Bulgarian names. The meaning of female and male Bulgarian names

There are many names in Bulgaria, which often carry a special meaning. By doing this, parents try to show the child’s character traits or endow him with some special features. Often Bulgarian names are a kind of wish for prosperity, success or health to the born person. Today we will try to consider not only their meanings, but also to understand which names are the most popular in this state, how they are formed and what Bulgarian traditions observed when naming children.

Origin of Bulgarian names

The most common and popular Bulgarian names are of Slavic origin. They firmly came into use after the adoption of Christianity as the main faith. Greek, Latin and Old Hebrew gained considerable popularity. Turkish rule in Bulgaria, oddly enough, had little effect on the variety of names, since states rarely named their children Muslim. For a long time, parents named their sons in honor of the Slavic princes Alexander and Vladimir.

Since the mid-20th century, the names of Western European and American origin. During this period, Bulgarian names (female and male) were enriched with new forms due to popular movie characters, singers and actors.

Be that as it may, Bulgarian men and women are called in a special way, even if the names are derived from words often used in other countries. Agree, it’s rare in any country in Europe, America or Asia that you can hear a girl’s name being Miljana or Luchezara, and men being called Tsvetan or Yasen.

Traditions: how they give a name in Bulgaria

Bulgarian names, especially for men, have been preserved unchanged due to the naming of descendants in honor of their grandfathers or great-grandfathers. There was no special system for the sequence of inheritance. The older child could be called grandma or grandpa, no matter what gender the baby was. Bulgarian names are unique in this regard: boys and girls are often called the same. An example of this is the male name Zhivko and the female name Zhivka, Spaska and Spas, Kalin and Kalina.

In addition, Bulgarian names for girls and boys are chosen in accordance with the church calendar. In this case, children are named after the saints on whose day they were born. Also in Bulgaria they still believe in the power of words as such, so names of young Bulgarians are often given as names of plants or properties of human character.

Female names in Bulgaria and their meaning

So we're already in general outline learned what Bulgarian names are. Female and male, as mentioned above, are often consonant or have the same meaning. But there are those whose sound is unique not only for a particular country, but also for the whole world. These include names such as Gisela ("beauty"), Smaragda ("jewel"), Salvina (healthy), Vavilia ("God's gate") and so on.

Many female names in Bulgaria are given to girls as a talisman. For example, Blazhena, according to the Bulgarians, should endow a girl with happiness, and Iskra with sincerity. They call a girl radiant when they want to give her strength, and Demira when a girl needs fortitude. Several names for little Bulgarians have their origins in myths and legends. So, Veda means “mermaid” or “forest fairy”, Xantha means “golden-haired”, Luchezara means “heavenly star”.

Bulgarian male names

The meaning of Bulgarian is as varied as that of girls. There is a whole list. At the same time, some of the names are capable of endowing the boy with certain qualities: Blagomir (“bringing good to the world”), Boyan (“ strong-willed fighter"), Branimir ("defending the world"), Nikolaa ("conquering nations"), Peter or Penko ("strong as a stone, rock").

Bulgarian names (male) are often associated with a person’s character or the main one in the family. For example, Georgie and Dimitar are two of the most popular names from peasants working on the land. They are translated as "farmer". The name Philip (“who loves horses”) was more often given to children in families of grooms, equestrians, or horse breeders.

Love for children, the desire to endow them with beauty in appearance and character are also reflected in male names in Bulgaria. For example, Luben (love), Lyudmil (dear to people) and Tsvetan (flower) are still often found in this country. Also in Bulgaria they believe that good luck and respect in the future will be with those who are called Slavey Zvezdelin ("star") or Yan ("who worships God").

Popular boy and girl names in Bulgaria

Behind last decades Bulgarian girls have Iliya, Rositsa, Rada (Radka) and Mariyka. They are called about 20% of all newborn girls. Slightly less popular are Stoyanka, Vasilka, Stefka and Yordanka. Bulgarian names for boys that have gained popularity in last years, do not have a very exotic sound. Most often, boys are called Petry, Rumen, Todor and Ivan. Nikola, Atanas, Marin and Angel deserved slightly less popularity.

"Tiny" names

In addition to the official ones, in Bulgaria it is customary to use so-called “tiny” names, which are a shortened version of the name given at birth. This tradition is rarely applied to women, but male names often reduced beyond recognition. An example of this is Georgiy: in Bulgaria, men with this name are often called Gosho, Gezha, Gogo or Zhoro. But Todor can be pronounced as Tosho, Totio or Toshko. In rare cases, a “tiny” name can become independent and official, after which it can be entered into documents.

**** HOLY TRINITY CHURCH - We believe that our joint desire and concern will help restore the “Holy Trinity” church and the ringing of its bells will become a symbol of faith, hope and love for all descendants of Bulgarian settlers in Tavria. - Ukraine. The village of Radolovka, Primorsky district, Zaporozhye region.- Historical reference. - ... “Holy Trinity” church was built in 1907 at the expense of the founders of the village - Bulgarian settlers who refused to convert to Islam from the Turks in Bulgaria and remained faithful to Orthodoxy. Construction of the church lasted about five years using local building materials. The church was one of the most beautiful examples of Bulgarian church architecture on the territory of the Bulgarian colonies in the Azov region (Tavria). After October revolution 1917 and end civil war A rural library was opened. From September 17, 1943 to March 1944, a military field hospital was located in the church building; in the fall of 1943, the church building was bombed by the Nazis, as a result of which the central dome and bell tower were destroyed, and some of the wounded RKK soldiers who were in it at that time died. From 1944 to 2000, the church building was used as a granary and a warehouse for building materials. In 1977, taking into account the architectural value of the church building, the leadership of the Leningrad workshop for the restoration of architectural monuments proposed to the local collective farm to free the church from grain for its restoration, but this proposal was rejected. In 1994, a community of parishioners was formed in the village, which held several clean-up days to clear the church building of garbage. Since 2000, the church has been on the balance sheet of Gyunovsky village council

. In the same year, with the support of Father Dmitry from the city of Primorsk, the church was examined by specialists who drew up design and estimate documentation for the restoration of the church. During the entire existence of the “Holy Trinity” Church, it, like its creators and their descendants, had to endure a lot: the greatness and prosperity of the Bulgarian colonies in Tavria, revolutionary oblivion and the fire of intolerance, death and destruction of war, economic difficulties and instability of our time. **** The centuries-old traditions of any country are largely reflected in the names that parents give to their children at birth. For example, many Bulgarian names have a special meaning and show certain characteristics of the child. In addition, they may contain a wish for success, health or wealth for a person. Some of them have Slavic roots

, others are Muslim. As in other countries, children nowadays are called by international names.

Origin and traditions The most common names in Bulgaria are Slavic origin . They became most popular when the Orthodox faith . Except them,

• Names of other origins have also become widespread:
• Turkish;
• Greek;
• Latin;

Jewish. Around the middle of the 20th century, Western European and American names , often children began to be named after famous performers

However, compared to many other countries, many, especially Bulgarian male names, have remained unchanged. This is because in Bulgaria there is still a tradition of naming children in honor of their ancestors, and often a child could be named after his grandmother or grandfather, regardless of his gender. Names in the country are unique in that many of them have both male forms, and women's. Among them:

• Zhivka-Zhivko;
• Kalin-Kalina;
• Todor-Todorka;
• Spas-Spaska.

Often names are chosen according to church calendar. Then the child is named after the saint on whose day he was born. A name can also mean one or another property. This is explained by the Bulgarians' belief in the power of words. The influence of other cultures, in particular Turkish, is felt in the names. Turkish origin have such names, How:

• Demir and Demir;
• Emine;
• Mustafa and other Muslim names.

In addition, there are a lot of gypsies in the country. For this reason, there are people here whose names are Gozho, Evsenia, Bakhtalo and others. Some of them really have Romani origin, in other cases, parents named their children that way due to influence.

Features of female and male names

The country is unique in that people are named following centuries-old traditions, and there are also a large number of original traditional names. The variety of Bulgarian names for girls is amazing. Many of them have special meaning, for example:

There are women's traditional names of this country, which in Russia are considered masculine, and in short form. For example, Petya or Vanya. In Bulgaria you can often meet girls whose names are Tsvetans, Ivankas, Tsvetskas, Jordankas, Zornitsyas and more.

Men's names also have their own characteristics. In particular, there are a large number of them that end in “slav” or “peace”:

• Zlatoslav;
• Radimir;
• Lubomir;
• Zlatoslav.

No less popular are the names more familiar to Russians - Vladimir or Yaroslav. Original Bulgarian names can be called short forms, which are often considered official. For example, Tosho (from the full Todor), Gogo (George), as well as Zhivko, Zlatko and more.

Like women's names, Bulgarian boys' names have their own meaning. In addition, it was often possible to determine by the boy’s name what his family was doing.

For example, Dimitars or Georgi most often called the children of peasant farmers. But Philippas most often appeared in the families of riders or horse breeders. This name translates to “horse lover.” It is quite possible that the ancestors of the singer Kirkorov were involved in horses.

Other meanings of male names include:

In addition, in Bulgaria there are Angel or Apostle. It is worth noting that there are more men in Bulgaria who have “Angel” written in their passport than in the world. For this reason, many call Bulgaria “the country of Angels”.

Modern tendencies

If you believe the statistics of the Bulgarian National Institute, the number of names in the country is more than 67 thousand names. Moreover, if there are 29 thousand male names, there are much more female names - 38 thousand, respectively.

Boys are most often called Ivan and Georgiy. 38 percent of the male population is called this way. And the most common female name in the country is Maria, if we also count its form as Mariyka.

Other common names in the country include:

Today, one of the most popular names for newborn girls is Victoria, which can be called a trend towards globalization. But boys are still mostly called Georgies. And in recent years, girls have often been called double names in a foreign way, such as Anna-Maria, Maria-Margarita and others.

Last names and patronymics

The concept of a surname as a family hereditary sign in Bulgaria appeared relatively recently compared to other European countries. Their history of formation began only towards the end of the 19th century.

In spelling, they do not differ from traditional Russian surnames, but, unlike them, they have a “floating” accent that can change. Like Russians, many Bulgarian surnames for women or men end in -ev (Botev or Tashev) or -ov (Todorov, Vazov). A smaller number were formed using the suffixes -shki, -ski or -chki, reminiscent of Polish. Their origins are ancient, associated with the cities or villages of human origin. For example, Lesicherski (a native of the village of Lesicharska) or Ohridski (from the city of Ohrid).

Many surnames of people in Bulgaria are derived from given names - both directly Bulgarian and Christian in general. For example, Pavlov, Isaev, Ivanov and others, some are in no way different from Russians.

There are also special surnames that are also considered traditional Bulgarian, however, they may seem to be of Muslim origin. These include the surnames Hadzhipopov, Hadzhigeorgiev and others with a similar prefix. The word “Hajj” in the Muslim world is interpreted as a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Bulgaria, the owners of such surnames may not be hereditary Muslims, but their ancestors during the time of Turkish oppression were called this way when they traveled to Jerusalem or visited other holy places, and not necessarily Muslim ones.

There are surnames that indicate nicknames or activities. For example, the surname Kovachev comes from the word “blacksmith” and is an analogue of the Russian surname Kuznetsov or the Ukrainian surname Kovalev (or Koval).

Currently, newborns in Bulgaria are given a choice of the surname of their father or mother, either assigned a new one after the name of their grandfather, or the surnames of their parents are combined. Previously, in most cases, women after marriage took their husbands' surnames, but now they mostly switch to a double one.

There are also Bulgarian middle names. They differ from Russians by the absence of the characteristic ending “vich” or “vna” and are more reminiscent of surnames. For example, if a woman's name is Ivanka Stoyanova, and her father's name is Todor, then her full name will sound like Ivanka Todorova Stoyanova. If a person’s surname is Ivanov, and his father’s name is Ivan, then the surname and patronymic will look the same in writing, but will differ in emphasis. In the patronymic it will be on the first syllable, and in the surname it will be on the second, respectively.

Unlike others Slavic countries, in Bulgaria a large number of Old Church Slavonic names forgotten in Russia have been preserved, which are distinguished by their euphony and have their own meaning. The traditions that continue to be honored in the country contributed greatly. Although, despite this, the fashion for international names is still growing. It’s too early to say whether they will be able to displace traditional ones.

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Story Bulgarian surnames.

In Bulgarian culture, the concept of surname as a hereditary family name appeared quite recently. A person, in addition to his personal name, was named after his father, his nickname, or his grandfather, for example, Ivan Petrov, son of Pyotr Kolev, grandson of Kolyo Kirilov. Story formation Bulgarian surnames starts at late XIX century and is completely completed only in the middle of the last century.

Forms of formation of Bulgarian surnames.

Bulgarian surnames are similar in spelling to Russian ones, only they have an unstable accent and can change it. IN dictionary of Bulgarian surnames the overwhelming majority of them end in -ov, -ev (Iskrov, Tashev, Vazov, Botev). Very few surnames were formed using the suffixes -ski, -chki, -shki. The origin of such Bulgarian surnames more ancient, and their interpretation associated with the names of villages and towns or the nicknames of the first owners - Kliment Ohridski (from Ohrid), Dimcho Lesicherski (from the village of Lesicharska), Noncho Plyaka (Noncho the Sage), Mara Papazulya (Mara Popadya). However, surnames with such endings are not typical for the Bulgarian language. List of Bulgarian surnames in alphabetical order proves the absolute advantage of endings -ov, -ev.

Meanings of Bulgarian surnames.

As a rule, Bulgarian hereditary names were formed from Christian and Bulgarian names - Ivanov, Pavlov, Davidov, Bogomilov, Isaev, Voinov. Meaning some Bulgarian surnames has, at first glance, a completely non-Christian meaning - Hadzhigeorgiev, Hadzhipopov. It seems that their roots must be sought in Islam, where “Hajj” means a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Bulgaria, for a long time being under the yoke of the Turkish yoke, this prefix was added to the surname of a person who visited Jerusalem or other Christian shrines. A small part of Bulgarian surnames retain the features of nicknames or indicate the person’s occupation - Sakadzhiev (water bearer), Mechkov (bear), Kovachev (blacksmith).

Now in Bulgaria, a child is given a surname from several options - father or mother, a new one based on the name of one of the grandfathers, and the surnames of the parents are combined. In the last century, women almost always switched to their husband's surname when they got married. They now prefer to hyphenate their spouse's last name to their maiden name. Declension of Bulgarian surnames in Russian should not cause difficulties. Masculine and feminine (with endings -ova, -eva) variants change by case according to the laws of Russian grammar.

Thanks to top Bulgarian surnames you can make sure which of them are in this moment are the most common and popular in Bulgaria.

Bulgarian language belongs to the southern group Slavic languages, part of the Indo-European language family.

The modern Bulgarian name book contains names of different origins and related to different eras. The most ancient names include those common to the majority Slavic peoples, such as Velislav, Vladimer/Vladimir, Vladislav, Dragomir, Radomer/Radomir. Subsequently they underwent significant changes. For example, from the name Vladimir in the Bulgarian language the male names Vlad, Vlado, Vladai, Vladaicho, Vladan, Vladin, Vladun, Vladyo, Vlayko, Vlaicho, Lado are formed. and female - Vlada, Vladepa, Vladka, Vladimirka, Vladitsa, Vladunka, Ladana.

With the adoption of Christianity by the Bulgarians (around 865), Bulgarian anthroponymy appears big number Christian names (Greek, Hebrew, Latin in origin): Alexander, Georgi, Ivan, Christo, Ana, Maria, Julia. Often christian names were replaced by tracing translations that were understandable to the people: Petar (Greek) - Kamen, Theodosius, Todor (Greek) - Bozhidar, Bogdan. In other cases, they were adapted taking into account the pronunciation norms of the Bulgarian language: Dimitri (Greek) - Dimitar, Dimo, Dimcho, Yoleazar (Jewish) - Lazar, Lazo, Lacho.

The most significant layer of names, both male and female, formed on the basis of the vocabulary of the Bulgarian language. These are appellative names, for example: Zlatan, Parvan, Vulkan, Krusho. In some cases, these are names-amulets, names-wishes that were given to the child to protect him from evil spirits and all sorts of troubles, for example: Valyako, Dobri, Zhivko, Zdravko, Lubeck, Ognyan, Stoyan. Female names were regularly formed from male personal names, while male ones from female ones much less frequently: Zlat (male) - Zlatitsa (female), Prodan - Sold, but Ruzha (female) - Ruzhan (male), Ekaterina - Ekaterin.

A characteristic feature of the Bulgarian anthroponymic system is the large number of formants, which made it possible to form from one name or root different names with the same semantics: for male names the suffixes -an, -yan, -din, -en, -il -in, -ko, -oy, -osh, -ush, -cho are productive, for female names -a, -I, -ka, -tsa, -che. Some of them give names a certain stylistic

coloring Thus, the formants -ko, -cho (masculine), -ka (feminine) can
introduce a diminutive connotation into the meaning of the name (especially if there are parallel forms of names: Andrey - Andreycho - Andreyko, Mladen - Mladencho,
Lila - Lilka). Actually diminutive suffixes: male names ence (Vasyo - Vasentse), female names -che (Maria - Mariyche). This category of names can also be used with the postpositive member -to.

Despite the long Turkish rule in the Balkan Peninsula, Turkish personal names are adopted to a very small extent by the Bulgarians; Turkish anthroponyms are common among Bulgarians who converted to Islam (Pomaks).

During the period of the Bulgarian revival (19th century), the number of borrowed foreign names increased, penetrating through literature, newspapers and magazines or associated with certain political or historical events, for example: Robinson, Romeo, Margarita, Lyudmila, Gurko, Venelin.

The Bulgarian name book is constantly enriched and replenished with new names, borrowed or created according to the well-known word-formation model: Plamen, Vihren (modeled on Rumen), Svetomir/Svetlomir (modeled on Vladimir), Snezhana/Snezhanka (modeled on Bozhana), Snezhinka.

The choice of AI for a child by parents in modern practice is arbitrary. In the past, the most common tradition was to name the first child, a boy, after his paternal grandfather, and a girl, after her paternal grandmother. The second child was named after the maternal grandfather or grandmother. If the child was born on the day of remembrance of a saint or on the day church holiday, then he was given the name of this saint or named in honor of a holiday, for example, Duho - in honor of the day of the Holy Spirit, Vrachena.
The surname was not typical for Bulgarians and appeared (in modern meaning) not earlier than the period of the Bulgarian Renaissance. Before this, patronyms in -ov, -ee (Petkov, Gotsev) and matronyms in -in (Dunkin, Jordan) served as possessive adjectives and were used to explain AI. The same function was performed by place names in -ski, -chki, -shki, for example Kliment Ohridski (that is, from Ohrid), Dimcho Lesicherski (that is, from the village of Lesicharka), as well as numerous nicknames and nicknames such as Noncho Plyaka (ta) - plyaka ( colloquial) “cunning”, Mara Papazulya (ta)-papazulya (dial.) “popadya”.

However, the process of consolidating the patronymic and turning it into a surname gradually intensified. After the liberation of Bulgaria from the yoke Ottoman Empire(1878), with the establishment of new socio-political, cultural and everyday relations, AM “AI + surname” became widespread. Most often, the surname was formed from the father (less often the mother), sometimes the grandfather or more distant ancestors. Surnames could also be formed from nicknames (Mechkov-mechkata “bear”), names of professions and occupations (Kovachev, Kovachki, Kovashki<ковач «кузнец »; Сакаджиев, Сакаджийски<сакаджия «водонос »), топонимов (Ковачес/ш — названия села Ковачево). Женские фамилии образовывались от мужских прибавлением окончания -а (Ковачева). Фамилии на -ич, -ович, -оглу, -олу, распространенные в XIX веке, не характерны для современной антропонимической системы болгар.

A feature of the modern Bulgarian anthroponymic system can also be considered the introduction in some cases of a third member in AM. In passports, orders, applications and other official documents, the trinomial “AI + OI + NI” is used to identify individuals (Zakhara Stoyanov Nakolov). The use of a trinomial is a sign of extreme formality. Sometimes, in writing, the full AI or OI may be replaced by initials.

In everyday life, both in official and family communication, the binomial “AI + surname” is used. In the official business sphere of public life, people are addressed by last name or position, profession with the addition of the words drugar, drugarka “comrade” in the vocative form: drugar Kolya, drugarka Stankov. In family and everyday communication, Bulgarians most often use a personal name: Todore, Petre, Eleno, None.

In colloquial language, when respectfully addressing an elder, kinship terms in the vocative form were previously widely used (either independently or in combination with AI); uncle "grandfather", "grandfather", bai, chicho "uncle", bae, bate "elder brother", baba "grandmother", lelya "aunt", kaka "elder sister", "elder woman". In modern colloquial practice (colloquial speech), only the words bai and kaka are actively used, for example: bai Stojane, kako Donke.