Investigating the Relationship between Identity and Shiraz Restaurants’ Names from a Socio-onomastic Perspective

In accordance with the prominence of names and their influence on social relations, this study intended to investigate restauranteurs' attitudes on socio-onomastic factors (national, international, and religious identities) and restaurants' names in two areas of high and low socioeconomic status in Shiraz. The target population in this study was 60 restaurant owners from two different districts of Shiraz city. In order to assess the target population, a questionnaire adapted from Hussein, Nofal, and Mansour’s (2015) study was applied in this research. The results revealed significant differences in the attitudes of the restaurant owners in the area of high socioeconomic status compared with the area of low socioeconomic status in that they were more optimistic toward the choice of foreign names in bringing positive commercial outcomes, and being more interesting, unique and prestigious. Contrarily, significant differences of restauranteurs in the area of low socioeconomic status demonstrated more inclination and positive attitude toward using religious names as being more unique and prestigious. The results of this research valuable insights for experts in the field of linguistic, EFL researchers and students.