms of the functions they fulfil in the lives of the community members. This work is based on empirical data and thus highlights empirical issues and applications, meant to make the book of use to the current generation of linguists and sociolinguists. The author strikes a balance between qualitative and quantitative approaches and analyses of data. In addition, both reflexive and constitutive approaches to naming have been used.