Proper names in the lexical system of any language, in particular Russian, form a special, unique group with its inherent system-forming factors, as well as patterns of development and functioning in different historical periods. There is no doubt that proper names bear the main burden in the implementation of the socio-cultural function of the language, since the names most clearly show the national and linguistic specifics of any nation.

Describing the systematic nature of onomastic vocabulary, researchers cannot fail to note rather vague hierarchical relationships between categories that are not subject to clear and unambiguous structuring. Nevertheless, the systematic nature of the onomasticon is obvious, and a systematic approach to studying all categories of proper names has become a priority in onomastics.

The modern science of names is the result of a long-term purposeful cultural and linguistic activity of people, so it is necessary to consider the system of onomastic vocabulary only in the process of its development and change, taking into account extralinguistic factors. Of course, a detailed analysis of the relationships between not only the categories of names, but also the various relationships between anthroponyms, toponyms, zoonyms, and other onyms (names) is necessary, as well as the relationships between proper names and appellatives. It is precisely the complex nature of the object of onomastic research that determines the introduction of the rather controversial terms onomastic space and onomastic field. Of course, it should be emphasized that such terms and concepts that they denote must necessarily be correlated with a certain era, that is, that time period.-

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the zoom level described by the researcher. In addition, the volume of onomastic vocabulary studied requires specification. Of course, to consider, for example, the onomastics of Leo Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace", despite its considerable fullness, is realistic, but to describe the entire onomastics of the Russian language, even in any small time slice of its functioning, is hardly possible. So, in particular, it is unrealistic, in our opinion, to create a complete Dictionary of Russian surnames, which has long been conceived by anthroponymists: it is simply unattainable to cover the entire family fund in one publication.

So, the onomastic space can be defined as the sum of proper names used in the language of a given people in a certain historical period for naming real, hypothetical and fantastic objects, taking into account the limitation of the volume of this space by the limits of selection of factual material set by the researcher. An onomastic space is a field structure with nuclear and peripheral bits of names. According to V. I. Suprun, the core of Russian onymy is anthroponyms, in comparison with which the onymicity of other units is determined, their attraction to the center or periphery of the onomastic field. An onomastic field is understood as a certain number of elements or units organized in a certain way, within which the regularities of their systematization and functioning are realized.

Nuclear-peripheral relations also occur within individual onomastic discharges. So, among anthroponyms, personal names occupy a central place, they are joined by surnames and - in the Russian tradition-patronymics. Nicknames, pseudonyms, street names and surnames belong to the periphery of the anthroponymic field, since they are not mandatory for the official naming of a Russian person, because the Russian anthroponymic system at the present stage of its development has a three-component structure: first name, patronymic, surname. If we take a different time frame for analysis (for example, the period of formation of an anthroponymic norm), the picture will be different.

Smolensk.

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