Old Slavic names: origin story

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Everyone knows that the name determines the fate of a person. Now ancient Slavic names have become very popular. Few people know the history of their origin. In ancient Russia, it was customary to give two names. One that was known to everyone, so to speak, is false, and the other is secret, familiar only to a close circle of people. The main meaning of this tradition is to protect the child from evil people and unclean spirits. Often, the least attractive first name was deliberately chosen in order to ward off the evil eye. The Slavs sincerely believed that, without knowing the true name, it was almost impossible to harm a person. The second name was awarded to a person in adolescence, when the foundation of character had already been laid. It was from the general qualities of a person that they were repelled when choosing a secret name.

Name groups

Old Slavic names have always been very diverse. It was possible to distinguish names of animal origin (Ruff or Eagle), names based on the order of birth (Pervusha or Vtorak), derivatives of participles (Zhdan or Khoten), names of gods (Veles). Often, ancient Slavic names displayed individual traits inherent in a person, for example, Brave.

Well, the most numerous group is two-basic names, such as Svyatoslav, Bogdan, Yaropolk and others. There is also a separate layer where ancient Slavic male names were given in honor of famous princes. These include Vyacheslav, Vsevolod or Vladimir. As a rule, these names were used only in the highest circles of society.

Roots of origin of names

Unfortunately, many ancient Slavic names were lost or completely banned with the advent of Christianity in Russia. The fact is that some of them, such as Lada or Yarilo, came from pagan gods, which could not be allowed under monotheism. As for modern society, many baptismal names formed the basis of surnames, which are very common in our time. Surely you have friends by the name of Volkov, Ivanov or Sidorov. At present, only five percent of children are given Old Slavic names. However, this tradition is gradually being renewed in modern families. Among other things, many of the names that are so popular in our

time, have Slavic roots and at the same time act as derivatives of Greek variants. This group includes such ancient Slavic female names as Faith, Love and Hope, which are the prototypes of Pistis, Agape and Elpis. The same can be said about the male name Leo, who duplicated Leon.

The main problem in the present is that ancient Russian names are being forgotten by many more and more. Often people call their children usually and standardly, thinking that theysupport Russian traditions, and do not even suspect that they are naming their child with a foreign name. And in situations where you meet a girl or a guy with primordially Russian roots, many shrug their shoulders in bewilderment, thinking what kind of wonderful parents they called their child so strangely. The problem of preserving traditions is far from new, many are trying to fight in order to enlighten the new generation. An excellent reminder is the ancient Slavic names given at the birth of a new member of modern society.