In anticipation of the birth of a baby, parents face the most acute question of choosing a name for their unborn child. In recent years, two trends have emerged in this area: fathers and mothers choose a native Russian name for their child, or they try to call it an original and special name. Names of Greek origin are very popular. It is about them that we propose to talk in this article.
An interesting fact is that the Greek name, as a rule, exists in two versions: colloquial and official. So, for example, a person who has the name Emmanuel in his passport will in ordinary life sign and be called Manolis everywhere, and bearers of the well-known name Yannis are Ioannis in their passport.
Almost all modern Greek names are of Greek origin, and only a small part of them are borrowed from other nations. Thus, there are severalcategories of names that parents call their children:
- Orthodox Greek name. This group includes the following names: Vasilios (in translation - king), Irini (peace, peace), Georgeos (engaged in agriculture), Ekaterini (immaculate, pure).
- Ancient (mostly mythological) names: Aphrodite (the goddess of beauty born in sea foam), Pinelopi (faithful wife), Sophocles (glory) and others.
- Names of Latin or Hebrew origin: Mary (beloved), Konstantinos (steady), Anna (merciful).
- Modern names, mostly borrowed from Western Europe: Eduardos (guardian of happiness and we alth), Isabella (beautiful woman), Robertos (eternal glory).
Regardless of origin, any Greek name, as a rule, means some kind of personality trait of a person and characterizes intelligence or moral qualities. Moreover, these characteristics are extremely positive and flattering for the bearer of the name. So, the following names can be called very successful: Eleni (bright), Leonidas (like a lion), Prokopios (successful, leading), Parthenios (preserving chastity), Evangelos (bringing good news).
As for the Greeks themselves, today they most often call boys Georgios, Dimitrios and Konstantinos, and girls Maria, Eleni and Ekaterini. Also very popular are such names as Nikolaos (winner of the peoples), Vasilios (king), Panagiotis (holy), Ioannis(blessed by God), Anastasia (resurrected), Sophia (wise) and Evangelia (joyful).
In our country, the names invented by the ancient Hellenes, we meet more often than you can imagine. However, the Greek name is not perceived as such due to the fact that it has been adapted to the conditions of the local culture and language. So, Greek roots have such popular male names in our country as Alexander, Sergey, Alexei, Artem, Nikolai and others. By the way, female names that are considered to be primordially Russian: Faith, Hope and Love - also have Greek roots, not to mention such popular names today as Polina and Sofia.
