AbstractPerhaps the archetypal form of address, names are ubiquitous in human interaction and central to purposeful communication. Names as address forms and patterns of their use according to social, addressee and addresser variables among Moroccan Arabic speakers are described and set in the context of historical naming practices which are developing into modern ones. Combinations of given and family names, used with and without titles, provide evidence of a rich and complex system of address in a society undergoing rapid change.