Etymological dictionary of proper names. Origin and meaning of some names

Let's consider the question of the origin of human names.

Proper names were identified in ancient times. Even the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus (3rd century BC) identified names as a separate group of words. Today, the study of people’s proper names, the patterns of their origin and development, their structure, functioning in society, and distribution is dealt with by anthroponymy (“anthropos” - person, “onima” - name).

People have always been given names. There are many legends and traditions about how they arose. Here is one of them. In a distant time, when Higher intelligence gave people speech, there was one language. Each word reflected the inner essence of things. Anyone who knew a word gained power over what it meant. Chaos arose in the world because people could not decide who would govern and who would obey. Then the priests came up with other words for everything in the world in order to prevent the uninitiated from using the true names of things for evil. Higher knowledge turned out to be beyond the reach of man. As a result, different languages ​​evolved and the true language was hidden and then almost completely lost. This is what is said about language, words and names in the legends of many nations. The same thing happened with people's names.

People now had to come up with names themselves. Moreover, in many cultures, a child was given two names - one close to the real one and a second one, for general use, so that no one could harm the child, knowing his real name. Our distant ancestors understood that a name is not just the name of a person to distinguish him from others, but a kind of verbal formula that is somehow connected with the fate of a person and power over him. They tried to use it in different ways.

Baby name traditions

Indian and some African tribes gave repulsive names in order to ward off evil spirits. Once upon a time it was believed that only the person himself and his parents should know his real name. In Indian tribes, a young man learned his real name only on the day he was recognized as an adult through meditation and communication with spirits and did not tell anyone. Old Indian shamans say that often this name could not be pronounced with normal sounds, it existed only as a mixture of image and sound.

The ancient Greeks gave a child the names of gods and heroes, hoping that the child would enjoy their favor and inherit their qualities and destiny. But calling children by similar names was somehow tactless, and even dangerous - after all, the gods of the Hellenes lived very close - on Mount Olympus, were very similar to people and often communicated with them. They might not like such familiarity. Therefore, for everyday reference to the gods, various epithets were used, which were also transformed into names. For example, - winner, - greatest. These epithets were used to call Zeus. Mars carried a laurel branch, hence the name Laurus. Many gods wore headdresses such as crowns or tiaras. This is where the name Stefan - crowned - comes from.

However, the tradition of giving children direct names of gods, although not supreme ones, has also been preserved, in order to avoid their anger for such impudence. The names Muse, Apollo, Aurora, Maya are still in use. Later, this desire became a Christian tradition of giving names in honor of righteous people canonized as saints.

In Rus' there was another tradition: which was real - it was known to parents, godparents and especially close people. It combined the wishes for the baby, the hopes and aspirations of the parents, it reflected love for the child and the desire for his happiness. Then the child was wrapped in a matting and carried out of the threshold, as if demonstrating to the evil spirits that they had found an abandoned baby who was not particularly needed. And they called him a name that would scare away the evil spirits and lull their attention. "They call me Zovutka, but they call me a duck." This means to say your own name to a stranger was considered dangerous. What if the stranger was a sorcerer who could use knowledge of the name for evil. By giving the child a dissonant and repulsive name, they hoped that evil forces would not bother themselves with causing harm to the unworthy, and also that a nondescript name would not arouse the envy of the gods. The ritual of the second naming was carried out in adolescence when the main character traits have been formed. The name was given based on these features.

However, the tradition of such naming did not take root. And a person who was constantly called not by his real name, but by his real name, often acquired all the qualities characteristic of this nickname. In such a situation, the name-amulet protected the person from unknown reasons. Since the name was not spoken out loud, it had no internal connection with its bearer.

Names in Rus'

The influence of a name on a person and his fate has been noticed for a long time. It has always been believed, and quite rightly, that a word chosen for a name with love will help in life. But at the same time, giving a name, naming it means gaining secret power. IN different languages the emotional connotation of the word does not change, and what means something pleasant has a sound that is pleasant to the ear, and vice versa.

Thus, the origin of the name has a long history.

Before the adoption of Christianity in Rus', original names were used, created on Slavic soil using the Old Russian language. The Slavs chose to name their children any words that reflected:

• various properties and qualities of people, features of their character: Smart, Brave, Kind, Cunning;
• features of behavior and speech: Molchan;
• physical advantages and disadvantages: Oblique, Lame, Krasava, Kudryash, Chernyak, Belyai;
• the time and “order” of the appearance of a particular child in the family: Menshak, Elder, First, Second, Tretyak;
• profession: Villager, Kozhemyaka, etc.

Similar names were also used by other peoples; it is enough to recall the names of the Indians, which characterized the characteristics of a particular person: Eagle Eye, Sly Fox, etc. We had several other names, which later, with the adoption of Christianity and the consolidation of names in church calendars, turned into nicknames. Some of these nicknames have come down to us in the form of surnames: Cat, Beetle, Wolf, Sparrow. It should be noted that these surnames are quite common.

The influence of Christianity on naming

From the 11th to the 17th centuries Slavic names fade into the background, and the Byzantine-Greek ones come to the fore. With the advent of Christianity, a two-name system began to develop. In order to protect a person from evil spirits, he was given one name and called a completely different one. This period is characterized by social stratification. At this time it is common Old Russian names, which consist of two roots and contain the root -slav. These are names such as Vyacheslav, Svyatoslav, Yaroslav, Borislav, which were joined by Byzantine-Greek names with the same root: Bronislav, Miroslav, etc.

From the beginning of the 18th century until 1917, canonical names dominated, a three-part formula for naming a person (last name, first name, patronymic) developed and spread, and a pseudonym appeared.

After the revolution they became very popular. The formation of new names especially affected girls. So, they were called Idea, Iskra, Oktyabrina. There is evidence that one girl was even called Artillery Academy. It was fashionable to call twin boys and girls Revo and Lucia; the names of the boys are known: Genius, Giant (it is noteworthy that these names did not always correspond to reality, and often completely contradicted). However, at this time names appeared that continue to live now: Lilia (it is similar to the Russian name and is very euphonious), Ninel (reading the name Lenin in reverse order), Timur, Spartak.

The modern Russian name book includes many names with different origins. But still, the names that we now have a huge advantage with good reason we can call them Russians. Although there is actually very little left. Over time, the original meaning of names was forgotten, but historically each name was a word or phrase of some language.

Almost all modern names came to us from Byzantium and have Greek roots in origin. However, many of them were borrowed from other ancient languages, or were simply borrowed from ancient Roman, Hebrew, Egyptian and other languages, and with this method of borrowing they were used only as a proper name, and not as a word denoting anything.

Luchko Victoria Vladimirovna

1st year student of the State Budgetary Educational Institution of Secondary Professional Education "Gulkevichi Construction College" KK, Russian Federation, Gulkevichi

Luchko Irina Valentinovna

scientific supervisor, teacher of Russian language and literature

GBOU SPO "Gulkevichi Construction College" KK, RF, Gulkevichi

The purpose of my work, which I called “The Etymology of Personal Names,” is to explore the etymology of personal names and suggest ways to choose them .

study the history of the origin of personal names;

consider, using the example of the 20th - early 21st centuries, whether time affects names;

find out what influences the choice of name.

While working on the topic, I used the following methods:

survey;

study of archival documents, reference books, dictionaries;

conversations with ministers of the Holy Trinity Church, with employees of the passport and visa service and employees of the registry office, with bearers of interesting names.

Introduction.

A person is given a name once. It becomes a kind of identification document for a person, his personal name.

All personal names were once common nouns. In ancient times, the Russian people and other peoples had a custom: at the birth of a child, to assign to him the names of various objects, phenomena, and signs as a name. Hence such ancient Russian names as Dobrynya, Druzhina, Kalina.

Before the adoption of Christianity, Russians had names that called a person according to internal or external characteristics (Bolshoi, Ryaboy, Kosoy, Buyan, Mal, Zhdan, Molchan, Kudryash, Nelyub), reflecting the order in which new family members appeared (First, Pervusha, Tretyak, Malyuta , Later). The names reflected social and economic status (Slave, Bobyl, Selyanin), place of origin (Nesvoy, Inozem, Nenash, Kazanets), church relations (Bogomaz, Sin, Bogomol).

Our ancestors also used allegorical names. In the chronicles of the 4th century the following names were preserved: Ram Filippov, Sheep Vladimirov, Spider Ivanov.

There were also names of another kind - princely ones, which arose on common Slavic or Russian soil: Yaroslav, Vsevolod, Vladimir, Budimir, etc.

Sometimes not real, but desired characteristics were taken as names: Svetozar (bright as the dawn), Vladimir (who owns the world), Vsemila (dear to everyone)

Few beautiful female names have survived: Golub, Nesmeyana, Zabava, Lebed, Lyubava, Zhdana. Annoyance, Borislav, Svyatoslav.

The meanings of some names were forgotten. And the common noun turned into a proper one.

Every person living on earth has a name. It is a companion of man from the first to last days life.

Probably everyone has asked themselves at least once: “Why did they call me that?” At the same time, some are happy about their name, others would like to change it.

Growing up, I hear more and more often that a name is not just a set of familiar and familiar sounds, but it is something like a code with which you can decipher fate, find out whether the name given by your parents corresponds to our star sign.

It turns out that there are people who study psychology, philology and astrology of the name.

Of course, I still can’t figure it all out, but it was interesting to find out when the names appeared, how they arose, and why they disappeared forever or temporarily.

History of the origin of names.

The ways in which names were formed among ancient peoples were very diverse. Some, in order to appease the spirits of nature and enlist their support, gave their children names like Tamara /date palm/, Leah /antelope/, Rachel /sheep/ and others. In some tribes, in order to get a name, you had to attack a foreigner and, before killing him, ask him what his name was. Still others, when naming their children, invested in them their best hopes and wishes. Many ancient names have reached us, but we have long forgotten their meaning. I found out that European peoples in ancient times, a popular name was translated as Wolf: Vuk /Serbia/, Vilko /Bulgaria/, Rudolf - Red Wolf /Germany/ and simply Wolf. In Uspensky I found evidence that the Russians also had the name Volk (hence the surname Volkovs).

But after the baptism of Rus', people began to seek protection not from the forces of earth, but from the forces of heaven. All children began to receive names during the sacrament of baptism - Christian names. The roots of these names can be found in Hebrew, Greek, Latin languages. A person who received the name of some saint found himself in heaven with a powerful “namesake” who was supposed to protect and help.

For some time, people in Rus' could have two names - secular and Christian. So it was with Princess Olga, in holy baptism - Elena. Varangian Olga - light, Greek Elena - light.

Olga's grandson Vladimir, who baptized Rus', received the name Vasily - Tsar's - at baptism.

Names at the beginning of the 20th century.

Name and time! I wonder what happened to the name in the 20th century, what is happening now - in the 21st century?

I started by visiting the archives of the Gulkevich registry office. The records convinced me that at the beginning of the 20th century names were given according to the calendar. So, at the end of August and beginning of September, all the girls turned out to be Natalia (St. Natalia's Day is September 26), and in July, after 24, they turned out to be Olga. Near some names in the registry book there is a note: “It was named in honor of a saint...” or a saint.

The entry for December 1910 is as follows: “December. Born 11, baptized 22. Peter. In honor of the martyr Peter, celebrated by the church on December 28.”

Having written down the names given to children in 1910-1912, I saw that the most popular were: John /not Ivan/ - 19 people, Nikolai /in honor of Nicholas the Winter and Summer/ - 14 people, Alexander - 12 people.

Among female names, the most popular were Anna - 21 people, Maria - 17 people, Claudia - 21 people. It is interesting that now, according to the registry office workers, this name is almost never given.

Only once in two years did the name Maxim, so common now, appear; Arkady, Vitaly, and Yuri each came up once. It was surprising that only once the boy was given the name Sergei.

Rare female names were Raisa - 1 time, Taisiya - 1 time, Pavla - 1 time, Evgenia - 1 time.

There were names I had never heard of:

So, at the beginning of the century, names were often given based on the Church Saints.

Names in the Soviet period.

After October 1917, people began to change their surnames to sound ones, “old regime” ones to “modern ones”. The new name creation was no less striking. Instead of christenings, they came up with the civil rite of October, according to which the child was given a name in a solemn atmosphere, usually corresponding to the new ideology. From 1924 to 1930, such names were printed in calendars as opposed to the calendar.

I found the following expression in L. Uspensky: “Revolutionary calendars” and a mention of names born of revolution, industrialization: Marchen, Energy, Zheldora, etc.

A number of names echo the names and surnames of the leaders of the revolution: Buden, Marxin, Marlena, Vilen, Vilor, etc.

I wonder if there were people with such names in the city of Gulkevichi? It turns out that they lived and live. My mother said that at school she was taught physics by Stalina Stefanovna Kasatikova. My great-grandmother had a classmate named Gertrude (her name came from two words - hero of labor); my pediatrician name is Irina Vladilenovna (her grandfather gave his son a name in honor of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin).

First Soviet years parents tried to give their children euphonious and beautiful names, often giving foreign names: Isolde, Arthur, Eliza, Robert, Edward, Evelina. The names of the ancient Greek and Roman gods were used: Venus, Diana. A lot of names were formed from revolutionary slogans: Noyabrina, Oktyabrina, Svoboda, Ninel (if you read from right to left, you get Lenin), Vilen (Vladimir Ilyich Lenin), Roblen (born to be a Leninist).

Among people who are now about 70 years old, there are many Pavlovs, and therefore among 40-60 year olds the middle names Pavlovna and Pavlovich are often found. Popova Valentina Pavlovna (worked at secondary school No. 1 before retiring) is sure that her father was named after Pavel Korchagin, the hero of the novel “How the Steel Was Tempered” by Ostrovsky.

My primary school teacher former school Tamilina Zoya Nikolaevna said that she was named after Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Zoya Nikolaevna tries to live in such a way that she is not ashamed of the memory of the one after whom she was named.

Many names have not survived to this day. Today no one will call their children names like Barricade or Disizara (child, boldly follow the revolution). But many names are still popular: Vladilen, Vladlena, Oktyabrina... Moreover, modern parents often do not know the origin of these names.

In the Gulkevich registry office, one of the oldest workers remembers that since 1961, one of the most popular male names was the name Yuri (in honor of the first Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin), and when Valentina Tereshkova flew into space, moms and dads remembered for a while forgotten name Valentina.

My neighbor Sheremetova L.I. said that she named her daughter Svetlana in honor of cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya. History teacher Irina Dmitrievna Popova got her name because her mother was interested in figure skating and dreamed of seeing my daughter look like Irina Rodnina.

We can conclude that in the 20th century, in its middle, the choice of name began to be influenced by time, its heroes, its values, its beacons.

Names at the end of the 20th century beginning of XXI century.

The 1980 Olympics gave the name Olympics to many girls born in the late 70s and early 80s of the 20th century.

At the end of the 20th century, the 1980 Olympics gave the name Olympics to many girls born in the late 70s and early 80s. Popular films at the end of the last century also influence the choice of name: after the series “The Rich Also Cry” - Marianne appeared, after the film “Angelique and the King” - Angelica.

Show business also makes its contribution to naming. Fans of Alla Pugacheva have Alla’s daughter, although in late XIX and at the beginning of the 20th century this name did not exist. Many Valerias are named after the singer Valeria. Song with the refrain “Vika, Vika, Victoria” - possible reason appearance in Gulkevichi Victoria.

Trying to find out how names are given today, I conducted a questionnaire among parents of 1st grade of MAOU Secondary School No. 3 (children born in 2013) and parents of students in the senior group kindergarten No. 13 (year of birth of the babies - 2008). 56 people took part in the survey.

According to the results of the questionnaire, the most popular names were Dasha and Nastya among girls, and Daniil and Artem among boys.

To the question: “What influenced the choice of name?” - the majority /48%/ answered: “I just liked the name”, 15% named their children in honor of their grandparents, 7% - in honor of their father /Artur Arturovich, Sergey Sergeevich/, 20% found out what the name means and liked the meaning:

Katerina is pure,

Larisa the seagull

Valery is healthy,

Maxim is the biggest

Daria is a gift.

5% could not explain the reason, simply adding a dash.

But among the respondents there were also 5% who chose the name according to the calendar.

Name and church.

I was interested in the question, can the church help in choosing a name and how often does this happen?

I met with the ministers of the Holy Trinity Church. They told me that in Lately the number of people coming to church when choosing a name has increased. They want to give the child the name of the saint on whose day he was born.

In addition, I learned that people turn to church different ages with a request to change their names from secular to church. It is possible to receive a name or change it during the sacrament of baptism.

From the words of Father Victor, I learned that the sacrament of baptism is such a sacred action in which a believer in Christ through three-time immersion of the body in water while invoking the name Holy Trinity- Father, Son and Holy Spirit - washed from original sin, as well as from all the sins he himself committed before baptism, he is reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit into a new spiritual life and becomes a member of the church, that is, the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ.

In our church, baptism is held every Saturday and Sunday. My grandmother Svetlana Viktorovna Matrosova told me that in the 50-80s of the 20th century they tried not to talk about the baptism of children: this could have caused big trouble. Now baptism is a holiday. I attended one of them.

On this day, 5 people were baptized. The youngest, Vadim, was ten months old, the oldest, Inna, was 23 years old.

Two brothers also received the sacrament of baptism: Anton and Denis. This is their name in the world, and at baptism they received the names Anthony and Dionysius.

Visiting church on the day of the sacrament of baptism made a great impression on me.

Names and fashion.

The head of the Gulkevich registry office said: “More and more children are now called by their old names: Daniil, Roman, Fedot, Seraphim, Serafima, Ulyana, Evdokia. The names Adam, Eve, Zlata have become fashionable. In 2009, one family gave their son the name Angel.”

My aunt Svetlana Anatolyevna Shramko named her recently born son the now fashionable name Matvey. In general, there is a fashion for the name. Old names are in fashion now.

Fashion for the name... Is it good or bad? I don't think it's particularly good. After all, in the end, in one class there are, for example, 4 Artem and 4 Nastya (1 “A”). IN younger group kindergarten No. 13 - five boys are named Daniil. Not a single Dasha studied with my mother at school or at the university, and at the summer camp there were three of them in my squad. But a name like Galina, very popular in the 50-60s, is now forgotten, although it has so many options: Galya, Galochka, Galyusha, etc. Try to find so many options for the name Inga, Angelika, Marina. It seems to me that the variety of its variants is also an advantage of the name, because behind each there is a feeling, an assessment, our attitude. For example: Nikolai, Kolya, Nikolushka, Nikolenka, Kolka, Kolyan. You don’t even have to try to find something similar to the name Laurus or the name Matvey.

Conclusion

While working on the topic “Etymology of personal names,” I researched the history of the origin of personal names and found out that initially all names were common nouns and only after losing their semantic meaning did they become proper names. Having studied the formation of names during the 20th - early 21st centuries, I came to the conclusion that at the beginning of the 20th century, names were often given based on the Church Saints, and in the middle of the 20th century, the choice of name began to be influenced by time, its heroes, its values, its beacons. At the end of the 20th century, films that were popular at the time influenced the choice of name, and show business also made its contribution. A survey of parents whose children were born at the beginning of the 21st century showed that now the priority in choosing a name is the meaning of the name, its euphony, as well as the name of the saint on whose day the child is born, i.e. the Church Saints.

Bibliography:

1. Gorbanovsky M.V. "100 Russian names". Minsk, 2003

2. Nikonov V.A. "Dictionary of Russian surnames." Moscow, 1993

3. Petrovsky N.A. "Dictionary of Russian personal names." Moscow, 1998

4. Suslova A.V. "About Russian names." Leningrad, 1991

5. Uspensky L.V. "A word about words." Leningrad, 1982

6. Uspensky L.V. "You and your name" Volgograd, 1994

The origin of proper names has deep roots. They have existed since time immemorial. Even when creating man, God called him Adam, that is, “made of clay.” Adam gave names to the animals, and then called his wife Eve, that is, “life.” Since then, the ability of a person to give names to everything, or, as the Russian proverb says, “to call things by their proper names,” has become an integral feature of him.

Therefore, you should not be surprised that a person often bears several names - one official, two or three affectionate ones at home, one is a nickname in a narrow circle of friends, one is a nickname in a team. So, for example, the boy Vanya Nosov can be both Sunny and Masik at home, Nose at school and Vano with friends.

It is now customary to use an official name to identify a person. It is written in the passport or birth certificate. But names and nicknames used to be in circulation along with official names.

In ancient times

In ancient times, people believed that a name carried a magical principle, that it determined character. The meaning of the name was taken very seriously. Being dependent on the forces of nature, harvest and location powerful of the world this - priests, princes, military leaders and similar people in power - they were at the same time afraid of falling out of favor with evil spirits. It is clear now why sometimes the true name was hidden by giving the child a nickname. It was intended to ward off evil and was used more often than the true name.

Using their real name, the priests performed initiation ceremonies, marriage, taboos for sins, and others. On behalf of the clan, sacrifices were made to the gods. The rulers gave their child a name whose origin came from the name of the totem or common ancestor.

In the third century BC, the philosopher Chrysippus identified names as a distinct group of words. In fact, he can be called the founder modern science about names - anthroponymics (Greek ἄνθρωπος - person and ὄνομα - name).

How did the word "name" come about?

In dictionaries there is an explanation of this word as a calque from the Latin nōmen or Greek ὄνομα. There are versions that it comes from the special term jm-men, denoting the accepted sign of the tribal system. In general, it is noticeable that Slavic languages have similar pronunciation and spelling of the word.

One version is that it came from the Proto-Slavic imeti - to have, to identify with someone, to take for someone, to consider someone. Another relates it to the concept yuyoti, which means in Sanskrit the separation or difference of someone from one another. Interestingly, the origins of the English name are the same as the Greek onoma. It turns out that in the Indo-European group of languages, according to this version, there is one source of the word “name” - for both Western and Eastern European languages.

But in general, dictionaries agree that the true etymology of the word “name” is unclear.

In ancient times

Greek names often coincide with the names of mythical characters. Giving a baby the name of a hero was considered to somehow foreshadow his fate. And, on the contrary, they were afraid to call babies by the names of gods. There was an opinion that using the name of God in this way would be regarded by him as familiarity, humiliating his position.

For the everyday designation of gods, there were a lot of epithets, which sometimes became the name of a person. The etymology of names of ancient times goes back to similar titles. These are, for example, such substitutes for the name of Zeus that have survived to this day, such as:

• Victor is the winner.
• Maxim is great.

Or the description of Mars, the god of war, wearing a victorious wreath of laurel leaves:

• Laurel.
• Lavrenty.

Other gods wore a diadem, they were called "Crowned". The names derived from this name are:

• Stephen.
• Stepan.
• Stephanie.

The names are not of the supreme gods, but of the patrons of hunting, various types it was considered not shameful to give art to a person:

• Muse.
• Diana.
• Aurora.

These ancient names are still known today.

Name in Ancient Rus'

The attitude towards the name in Rus' was more reminiscent of ancient pagan ideas. Therefore, only initiates knew the real name - parents, close people and priests. It carried a positive charge and meant happiness, wealth, health and everything that is usually desired for a baby. These are names of Russian origin such as:

• Love.
• Zlata.
• Force.
• Bogdan.
• Zhdan.

An interesting custom of the Slavs, after naming a child by its real name, is to stage the discovery of the foundling. The baby was wrapped in unusable cloth - matting, for example, and carried out the threshold. For the evil spirits, they pronounced a second name-nickname, a kind of amulet that should direct the evil spirits on the wrong trail. The etymology of amulet names is from imaginary shortcomings that were attributed at that moment:

• Nekras.
• Unexpected.
• Winter.
• Curve
• Chernyak.
• Belyai.

The real name did not sound in everyday life. To the question: “What is your name?” They answered evasively: “They call me Zovutka, they call me a duck.” They did this for fear of damage.

How did the adoption of Christianity affect

From the eleventh century onwards folk life everything Slavic was systematically supplanted: the system of worship, the way to bury the dead, tales and epics. This also includes naming. The Greek form of Christianity came to Rus', so Byzantine culture began to be implanted.

The name recorded in the parish register became official. The etymology of names of this type has Greek and Hebrew roots, which is determined by the language of church books. The official name was used in rites of baptism, marriage, anathematization and others. The people began to practice the two-name system: now there was no need for a name-amulet, but also Greek names there was no trust. Some were so difficult to pronounce that they were transliterated into what became Russian forms:

• Fedor - Theodore (God's gift).
• Avdotya - Evdokia (favour).
• Aksinya - Ksenia (hospitable).
• Lukeria - Glyceria (sweet).
• Egor - Georgy (farmer).

Both names began to be indicated in legal documents: one by baptism, the other secular: “By baptism Peter, by worldly Mikula.” When surnames were introduced in Russia, it often became a secular name.

Names in the Saints

Since birth registration was possible only in the church, even in the case of unbelieving parents, everyone went through the rite of baptism. The name was given by the priest, choosing it from the month book. This is a book in which for every day there is a list of saints whom the church should honor. People called it “Saints”. The etymology of names from the month book has not only Greek or Hebrew roots. Many saints canonized in Russia bear Latin, Germanic and Scandinavian names.

Some names appear in the monthly word more often than others. This explains that there are so many Ivans in our country: they are commemorated in the Saints 170 times. The origin of female names in the Saints has foreign roots, and therefore is often dissonant for Russians:

• Christodoula.
• Yazdundokta.
• Chionia.
• Filicitata.
• Pulcheria.
• Prepedigna.
• Perpetua.
• Mamika.
• Kazdoya.
• Blast furnace.
• Golinduha.

Parents were offered several names to choose from. If the priest was favorable to the baby’s parents, he made concessions and allowed them to choose a name from the Saints themselves. But in the event of a disagreement, he could be strict or even give the child a name that was difficult to pronounce.

Girl names: origin and meaning

The impossibility of freethinking, which included the independent choice of a name for a daughter that is not listed in the Saints, led to the spread of female names of Slavic or European origin. Many holy women canonized by the church wore beautiful names.

It is therefore clear that mainly in Rus' the female names Maria, Martha, Praskovya, Anna, Tatyana, Natalya, Olga and several more were in use. The names Nadezhda and Lyubov were popular, although they were mentioned in the Saints only once. Vera had two mentions.

After the 1917 revolution, the church registration system was abolished. This influenced the choice of names. There were some excesses: the origin of the girls’ names now depended on the parents’ loyalty to the new government and their admiration technical progress.

Names in the USSR

The origins of some early twentieth-century women's names are astounding. Nevertheless, these names really existed, and they are still recorded in the registry offices. To imagine the scale of what was happening then, just look at the following table.

Fortunately, this was a short period. Afterwards, many changed their names, choosing the usual common Marias and Tatyanas. With the development of the film era, the names of screen heroines and film actresses, often of Western origin, began to spread.

Russian names of foreign origin

Some may be surprised that the name Ivan, considered originally Russian, is actually the Hebrew John. It means "God has mercy." Danila - also old Russian name- translated from Hebrew means “God is my judge.” And these are not the only Jewish names on the list:

• Sysoy - white marble.
• Fadey is worthy of praise.
• Thomas is a twin.
• Gavrila - my power - God.
• Matvey is a gift from God.

Names with Scandinavian roots:

• Olga is a saint.
• Igor is militant.
• Oleg is a saint.

Statistics show that the distribution of modern names by origin is as follows:

• 50% are Greek, largely due to Christianization and the ban on pagan names, which are not in the Saints.
• 20% are Hebrew, for the same reason.
• 15% are Latin, spread thanks to the development of trade and the Age of Enlightenment.
• 15% - others.

It is sad that history has not preserved many ancient names. But now there is an interesting trend in society that can improve the situation.

Modern names

Now in fashion Old Slavonic names, many of which have a beautiful sound and explanation. Girls are called like this:

• Vladislava (famous).
• Lada (favorite).
• Rusalina (brown-haired).
• Yarina (fiery).
• Milana (caring).
• Alina (honest).

Boys have the following names:

• Vsevolod (owner of everything).
• Lubomir (beloved by the world).
• Yaroslav (bright glory).

And parents choose a name to their liking; no one obliges them to name their children according to an approved list. The part -slav, included in the compound name, means the generic name of the Slavs. There is a return to historical roots.

Conclusion

Now you can be called by any name. Of course, extremes should be avoided. In some countries it is forbidden to be called by demonic names, recognized common nouns world criminals or numerals.

Loving parents think about how the child will go through life. And this depends a lot on the name.

A person's name has always been given special meaning. The ancients believed that a name is the path to the soul. Knowing the true name given upon entering adulthood, it was possible to put the evil eye on a person, bewitch him, and force him to serve his will. Therefore, everyone had two names - the true one was kept secret, and the person was called by the second, colloquial one, which was more like a nickname and was given at birth.

Names in Rus'

This is what our ancestors called their children before the introduction of Christianity in Rus'. Some names were similar to nicknames: Lame, Lapot, Voropai (robber), others reflected the attitude towards the born child: Zhdan, Nezhdan, or the order of their birth: Pervusha, Tretyak, Odinets (the only one). Sometimes parents specifically used words that seemed completely inappropriate for this as names: Grief, Get sick. It was believed that such a name would ward off illness and the evil eye from children. Echoes of nicknames are preserved in Russian surnames: Zaitsev, Goryaev, Nezhdanov, etc.

These names became a thing of the past with the baptism of Rus'. Year after year, Christian preacher priests walked through cities and villages, talking about Christ and his fight against evil. Pagan gods, to whom newborns had previously been dedicated, were equated with the forces of evil. Parents were taught that by calling a child Wolf or Birch, they were giving their souls to the devil, which means they were depriving them of a chance for Salvation after death. Instead, they proposed giving pagan children Orthodox names that came from Byzantium. Registration of newborn children was carried out only by the church, and names were given according to monthly calendars (saints), in which for each day of each month the names of saints revered by the Russian Orthodox Church. A person who received the name of a saint gained not only his patronage, but also a blessed proximity to him: “By name - and “life.”

New names

This order continued for almost a thousand years until it was interrupted by the October Revolution. The Soviet government separated church and state, and the calendar was forgotten. Now newborns were registered by registry offices, and parents had the opportunity to turn on their imagination to full capacity. On a wave of sympathy for the revolutionary changes, Oktyabrin and Traktorin, Vladlenov and Markslenov, as well as Revolutions and even Electrifications began to be taken away from maternity hospitals.

Names in general have always been subject to fashion. When Zhukovsky took the pseudonym Svetlan (this name was invented by his colleague in the poetry workshop A. Kh. Vostokov), girls with that name began to appear in Russia. During the era of Europeanization, European (Roman Catholic and Protestant) names came to Russian soil: Herman, Zhanna, Albert, Marat, etc. A little later, eastern names began to appear more and more: Zemfira, Timur, Ruslan, Zarema. In the middle of the 20th century, Slavic and Old Russian names began to appear again: Lada, Lyudmila, Vladimir, as well as Scandinavian ones: Olga (from Helga), Igor (from Ingvar).

Origin of popular names

If we analyze the names that are in use today, we will see that they are all of various origins. Most common names have ancient Greek or Hebrew roots. For example, the most familiar name to Russian ears, Ivan, actually came from the ancient Jewish John, and the name Maria has the same origin. The name Cyril came from ancient Persia, Eugene from ancient Rome, and so on. Since they appeared in the Russian language a long time ago, they have become familiar to everyone.

Meaning of the name

Times pass, the fashion for names changes, Slavic names become more or less in demand, but we still attach great importance to the name. And this is not surprising. From birth, we compare ourselves to other people, especially those who have or have had the same name. Willy-nilly, we adopt certain traits, so we can say that a name influences a person’s destiny. It can help and inspire if it suits its bearer, but it can also press down if it turns out to be completely unsuitable. Therefore, when choosing a name for your baby, do it with all responsibility. Think about how he will live with this name, whether his patronymic and surname go with it, and whether it is convenient to pronounce it. Often pretentious names are perceived by others as too aggressive; on the other hand, nine Sashas in one class is also too much. It is important that the name reflects your love for your child, supports him and helps him in life.

Discussion

At first, after the comments below, I was too lazy to read. And then she stuck her nose in and saw “new truths” - let’s say - “In the middle of the 20th century, Slavic and Old Russian names began to appear again: Lada, Lyudmila, Vladimir, as well as Scandinavian ones: Olga (from Helga), Igor (from Ingvar).”. .
Vladimir Ulyanov, from the point of view of the author of the article, was the owner of a rare name... Shcha-az!
And all the now classic literature of the 19th century can be thrown out - the number of heroines with the name Olga, say, in Chekhov, is simply off the charts, not to mention that that was the name of his wife... It was also a rare name, you say? Not true *-))
And we won’t even remember about Olga Larina, right?

So what? truisms once again?
The author should be ashamed to even subscribe to such an “article.”

Comment on the article "Origin of names"

It was once believed that when choosing a name for their child, parents also chose his fate. Perhaps this is why it is sometimes so difficult to choose a name for a baby - because you want it to bring happiness to the child. As a rule, parents look for a clue among the names of relatives or friends. Someone looks into the calendar and looks for suitable name there. Someone studies the characteristics of names and selects one that matches the wishes of the parents. It is even suggested to consult an astrologer or ask the baby himself...

A popular game in our childhood, very loved by girls. The player taps the ball on the ground, calling five names or objects of the chosen theme.

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The name is like a name, my brother-in-law is Timur. Slavic family. Baptized by Timothy. The name is associated with the hero Gaidar, and not with some nationality (which one?) Well, this is the perception of names and their origin does not matter much.

Discussion

The name is like a name, my brother-in-law is Timur. Slavic family. Baptized Timothy. The name is associated with the hero Gaidar, and not with some nationality (which?)

My husband is Timur. I really like the name. Before we met, I only heard this name from a movie. He was baptized as George

Choosing a name for a child: the meaning of the name, rare names, combination of first name, patronymic, last name. Gordey, although consonant, is still a name of Greek origin. And Gordana is my daughter’s classmate, a very nice girl, her parents are Rodnovers.

It became interesting what this “name” actually means and where it came from. Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia: Grandfather Pikhto is a character in Russian dialogic phraseology (proverbs, response phrases), gradually penetrating popular culture. The main, most compressed form of this dialogic phraseological unit looks like this: “Who? - Grandfather Pikhto! " The earliest known use in fiction dates back to 1940, in the story by V. F. Avdeev “In our...

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Gentlemen! Look what we have become! We forget history. Take, for example, Erast Fandorin. We stopped calling our children Erasts. - I don’t know, I haven’t stopped. Why did they scratch my car? KVN, “Ural dumplings” (Ekaterinburg) The fashion for children's names is quite an interesting thing. In the last century, when our country was building communism in a single impulse, Ulyana (hello to Vladimir Ilyich), Elina, Oktyabrina and, God forgive me, Dazdraperma came into use. Afterwards, with a passion for French cinema at first...

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I don’t know about the Romanian origin, but that was the name of my mother’s friend. Her parents (Baltic Germans) combined their names, Violetta and Eric, to create Viorica. I, like everyone around me, called my mother’s friend Aunt Rika, although her husband called her Via.

Discussion

I am Viorika, and this is my peculiarity)) I am proud of my special name, which is not like all the simple hackneyed names)) my friends shorten it either Riika or Vio))

I haven't met Viorik. I can't decide if I like the name. It hasn’t become a name for me yet) It seems like the name of a flower)))

Discussion

The description is clear, THANK YOU SO MUCH. If we still call ourselves Alena, will we have to write Elena in our passport? Or is Alena already an independent name, like Arina?

There is a Greek name - Elena, everything else is derivatives in different languages ​​from classic version

HERE! FOUND! There are two versions of the origin of the name Alena. the most common one is from the name Elena, which translated from Greek means “luminous”. But there is a second version. And it is very reliable.

Discussion

Girls, hello everyone!!! I haven't been here for so long. And just like in a fairy tale - my name is Elena, and next to me......Thank you all

It has no meaning. Elena is shortened. Like Elena, I can’t stand this abbreviation :-)

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It seems to me that there is very little information in principle about the origin of names. For example, about a name that interests me, I see two versions everywhere and nothing more. So, I’m probably in vain looking for something more.