Armenian female names. Armenian names for women Tatyana in Armenian

One Armenian linguist named Rachia Acharyan created a list of Armenian names in his time. The volume turned out to be huge - four volumes. This is not surprising: the Armenian people are more than two thousand years old. Since the word “Armenia” (more precisely, “Armina”) appeared in the inscription of King Darius on the Behistun rock, a lot of time has passed, and the number of names has only increased. Essentially the whole story Armenian people is reflected in national names.

We cannot reliably find out what children were called in ancient times. Writing appeared among the Armenian people in 406 thanks to the many years of efforts of Mesrop Mashtots. Before this, literate Armenians used the Persian and Greek alphabet. From legends and written sources in other languages ​​we know people who have left their mark on history, whose names continue to be used in modern everyday life.

In the list of Armenian names, several layers can be distinguished:

All names taken from other languages ​​are adapted by Armenians so strongly that it is often difficult for a foreigner to distinguish original name from borrowing. Only the last category of names still retains traces of its origin. Interestingly, Turkish and Arabic names are very rare among Armenian names, although Armenians often had to communicate with these peoples, but sometimes not of their own free will.

National names

They began to take shape in those days, when Armenians as a separate people with their own identity did not yet exist. The society of the 1st millennium BC, living in the Armenian Highlands, was multi-ethnic. It was at this time, when the state of Urartu fell, and first one conqueror and then another walked around the country, the Armenian community and language were consolidated.

This category includes the names of gods and heroes, as well as those with the help of which parents wanted to make their child happy. Armenian names for men often have solar symbolism, often mentioning strength and nobility. They chose differently Armenian names for girls: rare and beautiful for a foreigner, they were designed to evoke positive emotions in those who know Armenian. The themes of female names are beauty, preciousness, purity, among them there are many “flower” names.

Period of Iranian rule

Iranian names began to penetrate into Armenia during the Achaemenid era. Later influence was due to the hegemony of Parthia in the region, then of Sasanian Iran. In the Middle Ages, Armenia was divided between Byzantium and Iran.

Among the Iranian names there are many royal ones: almost the entire first legendary dynasty - the Ervandids - bore just such names. According to Persian and Greek sources, these people were known as satraps - representatives regional authorities in the Achaemenid Empire.

The specificity of these names is that some of them became Armenian many centuries before the adoption of Christianity, and are now recognized as primordially national.

From that era, legendary names have come down to the present day, known from the times when Armenia did not yet exist. These include the female name Shamiram - the Armenian version of the Assyrian Shammuramat (that was the name of Queen Semiramis).

Influence of Christianity

Along with Christianity, a stream poured into Armenia Greek, Latin and Hebrew names. It cannot be said that they did not exist before: there was a fashion for names in this region, and such a phenomenon as Hellenism also affected the Armenians. But with the advent of a new faith that united the people, Christian names became one of the most common. Often, tracings of religious concepts were used in this capacity, that is, a literal translation difficult words. Christian names have always been heard, and here are some of them:

Trends of the 20th century

Only a third of Armenians live in Armenia. The remaining two thirds are in diasporas. Thanks to this, foreign ones were also included in the number of Armenian names. This process was especially pronounced in the last century, when many Armenians became significant figures in politics, culture and business in different countries. Often they wore quite traditional names, but in order to facilitate communication with people of other nationalities, they took local ones in addition, and thereby contributed to their spread among their people.

Sometimes the name became the surname of some important figure, and not an Armenian at all. This is how the Telmans, Engels, Frunzes and Kamos appeared among the Armenians. Sometimes foreign names adapted to Armenian pronunciation. So, Isabella became Zabel, Sergei became Serzhik (although there is a name of similar origin, Sarkis).

From Western European Edward, Robert, Arman, Eric, and women's - Ophelia, Ermina, Suzanne (although there is also a national analogue - Shushan) have taken root.

There has been a trend towards universal names. In order to make a feminine name from a masculine name, the feminine ending -ui is added to it, for example, Vardui. There are names that can be worn by people of both sexes, but these are few. These include the name Hayastan - “Armenia”. But the name, which comes from an exoethnonym - Armen - is masculine. Female version will sound like “Armenui”.

Most often, Armenians have a surname ending in -yan. This suffix is ​​similar to the Russian -in, which forms a possessive adjective. Simply put, the surname answers the question “whose?” The suffix -yants puts the surname in the genitive case, and it will answer the question “Whose will you be?”

The oldest surnames are those that end in the suffixes -unz and -uni. They go back to the times of the first dynasties of pre-Christian Armenia.

Based on their origin, Armenian surnames can be divided into five categories:

Sometimes you can find out his nationality by the name of an ancestor, which remains at the root of the surname. Thus, the surnames Artashesyan, Bagramyan, Pakhlavuni, Shakhnazarov speak of the Persian origin of the ancestor; the surnames Kardashian, Kocharyan, Shaginyan - about Turkic.

The prefix Ter- before any surname also indicates a connection with the spiritual field. Thus, the ancestors of a person with the surname Terteryants were most likely priests, and Khatstukhyan were bakers.

Nowadays Armenian surnames are transmitted by transcription, that is, their ending remains Armenian. But it was not always so. In Russia for a long time there was a tendency to Russify a surname or nickname, even if the bearer did not ask for it, and sometimes did not know at all. So, Khachikyan could become Khachinsky, and Ayvazyan really became Aivazovsky. Movses Khorenatsi, the first Armenian chronicler, also got it. In Russian historiography he appeared as Moses Khorensky, although this was not his last name: the village where he was born was called Khoren.

Most popular names

Fashion for names exists everywhere, and Armenia is no exception. Behind last years The top ten most common names look like this:

Male names:

Female names:

From the list it is clear that various options named Maria are well common among Armenian female names. Beautiful modern Mari, Maria (and Mary is also included in the top twenty) coexist quite well with the traditional Mariam. Of the twenty most common female names in Armenia, seven are modern.

Armenian male names and their meanings are more traditional: boys are preferred to be given Christian or national names.

Attention, TODAY only!

Even in the Middle Ages, surnames were borne by noble people, princes and royalty. Now, at birth, every child receives a family name.

Each country has its own traditions and history of origin. Read about the most beautiful Armenian names and surnames.

Origin of Armenian surnames

In ancient times, people did not have surnames. The population density was low, so names were rarely repeated.

With the increase in the number of people, the need arose to call a person differently. Several men named Aram or Garnik could live in one settlement. A way out of the situation was found.

When mentioning a person, his family affiliation was indicated - son of Anahit, grandson of Aram. But difficulties arose again.

Therefore, people in Armenia began to add the ending “yang” to their proper name. This is how traditional army surnames were born.

There were several ways to form a surname:

1. On behalf of the father with the addition of an ending.
2. By type of human activity.
3. Depending on place of birth or residence.

Shirakatsi, Tatevatsi - versions indicating where a person was born. Magistros, Kertoh - surnames derived from professional affiliation.

Subsequently, the family name given at birth began to be inherited.

Important! In ancient times, only representatives of a noble family had surnames.

Until the 19th century, only first names were used. However, from the pages of the Bible it is known that during the reign of the Gaykids, representatives of Armenian nationality were found in religious history.

The tribes of Janaris, Aghuvans, Karmanians, and Dzotians inhabited the territory of modern Armenia at that time.

Important! Historical background indicate the first noble army surname - “azganun”, which translates as “family name”.

List of popular female names

Each name has a special meaning. When naming, a person's character depends partly on the name he receives. Armenian versions sound very beautiful and melodic. Female versions of names have been formed for centuries.

They can be divided by origin into 5 groups, which indicate distinctive features:

1. Title affiliation.
2. Nobility of origin.
3. Professional employment.
4. Place of Birth.

In addition to melody and euphony, Armenian names differ deep meaning. The girl grows up in the image of her naming. The newborn was often named after the queen, the goddess.

The semantic meaning of the Armenian versions can be found in the table:

Many Armenian female names based on male versions. At birth, a girl can be named in honor of the great commander, grandfather, adding to male version suffix "uht" and "ui".

This ending of the word literally means “daughter”. And now such complaints convey the character of the owner and his external data. Even Russian children are called with especially euphonious Armenian names.

Beautiful Armenian surnames

The Armenians lived in small groups, so they developed surnames later than other tribes. Some people could be identified hallmark character, others - on the paternal side.

Surnames spoke of the nobility of the family, the dignity of the person who bears it. To this day, Armenians bear the names of their fathers with honor.

Check out the list of the most popular surnames:

• Abazyan.
• Abeghyan.
• Abgaryan.
• Agasyan.
• Ayvazyan.
• Aloyan.
• Alemyan.
• Amaryan.
• Asikyan.
• Ayanyan.
• Babalyan.
• Bagarian.
• Baghumyan.
• Balavian.
• Barinyan.
• Busoyan.
• Gagatyan.
• Galanyan.
• Giriyan.
• Gurshunyan.
• Davoyan.
• Devoyan.
• Dzhigarkhanyan.
• Divarian.
• Dushukyan.
• Yekmalyan.
• Yenkolopyan.
• Yesayan.
• Zavaryan.
• Zakarian.
• Zurabyan.
• Kazaryan.
• Karapetyan.
• Kumaryan.
• Kusheryan.
• Lavazanyan.
• Latoyan.
• Lokmanyan.
• Longuryan.
• Luloyan.
• Makaryan.
• Mersisyan.
• Mudiryan.
• Muradyan.
• Nagaryan.
• Namazyan.
• Narzakyan.
• Narkizyan.
• Nursisyan.
• Hovokyan.
• Oganesyan.
• Ohikyan.
• Pamusyan.
• Panosyan.
• Petrosyan.
• Pogasyan.
• Prutonyan.
• Ramazyan.
• Rashoyan.
• Rabumyan.
• Sagaryan.
• Sargsyan.
• Sadagyan.
• Saloyan.
• Tarunyan.
• Tutumyan.
• Tatosyan.
• Urutyan.
• Ushanyan.
• Udumyan.
• Farjian.
• Farmanyan.
• Haleyan.
• Khotaryan.
• Kholutyan.
• Khutikyan.
• Yumiyan.
• Yamilyan.
• Yamiyan.
• Yamiryan.

There are many Armenians in Russia. Children go to school, parents take jobs. According to the rules of the Russian language female surnames retain their shape when declined.

Masculine variants that end in the suffix “yang” are declined according to the standard rules.

Important! Over time, the ending “ts” disappeared from the generic dialect.

Most Popular aristocratic surnames appeared in the Middle Ages, but became widespread at the beginning of the 19th century. These are Mamikonyan, Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni.

When mentioning noble families, the words “azg” and “tun” were added to the surnames. Over time, family nicknames appeared among peasants and artisans: Khatstukhyan (baker), Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), etc.

Related Posts

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select a country and click on it - a page with lists of popular names will open

Armenia, 2014

SELECT YEAR 2014 2013 2008–2010

Bell tower of the monastery
Haghpat (1245)

State in the southern part of Transcaucasia. It borders with Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey and Georgia. The capital is Yerevan. Population – 3,008,100 (2015). According to the 2011 census, Armenians make up 98.1% of the population. The largest ethnic minorities are: Yezidis (1.17%), Russians (0.4%), Assyrians (0.09%), Kurds (0.09%), Ukrainians (0.04%). Official language– Armenian. 96.5% of the believing residents of Armenia are followers of the Armenian apostolic church(mostly Armenians). Also common: Evangelical Church – 1.01% of total number believers (mostly Armenians), Shar-Fadin church - 0.9% of the total number of believers (Yazidis, Kurds, Persians) and a number of others.

Statistics on the names of newborns are maintained and published by the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia. Its website contains PDF files with statistics on about 50 of the most common names since 2006. In 2006–2007 it was only on Armenian language), in 2008 - in Russian, since 2009 - in Armenian, English and Russian. The names are listed in descending order of frequency. Frequencies are shown in absolute numbers (i.e., number of names). Data on the most common newborn names is published as press releases in May (for the previous year).

I will give statistics for 20 popular names for 2014. Links to data pages for some more early years are in the drop-down list to the right of the title before the text (see Select year). Additionally, I will show the etymologies of names (see after the table with female names).

Boys names

Girls names

(in 2014 Mariam and Helen shared 8–9 places)

Etymologies of male names

Alex is obviously a borrowing from Western European languages, in which it is a shortening of the name Alexander, Alexandre etc. (translated from Greek “to protect” + “man”).
Aram – 1. Armenian “noble”. 2. Aramaic. The biblical character Aram is known - the ancestor of the Arameans. 3. Iranian (“peace, consolation”) This name is in the Orthodox calendar in the form Joharam.
Aren – Through etymology, “divine” is associated with the name of the main proto-Armenian (Aryan) god Ar (sun god). However, it can be traced back to an Indo-European root ar(represented in the name of the god Ar, in the toponyms Armenia, Ararat, Urartu) - “fire”.
Arman – 1. Iranian (“dream, desire”). 2. Old German (“solid, strong” + “man”).
Armen – 1. Armenian (“spirit of the Aryans”). Common root with toponym Armenia. 2. Greek (“fate”). 3. Possibly related to Iranian Arman.
Arsen - Armenian equivalent of the Greek name in origin Arseny(“husband, man, courageous”).
Arthur – 1. From Celtic (“bear”). 2. From Iranian (“fire” + “sun”). 3. Original Armenian (“brave; Aryan” + “sword”). Armenian etymology requires substantiation by pointing to historical figures with this name, while this is not there, it looks a lot like the so-called. "folk etymology".
Ashot – 1. Iranian (“fire”). 2. Armenian (“world, planet”). 3. Derivation of the name Asud from Ancient Urartu.
Gagik – Armenian (“peak, mountain” or “heavenly”).
Hayk (also Hayk, Hayk) - on behalf of the legendary progenitor of the Armenian people. Sometimes you can find the translation “strongman, hero”.
Gevork – Armenian equivalent of the Greek name in origin Georgiy(“farmer”)
Horus – Armenian (“proud”).
David – Hebrew (“beloved”).
Narek - from the name of the ancient Armenian village Narek.
Samvel - Armenian equivalent of the Hebrew name in origin Samuel(“Shem is God”).
Sarkis is the Armenian equivalent of the Latin origin of the name Sergey(possibly “guardian, servant”).
Tigran – 1. Iranian (“tiger”). 2. Armenian (“sacred person”).
Eric is probably a borrowing from Western European languages. Eric– Danish and Swedish form of the name Erich (translated from Old High German as “powerful; prince”).

Etymologies of female names(selectively)

Anahit - on behalf of the goddess Anahit: in Armenian mythology, the mother goddess, the goddess of fertility and love.
Ani - from the name of the city Ani, however, it is not clear from which one; two such cities are known: one was located on the right bank of the Euphrates, and opposite Kamakh, and the other was on the Akhuryan River.
Hasmik - “jasmine”.
Gayane – 1. Greek (“earthly”). 2. Armenian (“home, family”).
Gohar – Iranian (“pearl, gem" IN Turkic languages correspond to it Gauhar, Gauhar.
Lilith is the first wife of Adam in Jewish mythology. 1. Hebrew (“night” or “tawny owl bird (a type of owl)”). 2. Sumerian (“air, wind; spirit, ghost”).
Mariam - variant name Maria, phonetically closer to the Hebrew prototype name.
Mary – Hebrew (presumably “beloved, desired”).
Nare - supposed to be a feminized form of the name Narek (see in the section on male names).
Susanna – Hebrew (“white water lily”).

I like many Armenian names.
:) Amalia - very much so.

Armenian female names
In ancient times in ARMENIA, people were named with meaningful names that corresponded to their external quality, or those that expressed the desire to see a person in the future endowed with certain qualities.
AGAPI - from Hebrew. “agape”, in Russian - “Love”. This name comes from the Greek language and corresponds to the Armenian name - Siranush.

AGNES – from the Greek “agne”, which in Armenian is equivalent to the words “makur” (pure), “surb” (sacred), “amest” (modest) and, accordingly, with the names - Makrui, Srbui, Amest. There is also a Russian version - Agnes.

ADA - from him. “adel”, which means “noble girl”. Derived from the Russian version of the name Adelina. The European version is often found - Adelaide

AZATUI - “freedom”, the female version of the Armenian male name Azat. This is where the surname Azatyan comes from.

AZGANUSH - from the Armenian words “azg” (kind) and “anush” (sweet). Also found short version- Azgush.

AZIZ - from Arabic. “aziz”, which means “dear”, “chosen”, “most beloved”. This name began to spread among Armenians already in the 12th century, both as a female and a male name. The surname Azizyan comes from this name.

AZNIV - from the Armenian adjective “azniv”, which means honest.

AIDA - came into the language after everyone famous opera Verdi "Aida".

ALVARD comes from the Armenian words “al” (red) and “vard” (rose) - red rose.

ALVINA - comes from the Russian name Albina, which means “blonde”, “blond”, from the Latin word albus “white”. It is also common to use a more affectionate name - Alya.

ALINA - affectionate name from Russian. named after Alevtin (Alya, Alevtina). Comes from the Greek word “aleuo” and means “inaccessible”, “elusive”.

ALICE - French name Alisa. Variants of Alice, or affectionately - Alla, are also used.

ALMAST - from tour. “almas”, which means diamond. The Armenians added the letter “t” to the end of the word. Almas - Almast, also Salmas - Salmast.

ALBERTINE - from the Gothic “albrecht”, which means “venerable”. The female version of the European male name Albert.

AMALIA - "Spotless, pure"

ANAIT - "Heart". Anahit, identified by the Greek Artemis, is the main goddess, personification of motherhood and fertility. She was renamed “Great Lady” and “Mother of Virtues” and was considered the patroness of the Armenians.

ANOUSH - "Breath of the Morning", "Voluptuous"

ARAXIA - "Sacred Watch"

AREVIK - "Sun"

ARPENIK - "Holy Protector"

ARUS - "Sunny"

ASTHIK - "Star". Astghik is the bride of Vahagn, identical to Aphrodite. Goddess of love and beauty, patroness of women and, in particular, virgins and pregnant women. Astghik was also the goddess of poetry, medicine, mother and patroness of nature. Her cult was associated with rain and irrigation, perhaps because, according to legend, she turned into a fish. And that's the legend. In Armenian wedding ceremony Until now, an obligatory element of the ritual is the episode when the groom’s mother meets the newlyweds at the threshold of her house; she places lavash (Armenian bread) on the shoulders of the bride and groom. They must walk carefully and enter through the threshold so that, God forbid, the pita bread does not fall off their shoulders. But Astghik was so in love and in such a hurry to become Vahagn’s wife that she quickly and carelessly entered the house and slipped, dropping the pita bread. That's why they still remained in love, and the wedding did not take place. Although, according to legend, the wedding did not take place, because during the wedding Vahagn was informed about an attack on the borders of Armenia by enemy troops. And he, at the call of duty, left his bride and left to defend his homeland. And so, every time it seemed that there was peace on the borders, and he was in a hurry to see his beloved bride, he had to return to his post halfway again. And since Armenia has never been completely safe, and now Vahagn is at the border posts, and Astghik got tired of waiting and turned into a fish...

ATHANASIA - from Greek. "athanasia", which means "immortality". There is a male name - Atanas and hence the surname - Atanesyan.

AKHAVNI - from Armenian. “Ahavni”, which means bird - dove. There are also variants Akhunik or Dohik.

AKHBURIK - from Armenian. “akhbyur”, which means “fontanel”.

AKHGYUL - from tour. “ag” (white) and “gul” (rose), meaning “white rose”.

ASHKHEN - "Heavenly"

GAYANE - "Home, family"

EGINE - "Striving for the Sun"

ZARUI, ZARA - "Priestess of the Fire Temple"

KARINE - "Rejoicing"

MANUSHAK - "Violet"

MANYAK - "NECKLACE OF PRECIOUS STONES"

MELANIA - "Meeting"

NAIRA - "Free"

NANA - "Mom"

NANE - Athena, goddess of the hearth.

NARINE - "Woman, wife"

NUNE - "Praising"

PARANZEM - "Resembling the dazzling Supreme Deity"

RIPSIME - "Above all praise"

SATENIK - "True Doe"

SATE - "True"

SEDA - "Tenderness"

SPANDARAMET - goddess of the underworld.

TATEVIK - "The Path of the Ancestors"

SHAGANE - "Meek, Pious"

SHOGER, SHOGIK - "Beauty"