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. . . because we *have* no specific information about when naming began. We do know that all surviving written and oral histories include personal names; but those don't go all that far back in human history, let alone in the history of the hominid line. It's simply not possible to study human/hominid naming practices without some form of direct evidence, and we don't have that.

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There are a few sources that you might try reading:

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This source (which I've only glanced at) deals with naming in general (all nouns, not just personal names) as a behavioural pattern:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1350072

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This online discussion asks the question, and cites some interesting research about "naming" behaviour in dolphins that might be worth following up:
http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/18979

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This paper appears to deal with the idea that naming could be an adaptation:
http://psycprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/archive/00000685/

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I suggest googling "Origin of Naming" and similar combinations of keywords.

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I hope that helps!

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♦ Chrisell ♦

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All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. - J.R.R. Tolkien.

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