Last names for VK for guys in English. American male and female surnames

The variety of English female names and surnames will not leave anyone indifferent. They fascinate with their national flavor and arouse genuine interest with their long list.

Let's try to figure out how correctly they sound, what the construction is based on, and what is included in the semantic context at the birth of a child.

English names for girls

The girl's English name given at birth consists of three semantic parts:

• A celebrity or famous ancestor.
• Pedigree surname or belonging to a celebrity.
• Carrying a specific meaning or indicating a parent.

To understand how the English name was created, let's dive into history.

Before the conquest of England by the Normans, it was customary to name girls after the biblical characters of the same name, reinterpreted in the English manner.

For example:

• Mary – comes from Mary (serenity).
• Anna is the mother of Samuel, the famous biblical prophet (blessed with grace).
• Marianne – joins the two previous names together.
• Sarah - this was the name of Abraham's wife (mistress) and others.

But with the arrival of the Normans, a corresponding component appeared in English names, which subsequently supplanted the original roots.

In the modern world, it carries a semantic meaning that is not the same as before: a child is named not in someone’s honor, but with a word designed to define his future life.

The second name is most often given in honor of jewelry, favorite flowers and simply liked objects:

• Esmerelda - emerald (translation from Spanish).
• Essi - designates one of the celestial bodies (stars).
• Ellen - given in honor of the Moon.
• Angie means angel.
• Elin is a bird.
• Floretta is a tiny flower.
• Elanor - the light of the stars.
• April - April.
• Sky is the sky.

Beautiful female surnames in English

If you pay attention to the meaning of an English surname, you can understand that it is given on behalf of someone or belonging to some profession.

Here are some examples:

• Smith translates as blacksmith.
• Jones - from the name John (John's daughter).
• Williams is William's daughter.
• Brown - brown.
• Taylor is a tailor.

Originally, until about the eleventh century, the English did not have surnames.

A person had only a name, to which was added a nickname, which determined the type of activity or individual characteristics of the owner.

During this period, the first population census in England was carried out, during which nicknames acquired official status, turning into surnames.

They were divided according to four criteria:

• Oanthroponymic - changing a name by means of a suffix.
• Place of residence.
• Type of activity.
• Descriptive.

In modern Britain, the following aristocratic surnames are especially popular:

• Stewart.
• York.
• Tudor.
• Lancaster.
• Hamilton.
• Norfolk.
• Marlborough.
• Manchester.
• Jackson and others.

Note! The full name of an English woman (including her surname) carries a huge semantic load.

It is capable, to one degree or another, of predetermining the future fate of its owner.

The tendency to assign surnames to girls in this way has also spread to the American continent. Residents of the United States are often given English names, since most immigrants came to this country from England.

However, there is much greater diversity here, since America is a multinational state, and the names of other peoples have been added to the English ones, in turn introducing an element of national flavor.

Rare English surnames

Every nation, the British are no exception, has rare, unpopular surnames.

They can be very short, carrying an abusive meaning, or vice versa - impossibly long, completely unpronounceable. Many people try to get rid of them as quickly as possible.

The longest surnames include up to one hundred and twenty letters. They contain from seven to ten or more names, which are often repeated.

Here are some examples:

• Tollmash-Tollmash de Orellana-Plantagenet-Tollmash-Tollmash.
• Francisca-Santa Lucia-Mantague-Stuart-Mackenzie-Wortley-Smith.
• Caroline-Louise-Maria-Jemima-Temple-Chandos-Nugent-Bringes-Grenville.

Such surnames cannot be pronounced in full, so most often only part of it is called - the first or last.

The single-part surname Featherstanehaugh is pronounced differently, sometimes shortened to Fanshawe.

Owners of such complex surnames have a hard time: everyone tries to address her in their own way, often distorting the correct pronunciation.

IN present century general acceleration - and are completely reduced to one syllable.

English names and surnames are now popular in Russia, but you should definitely think about their meaning.

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As you know, names in English-speaking countries are not built according to the usual “last name, first name, patronymic” formula. They can consist of two words (John Smith), three or more words (James Peter Williams), they have Junior or Senior additions (Walter White Jr., Walter White Sr) and other features. In this article you will learn how English names are structured, as well as which first and last names are the most popular in the USA and England, and how this popularity has changed over the course of the century.

What does a name consist of?

If we talk about names around the world, their structure differs greatly in different countries. The most common elements of a name, common to many cultures, are personal name(personal name) and surname, family name(surname, last name, family name). The personal name is given at birth, and the surname is inherited as a common name for the family.

Many cultures have names derived from the parents' given names, usually from the father's name as a patronymic (patronymic), but sometimes from the mother's name (matronymic). In the Scandinavian countries there were no surnames, there were only first names and patronymics. In Norway, surnames were officially introduced in 1923, but in Iceland surnames are still not used. In fact, in Iceland patronymics are used as surnames - the name of the father (less often the mother) with the suffix “son” (son) or “dottir” (daughter), for example: Björk Guðmundsdóttir, literally: Björk, daughter of Guðmundur.

If we talk about England and the USA, then they often use middle name(middle name) - this is the main feature of names in these countries.

Middle Name in England and the USA

A middle or middle name can be given in honor of a saint, relative, family friend, famous person, in fact - in honor of anyone, but more often in honor of a relative, ancestor or saint (in Catholic families). A person may have more than one middle name (Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton) or none at all (James Bond) – This is an optional element of the name.

In the USA, middle name means that part of the name that is located between the personal name (first name) and last name (last name), even if it is not actually a middle name, but, for example, a patronymic (Igor Petrovich Belov).

The middle name in the USA is usually abbreviated as a letter (middle initial), for example: Mary Lee Bianchi - Mary L. Bianchi. In Great Britain, it is customary to write differently: they write either without the middle name (Mary Bianchi), or abbreviate everything except the surname (M. L. Bianchi), or write it in full (Mary Lee Bianchi).

Sometimes there are cases when a person prefers to use his middle name as his main name. In the USA, in this case, the first name is written in abbreviation. For example, J. Edgar Hoover's real name was John, and Edgar was his middle name. His full name sounds like John Edgar Hoover, or J. Edgar Hoover for short. Sometimes the first name is simply omitted, not used, as in the case of the writer Harper Lee. Harper is her middle name, and her personal name is Nelle: Nelle Harper Lee.

In rare cases, a person does not have a full middle name, but only an initial, which cannot be deciphered in any way. An example is Harry Truman. His full name is spelled Harry S. Truman, while the “S” is not spelled. Truman once even told reporters that for this reason “S” should be written without a dot, because it is essentially full name, not a reduction.

There can be two middle names. Such long names are more common among representatives of privileged classes, especially in England, for example John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. While the first middle name is usually someone's personal name, such as Leslie William Nielsen (William is obviously someone's first name), then the second middle name is often someone's last name. Men can extend their middle name using their mother's maiden name, and women can use their maiden name to extend their middle name. For example, Hillary Clinton was Hillary Diane Rodham before her marriage, but after her marriage she left maiden name as part of the middle name and became Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton.

What does Junior or Senior mean after a name?

If the son's name is exactly the same as the father's, the word "Junior" may be added to the son's name and "Senior" to the father's name to make it easier to distinguish between them. “Junior\Senior” can be used both officially, in documents, and unofficially. In the USA these words are abbreviated as Jr. andSr. (Jnr., Snr. in Great Britain), for example: Walter White Jr., Walter White Sr.

If the White family had three full namesakes - father, son and grandson, instead of Jr. and Sr. Roman numerals would be used: Walter White I (first), Walter White II (second), Walter White III (third).

English names in everyday life

In English-speaking countries, it is common practice for the full name, including the middle name, to be used only in documents or formal occasions. That is, if a person’s name is Allen William Jones, then many acquaintances may not be aware of the middle name William, because he will introduce himself everywhere as Allen Jones.

Personal names (first name) are often used in abbreviated form, and at the official level. For example, everyone knew the former Prime Minister of Great Britain as Tony Blair, but Tony is a shortened (in fact, even diminutive) form of the name Anthony.

Popular American names: what were boys and girls called in the USA throughout the century?

Popularity of the name Nancy over the course of a century in the United States. A striking example how name fashions come and go

Russian names have experienced ups and downs, either suddenly becoming popular or fading into the background. Usually the fashion for names was associated with events in the country, the world, with the emergence of popular fictional characters, with the popularity of individuals. A striking example is the popularity of the name Yuri after Gagarin’s flight into space.

There is also a fashion for names in English-speaking countries. For example, the popularity of books and films about Harry Potter influenced the popularity of the name Harry, and after the release of the series “Game of Thrones” the name Arya entered the top 100 popular names in the UK. Because of this variability in name fashion, it is difficult to say which English names are the most popular right now. Popular among whom? Born in the 1960s? In the 1990s? Last year?

For comparison, I will provide a table of male and female names that were popular in different years in the United States.

American male names

The popularity of the name Logan in the United States is clearly associated with comics and films about Wolverine

From this table it is clear that the idea of ​​the name John as very popular in America is outdated. It took first place in the 1910s, went to third place in the 1960s, to ninth in the 1980s, and in 2015 it occupies a modest 26th place, losing even to the name Logan, which was not included in the top 100 in earlier periods. . Apparently, the popularity of Logan (Wolverine) from films based on Marvel comics had an impact.

The name Daniel, which was not very popular at the beginning of the century (52nd place), fell into 18th place in the ranking in 2015, and Roberts completely went out of fashion. This name was in the top 10 in the 1910s, 1960s and 1980s, but fell to 63rd place in 2015.

Among the “old” names that were popular in the past, James, William, and David are still relevant.

American female names

Popularity chart for the name Emma in the USA

The fashion for women's names is even more changeable than for men's. The most popular name in 2015, Emma was not in demand at all in the 80s and 60s, and at the beginning of the century it took 41st place in the ranking. Emma fashion returned in the 2000s, perhaps Emma Watson helped? The name Mary was very popular at the beginning of the century, but already in the 30s a decline began, and since the 80s this name has become quite rare.

If you take the top 20 names, only Elizabeth was in the top 20 in all four time periods.

Popular English names: what were children called in England throughout the century?

In England, statistics on names and birth data are not kept separately for England, but for England and Wales together, because these two parts of the United Kingdom belong to the same jurisdiction. England and Wales are treated as a single entity for many law-making and enforcement purposes. Data taken from the National Statistics archive.

There are a lot of common names in England and the USA, but the statistics on their popularity are somewhat different. It is interesting that by now there have become quite a lot of names that are equally popular in both the USA and England, especially for women. If you take the names for 2015 in England and the USA, there are many coincidences.

English male names

As in the US, in the UK the hackneyed name John is completely unpopular in 2015, it did not even make it into the top 100, although only 100 years earlier it occupied the first line of the ranking.

It is interesting that if you take the first 20 lines, it turns out that in 2015, names that were not included in the top 20 of previous periods are popular in England and Wales. But there are coincidences with the top 20 names that were popular in the same year in the USA. The names Oliver, Jacob, Noah, William, James, Ethan are as popular in England as in the United States.

English female names

As in the USA, in England the fashion for female names was very fickle. The name Mary was number one in 1914, went to 37th place in 1964, 98th in 1984, and was not even in the top 100 in 2015. The name Isabella was in 81st place in 1914, was not in the top 100 in 1964 and 1984, and now it is among the ten most popular female names in 2015.

As with male names in England and Wales, there is a trend with female names: if you take the top 20 names of 2015, then among them there will be none of the top 20 of previous years (presented in the table), but there will be significant overlaps with the top 20 names popular in the USA in the same year 2015. The names Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Isabella, Emily, Ella, Chloe, Grace, Amelia, Mia are equally popular in both England and the USA.

Common English first and last names

Unlike given names, surnames do not change that much over time, since in most cases they are not invented, but inherited. There is no big difference between British and American surnames; there are many common ones among them. The main difference is that in the USA there are many common Latino surnames (Garcia, Martinez, etc.)

English female names are very popular not only in English-speaking countries, but throughout the world. Some of them are used in their original form, some are transformed and adjusted to the norms of a particular language. But the meaning and origin of the name always remain the same.

If you are interested in English culture or are looking for a beautiful and unusual name for your daughter, this article will allow you to gain a lot of useful information.

English female names and their meanings

A person’s name most directly influences his destiny. Therefore, it will be very useful to know what a specific name means before choosing it for yourself or giving it to your beloved child. The following list of English female names and their meanings will help you understand this issue:

It is noteworthy that very few of them have survived to this day. The vast majority were borrowed from other cultures: Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Celtic, Norman, etc. At that time, people received names that praised the forces of nature, gods and some human qualities.

Therefore, the meanings of names can be unusual and even ridiculous for modern man. For example, the name Rachel, which is popular today, means “lamb” or “little sheep.”

After Christianity came to Europe, the list of English names included the names of biblical characters (Sarah, Agnes). Many names are associated with a person's occupation (Bailey - sheriff's assistant; Abella - shepherdess). Sometimes a shortened version of the name becomes an independent unit, for example, Victoria - Vicky; Rebecca - Becky; Angelina - Angie.

Popular English female names

Name fashions come and go. Some are previously forgotten forever, and some return from time to time - often in their original form, but sometimes in a new interpretation.

According to the UK Office of National Statistics, the most popular female names are Olivia, Emma and Sophie.

The top 30 English female names are presented below:

Very often, fashion TV series or films influence the degree of popularity of a particular name.. For example, the name Arya, which is in 24th place in the ranking of popular female names in Great Britain in 2014, was named after one of the main characters popular series"Game of Thrones".

Also suddenly the names of other heroines of this series - Sansa, Brienne, Catelyn and Daenerys - began to be often used.

The name Isabella (Bella) was used extremely rarely until recently. The heroine of the Twilight saga, Bella Swan, gave him new life. The first part of the film was released in 2008, and since that time the name Isabella has been annually among the most popular English female names.

And how many girls today bear the name of Harry Potter’s faithful friend – Hermione! Until recently, the name was considered obsolete, but the popularity of the book and its film version have given it new life.

The success rate of name bearers also greatly influences the popularity of the name itself. A survey conducted in Great Britain showed which owners of names the residents of Foggy Albion consider the most and least successful. The survey results are shown below.

As we see, simple girls with short and mediocre names are less successful than their rivals, whose names are full and aristocratic. It is interesting that the name Elizabeth is the leader in the list of the most successful names, while its shortened form, Lisa, is at the bottom of the list of the least successful.

When the British Office of National Statistics released its annual report for 2014, an interesting fact attracted the attention of experts: more and more parents are choosing names for their newborns under the influence of pop culture, and above all, modern TV series.

The growing popularity of the film epic "Game of Thrones" has given rise to a whole galaxy of new names - in the real, not fictional world. Emilia Clarke's character gave birth to two names at once: 53 newborn British women were named Khaleesi (Khaleesi in the film - royal title), and 9 more were given the name Daenerys (Daenerys). The name Arya Stark turned out to be even more popular: 244 families chose the name Arya for their daughters, but only 6 girls were named Sansa.

British boys new fashion also did not pass by: 2014 was a fruitful year for Tirionov (17) and Teonov (18) - for comparison, in 2013 there were 6 and 11, respectively.

But Game of Thrones isn't the only series inspiring new parents in Britain. "Downton Abbey" has revived a dozen popular names turn of XIX-XX centuries. Since the launch of the film saga in 2010, the names Rose, Cora, Violet and Edith have grown significantly in popularity. Hollywood is not far behind: Disney's Frozen has sparked interest in the old-fashioned but charming name Elsa.

Fans of “Sherlock” also contribute to the “personal statistics”. And although no one was named Sherlock in 2014, 132 little Britons were named Benedict.

Meanwhile, Oliver (Oliver) and Amelia (Amelia) top the list of the most popular names in England and Wales - however, as in previous years.

10 Most British Male Names

Alastair, Alistair, Alistair - Alastair, Alistair

Meaning: protector

Scottish equivalent Greek name Alexander.

Fergus - Fergus

Meaning: strong

A Scots-Irish name, quite old-fashioned, but colorful.

Crispin - Crispin

Meaning: curly (lat.)

Saint Crispin, the patron saint of shoemakers, was mentioned in Shakespeare's play Henry V. A beautiful English name, and most importantly - rare.

• If we're talking about Henry the Fifth, we highly recommend watching the 1989 English film Henry V: The Battle of Agincourt with Kenneth Branagh in leading role. A stunningly dramatic film that is useful to watch in the original.

Ellis - Ellis

Meaning: benevolent

No, it's not a girl's name: Ellis is a Welsh variant of the masculine Greek name Elias.

• Interesting fact: Emilia Brontë wrote her Wuthering Heights under the pseudonym Ellis Bell.

Piers

Meaning: stone

Pierce is the first variant of the Greek name Peter to reach the English-speaking world during the Norman Invasion. Famous Piers include Brosnan, Pierce Brosnan, who starred in four Bond films.

Conall

Meaning: strong wolf

The Scottish name Conall is a variant of the name Connor. Wolves hunt in packs - when choosing this name, parents must be hoping that their offspring will always be surrounded by friends.

Kenzie

Meaning: fair-skinned

And although the meaning of this name refers to the color of their skin, Kenzi boys are often endowed with a special inner light that sets them apart from their peers.

Euan, Ewan

Meaning: born of the yew tree; young man

Scottish variant of the name John. Judging by Ewan McGregor, the owners of this name are very talented, but at the same time modest.

Lachlan - Lachlen, Loklen

Meaning: Scottish warrior

The most Scottish name you can imagine. Do not be surprised if this child prefers a Scottish kilt to trousers from childhood.

10 Most British Female Names

Amelia - Amelia

Meaning: work

The most popular British name of the previous year was, in fact, not a name at all. This word is a hybrid of the Latin Emilia (Emilia) and the German Amalia (Amalia), and the letter e in the middle of the word symbolizes good old England (England) :)

Gladys - Gladys

Meaning: country; people

Welsh name, equivalent to Claudia.

Myrtle - Myrtle, Mertle

Meaning: bush

Someone, somewhere in the mists of time, decided to name their newborn daughter after a flowering bush - anything can happen. Surprisingly, the name stuck and became quite popular in Britain.

Frideswide

Meaning: peaceful, calm

The name comes from the Old English Friðuswiþ, combining the words frið (peace) and swiþ (strong). Therefore, little Fridesvids (no matter how unusual this name may seem) show enviable strength of character with outward calm. Just like Saint Frideswide (a princess, by the way), who lived in the 8th century and founded the Church of Christ in Oxford.

Note: To be honest, this name is of course quite rare these days. But in Queen Elizabeth's time it was one of the top 50 most popular female names.

Agatha - Agatha

Meaning: good, venerable

Agathos means "good" in Greek, so Agathos is good girls(literally). The name migrated to England in the 11th century with the Normans venerating Saint Agatha, who lived in the 3rd century and was probably a very good girl. And then there is Agatha Christie - a very, very good girl.

Olivia - Olivia

Meaning: olive

The female version of the male name Oliver (Oliver), meaning olive seller or simply olive, olive. There is no need to look for subtext in some names.

Boadicea (Boudicca) - Boadicea (Boudicca)

Meaning: victory

The warlike Boudicca is the queen of the British Iceni tribe, who rebelled against the Romans (events are mentioned in the Annals of Tacitus). And although the uprising was suppressed, the name of the warrior remained for centuries.

Edith - Edith

Meaning: wealth gained in battle

The Old English word ead means riches or blessing, and gyth means struggle. A girl named by this name will excel in martial arts. Fun fact: William the Conqueror's wife was also named Edith. Edith the Conqueror :)

Nora - Nora

Meaning: honesty, nobility

Most likely, this name comes from the Latin honora, from which the English word honor (honesty, nobility, honor, recognition) was also formed.

Ada - Ada

Meaning: noble birth

Possibly a variant of the name Ida, which has Old Germanic roots and means “hardworking.” This name was also brought to Britain by the Normans and gained popularity in the 19th century thanks to the poet Alfred Tennyson, who named the heroine of his poem “The Princess” as such. Among the famous, Hell is the daughter of another poet (namely Byron), who is considered the world's first programmer. And one of the first programming languages ​​is called “Ada” - precisely in her honor.

established in late XVIII V. The American nation is very heterogeneous and currently unites not only the descendants of settlers from all parts of the world, but also the indigenous population - the Indians. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the surnames and names of US residents one can trace various national roots: European, African, South American, Asian. These features often make American surnames and names so interesting and exotic.

How are they formed?

Nicknames, including Indian ones, became the basis for many modern surnames. Also, quite often, surnames were formed from the names of professions (Smith, Miller, Taylor), geographical places (England, Lancaster) and objects (Bush, Rock, Moore), father's name (Johnson, Stevenson) and just names (Stewart, Williams, Henry) , as well as animals, flowers and various objects (Fish, White, Rose, Young).

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a tendency to change difficult-to-pronounce national surnames: shortening, translation, transformation in order to make them similar to English-speaking ones. But in last decades a reverse process is observed: the desire for one’s national and cultural identity, which is manifested in the refusal to Americanize names and surnames. This is especially true for people from African countries, Spain and Latin America. Modern American surnames and given names increasingly emphasize a person's origins.

Inventing pseudonyms is also a very common phenomenon. Most often they are taken creative personalities: musicians, actors, artists.

American names, male and female, are often abbreviated in everyday communication. Examples: Adam - Ed; Gilbert - Gil; Michael - Mike; Robert - Rob, Bob, Bobby, Robbie; Richard - Dick, Richie; Arnold - Arnie; Eleanor - Ellie, Nora; Elizabeth - Lizzie, Liz, Elsa, Betty, Beth; Katherine - Katie, Kat. Young guys (and even mature men) are often addressed by their initials. For example, a man named T.J. Most people you know will probably call Morris TJ.

As in English language, American men's and female surnames they sound exactly the same. In official communication, it is customary to address men by last name with the prefixes “Mister” or “Sir”, and “Miss” or “Mrs.” for women.

Female names

The top ten most beloved girl names by American parents include Isabella, Sofia, Emma, ​​Olivia, Ava, Emily, Abigail, Madison, Chloe, Mia.

Female names are often formed from the names of beautiful plants or precious stones. Examples: Rose, Daisy, Olive, Evie (Ivy), Lilly, Violet, Ruby, Beryl, Jade, etc.

Male names

According to statistics, American parents most often name boys Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Jayden, William, Alexander, Noah, Daniel, Aiden, Anthony.

There is a strong tradition of naming after a father or grandfather. In this case, the word “junior” (junior) or a serial name is added to the name: second, third, etc. For example: Anthony White Junior, Christian Bell Second.

American male names are often consonant with surnames (White, Johnson, Davis, Alexander, Carter, Neal, Lewis, etc.). And all because once upon a time both of them were formed from nicknames.

The most popular American surnames

More than two million people in the United States bear the surnames Smith and Johnson. With slightly more modest results (over a million people) follow the holders of the surnames Williams, Jones, Brown, Davis and Miller. Wilson, Moore and Taylor round out the top ten.

The most beautiful American surnames and names

Of course, there is no arguing about tastes, but you can still highlight a list of the most euphonious and even poetic names. Some of them were specially formed from suitable English words: Summer - “summer”, Joy - “joy”, May - “May”, Love - “love”, Hart - “heart”, etc.

• Alisha.
• Bonnie.
• Vanessa.
• Gladys.
• Jade.
• Imogen.
• Cassandra.
• Lillian.
• Miriam.
• Nancy.
• Olivia.
• Pamela.
• Sabrina.
• Tess.
• Heidi.
• Angie.

• Alex.
• Brandon.
• Darren.
• Kyle.
• Mitchell.
• Nicholas.
• Peter.
• Ronald.
• Stephen.
• Walter.
• Fraser.
• Hunter.
• Charlie.
• Sheldon.
• Adrian.

There are not only beautiful American names, but also surnames.

For example:

• Beverly.
• Washington.
• Green.
• Crawford.
• Aldridge.
• Robinson.
• Stone.
• Florence.
• Wallace.
• Harris.
• Evans.

In general, first and last names in the USA can be found various origins: Smith, Will - English; Miller, Brunner, Martha - German; Gonzales, Federico, Dolores - Spanish; Magnus, Sven - Swedish; Peterson, Jensen - Danish; Patrick, Donovan, O'Brien, McGill - Irish; Mario, Ruth - Portuguese; Isabella, Antonio, de Vito - Italian; Paul, Vivien - French; Lee is Chinese, etc. Combinations are not uncommon when the name is purely American, but the surname has a national flavor. Or vice versa. For example: Martha Roberts, Brandon Lee, etc.

The more you study American surnames and names, the more interesting discoveries you can make. In addition, the American nation is still being formed, so it is possible that soon new unusual and beautiful names of various origins will appear in the everyday life of the inhabitants of this country.