At the origins of literary onomastics

We present the history of the emergence and development of literary onomastics, the relevance of which is currently not in doubt due to the involvement of its data for the analysis of the artistic world of different authors as linguists and literary critics. The aim of the study is to acquaint readers with those works in which reflections on the function of the proper noun in fiction can be considered as prerequisites for the emergence of onomastics. An important role in the development of science about the proper noun not only scientists, but also critics, writers and journalists, for example, V.G. Belinsky, N.S. Leskov, O.I. Senkovsky. Despite the initial interest of researchers to the etymological meaning of a literary name, in onomastic works middle of 20th century lighting find such problems, as reflected in the anthroponyms of the essential characteristics of the literary character, stylistic conformity onomastic units, social conditionality of name, etc. We point out the primary importance in the problems development of the new branch of linguistics for the 1950s of the works of such scientists as V.N. Mikhailov, R.P. Shaginyan, E.P. Magazanik, D.S. Likhachev. In conclusion we note the modern Voronezh onomastic school research specificity, founded by G.F. Kovalev, the successor of the already classical traditions of Russian onomastics.