Old Russian names for boys and girls: characteristics, features and meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Today, more and more often parents prefer old Russian names for their children. After all, the name is of great importance for every person, it manifests the love with which the child was treated by his parents. Many believe that it leaves a noticeable imprint on the formation of character and destiny.

The tradition of names among the ancient Slavs

Old Russian names today often sound unusual and even pretentious, but we have to admit that most of them are very harmonious. Therefore, many parents decide to name their child in the ancient manner, hoping that from early childhood he will feel special and unique.

It is interesting that the ancient Slavs themselves, as a rule, gave the child a name consisting of two words, putting a deep meaning into it. Often the old Russian name also served as a talisman, protecting the little man from evil spirits.

After Christianity was adopted in Russia, the tradition of giving a person two names has been preserved. At the same time, the first was familiar to everyone.to those around him, was used by him for interaction in society, but the second was given at baptism and was secret. Almost no one knew about him, with the exception of the child's parents, his godparents and the man himself, to whom this secret was revealed when he was growing up. It was believed that this secret name was able to protect the owner from the forces of evil.

Features of names

Old Russian names were selected, first of all, based on the gender of the child, as elsewhere. To begin with, we will tell you in detail how the names were chosen and what they meant.

The need for the existence of names appeared soon after people realized that it was easier to survive in a group than alone. They began to unite in communities and tribes, in each one leader stood out, who set himself the task of rationally building the life of the entire tribe.

Just at this stage, for the first time, there was a difficulty in the interaction between ancient people, when it became necessary to turn to a particular person, and not to everyone in a row. Therefore, ancient people began to call each other, focusing on any noticeable features of appearance, character or special skills. For example, they noticed hair color, the presence or absence of a beard. And so the first names were born.

Over time, surnames appeared on the same principle. With their help, it became easier to determine the relationship between members of the same community. For example, a family in which everyone was engaged in blacksmithing was called blacksmiths, and over time this was transformed into the name Kuznetsov. From now on, it was transferredfrom generation to generation.

Names of our ancestors

Interesting traditions associated with names were among the pagans. For example, they sought to give their children a name that would personify any desirable qualities in a baby. They were sure that by giving the baby a name with a certain meaning, they largely predetermine his fate.

With special trepidation and attention, we have always determined the name for boys. After all, in ancient times they were more desirable than girls, as they were the successors of the family, workers on whom the well-being of the whole family depended. It was the future men who were considered carriers of strength and wisdom, potential heads of large families and leaders of various tribes.

Old Russian names for boys were also carefully thought out. Often they were formed from the names of animals. So parents sought to convey to their children the qualities of a particular beast. It was believed that a young man named Leo would definitely grow up brave and fearless. Similar analogues of this name existed among other peoples. The Uzbeks conveyed the lion's courage with the help of the name Aliter, and the Indians with the name Babar.

Pagan

Old Russian male names in pagan times were very diverse. When parents today try to give their baby an ancient native Russian name, they must definitely pay attention to its meaning. Let's dwell on the most popular and common.

The name Agnius meant "light, fiery". His soughtto give the baby, who in the future was to become a bright and open person. The name Bayan meant "guardian of antiquity", it was given if the parents expected that their child would follow the path of the oldest and smartest people of the tribe or community.

The meaning of many beautiful old Russian times is clear from the sound itself. Blagomir meant "giving good to the world", Bogodiy - "pleasing to the gods", Belogor - "from the white mountains", Vsemil - "dear to everyone", Dobrynya - "kind", Daromir - "gives peace", Zhelan - "desired", Lyudimir - "brings peace to people", Luborad - "pleases with love", Lyubim - "beloved".

The original name, which can occasionally be found even today, is Milan. In fact, it did not come from the name of the Italian city, but from the word "cute". Another ancient name Mirolyub means "loves the world", Moguta - "powerful", Ostromysl - "thinks sharply", Premislav - "accepts glory", Umir - "appeasement", Khvalimir - "glorifies the world".

At the same time, the meanings of many old Russian male names today are not so obvious to a modern person due to the fact that the language, words and many concepts have been forgotten and lost over the past centuries. What this or that name means can only be understood with the help of dictionaries and linguists.

Among the old Russian names for boys, Bueslav was popular - it meant "stork", Beloyar - "furious", Vyacheslav - "praises the council", Gradimir- "looks at the world." From the child, who was called Gorisvet, they expected a bright and bright life. Dejan was supposed to be active and active, it was believed that a boy named Dan seemed to be given to his parents from above. Zvenimir was obliged to "call for peace", Idan meant "walking", Ladislav - "glorifying beauty", Lubodron - "dear", Mirodar - "bestows peace", Svyatoboy - "warrior".

There were also many names that were absolutely identical to the names of animals, for example, Thrush, Owl, Wolf, Falcon; names that repeated distinctive human features - Hair, Devil, Eye, Thin.

Names in Christendom

After Christianity was adopted in Russia, many new names appeared, often associated with religion. Some rare old Russian names came to Russia from other countries, as a rule, retaining their meanings.

Many names that have become widespread in Christian Russia are still actively used, for example, Alexy or Aleksey - "defender", Bogdan - "given by God". Such a common name Boris today promised that the boy would be a fighter in life. Vladimir was to rule the world, and Vladislav - glory. In turn, Vsevolod meant "possessing all".

Giving the child the name David, the parents hinted that he was very long-awaited. The name Makar meant "happy", Timothy - "God-fearing", Jan - "God-given", Yaroslav - "glorious,strong".

At the same time, many rare and beautiful old Russian names have lost their relevance over time. They began to be used very rarely, over time they were almost impossible to meet. Nowadays, only occasionally you can meet a man named Avvakum, which means "God's love", Alpheus - "change".

Bronislav's parents called their son if they needed a glorious protector. The name Gorislav meant "flaming glory". Izyaslav was to achieve fame in adulthood, Luka to be bright. A difficult fate fell to Mstislav, because his name meant - "glorious revenge."

Second names after baptism

Just at that time it became popular to give babies a middle name at baptism. Often the child was named after the saint on whose name day he was born. Due to the fact that the first Christians were Jews, Jewish names began to actively penetrate the Russian land. Over time, they became primordially Slavic, although in reality this is not at all the case.

Many of these names are outdated, only recently they began to return to everyday life, regain their former popularity, some even managed to become fashionable and popular among the younger generation. The thing is that modern names have become boring to parents who want their child to stand out among others in everything, even with an unusual and rare name. In pursuit of this uniqueness, parents are increasingly turning to old Russian names, a list of which is given in this article.article.

Female names

No less variety reigns among the old Russian female names. Among them are also many non-Slavic, which were borrowed from the Greek language along with the Christian faith.

Before that, among the female names, those with the help of which it was possible to notice any qualities, features or characteristics of people also prevailed. After the appearance of Christianity in Russia, they were almost completely replaced by church names that came to Russia from Byzantium. And there were not only Greek names, but also Hebrew, Ancient Roman, Egyptian and even Syrian. Many of them, denoting something in their native language, having found themselves on Russian soil, were preserved only as a proper name, and their direct meaning was often lost.

Adaptation of foreign names in Russia

By the 18th-19th centuries, Old Russian names almost completely disappeared into oblivion, and the Christian ones that replaced them greatly changed their appearance, which is called Russified, adapting to the peculiarities of Russian pronunciation as much as possible.

Ideological names

At the beginning of the 20th century, the October Revolution took place in Russia, which had an impact on all spheres of public and personal life, it did not bypass the names either.

A large number of names associated with the new socialist ideology have appeared. For example, Diamara, which meant "dialectical materialism" or Revmira - "revolution of the world." In the course were names that clearly reflected the first stagesSoviet industrialization - Elevator, Electrina, Rem ("revolution, electrification, mechanization").

Furious at first glance, foreign names that parents spied on in foreign novels - Arnold, Rudolf, Alfred, Rosa, Lilia - also penetrated into Russian everyday life. Over time, they also became Russified.

Popular old Russian female names

And today, many of these names have not lost their relevance. True, their meanings are not always clear to parents and the child himself.

So, Avdotya means "famous", Aurora - "goddess of the morning dawn", Agatha - "good, honest, kind", Aglaya - "brilliant", Agnes - "chaste", Agnia - "fiery", Azalea - "flowering bush", Aksinya - "hospitable", Alevtina - "alien evil", Akulina - "eagle", Alexandra - "protector of people", Alena - "sunny", Alina - "alien", Alice - "charming", Alla - "selfish", Anastasia - "resurrected", Angelina - "angel", Angela - "angelic", Anna - "grace", Anfisa - "blooming", Arina - "calm", Valentina - "he althy", Valeria - "strong", Varvara - "savage", Violetta - "violet", Galina - "calm", Daria - "winner", Evgenia - "noble", Elena - "chosen one", Elizabeth - "worshiping God", Zoya - " life", Kira -"Mistress", Larisa - "Seagull", Lydia - "First", Margarita - "Pearl", Natalya - "Dear", Nina - "Ruler", Polina - "Soothsayer", Tamara - "Pig Tree".

Rare female names

There are many beautiful old Russian names for girls that are rarely used today.

This is Augustine, whose name means "summer", Apollinaria - "goddess of the sun", Bazhena - "saint", Glafira - "refined", Dobrava - "kind", Concordia - "consonant", Rada - "bringing joy".