Greek female names and their meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Borrowed from Greek female names have long become familiar to the Russian ear. Many of them, such as Ekaterina, Irina, Xenia, Lydia or Anastasia, are no longer perceived as alien, while others - Thekla, Evdokia, Agafya or Varvara - are considered by many to be commoners

Ancient Greek names

The tradition of Greek naming dates back several thousand years. The ancient poet Homer, known from school for his epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey", cites names in his writings, with their roots dating back to the era of the Cretan-Minoan civilization (XVI-XI centuries BC). Already the listeners of the legends about the Trojan War could not quite determine the meaning of the name Hecub and be embarrassed when they heard the real name of Achilles' lot, Briseida - Hippodamia, which literally translates as "tamed horse".

Sources of modern Greek names

The names of the gods and goddesses of the Olympic pantheon - Aphrodite, Athena, Nike - are stillcommon in Greece. Women's names known from history, purely Greek in origin, are also used - Electra or Elena. Christian mythology has become a significant source of replenishment of the Greek nomenclature. It was from there that such beautiful Greek names as Anastasia, Evdokia, Catherine, Elizabeth and Thekla came. In modern conditions of globalization, the Greek language actively borrows names from other cultures.

Greek name tradition

In Greece there is a special tradition of naming, which led to the preservation of ancient names. The first daughter is named after her paternal grandmother, the second after her maternal grandmother, and the third is named after her maternal aunt. Of course, deviations from these rules are not uncommon, but they are generally followed, especially in the outback.

Features of pronunciation and spelling of Greek names

The article adopts the following form of writing modern Greek female names: in the text they are given in accordance with modern pronunciation, and in brackets their Russian equivalent is given, if any. At the same time, the language situation in the country should be taken into account: until the 20th century, the official dialect of Hellas was Kafarevusa, a language artificially created on the basis of ancient Greek norms with a modern origin. Kafarevusa was opposed by dimotica, literally - "folk language", which developed according to linguistic laws. The latter eventually prevailed, but many Kafarevus words are still used in the spoken language. This manifests itself in the existence of paired variants of names like Georgios and Yorgos (a diminutive version of Yorgis is also possible).

Most popular Greek female names

Oddly enough, but the first place is occupied by the name of Aramaic origin - Mary. True, one has only to think, and this strangeness disappears. Greece is an Orthodox country with a very high number of believers. The names of characters from the Holy Scriptures are especially popular in this country, and they are treated with trepidation.

However, the Greek spirit is eclectic. Christianity, although it declared a merciless struggle against paganism at the dawn of its existence, could not eradicate pagan hedonism from the Greeks to the end. Apparently, therefore, the second most popular Greek female name belongs to one of the most famous whores of ancient Hellas - Eleni (Elena). It is translated into Russian as "torch", and this is not surprising: the ancient beauty managed to ignite the ten-year Trojan War.

The third beautiful Greek female name on the list is Ikaterini. His exact origin is unknown, and such a character could not be found in the collections of ancient Greek myths. It is assumed that this name, like the name of the medieval heresy, comes from the word "kasaros" - clean.

The fourth place is modestly occupied by one of the proudest Greek female names - Basiliki (Vasilisa). Like its male counterpart - Basilis (Vasily) - it originally meant a royal title. When the era of queens and empressesirretrievably gone, their title has become a fairly common beautiful female name.

Fifth place is occupied by the male name George. Unlike the previous one, it came from a kind of occupation that the Greeks thought down: "Georgos" in Russian is translated as "farmer". It is unlikely that this name would have been so popular in Greece if George the Victorious had not happened in the history of Christianity.

Rare names

In villages located in hard-to-reach regions, thanks to the traditions of naming, rare female Greek names are preserved. Sometimes they are included in documents taking into account their ancient origin, which makes them even more unusual (the language of Homer for a modern Greek is even more incomprehensible than The Tale of Bygone Years for us). But even without conveying the peculiarities of articulation, some names will still be perceived as strange.

These oddities do not occur because the name is translated into Russian by some not very euphonious word. For example, Alifini, Garufalya, Ilikrinia, Falasia, Theoplasti not only sound, but also translate beautifully: Truthful, Carnation, Sincere, Sea, Created by God. The list of traditional names is constantly changing, and a Greek woman with this name is perceived in Greece in the same way as we have a girl named Predslava or Dobronega.

On the rare list you can find such beautiful female Greek names:

• Akrivi - strict.
• Anti or Anthus is a flower.
• Kiveli - inof antiquity was popular in areas of intense contact with Phoenician sailors (represents a Hellenized version of the name of the goddess Cybele).
• Korina is a modernized ancient name for Corinna, meaning "girl".
• Kstanti - golden.
• Meropi - gifted with the art of speaking.
• Politimi - revered by everyone (or a lot).
• Hariklia - glorious joy.

Borrowed names

Once under the rule of the Roman Empire, the Greeks began to adopt the Roman tradition of naming. This is how the names Sevastiani (the female version of the male name Sebastian - "originally from Sebastia"), Sylvia (translated from Latin as "forest"), Carolina ("Charles' woman" or "belonging to Charles"), Natalia (possibly originating from the cognomen Natalius, and from the Roman name of the Christmas holiday - Natalis Domini).

In the Middle Ages, the Greeks adopted a significant number of names of Germanic origin. The history of the name Rosa looks especially curious here. Initially, it was a female version of the name Hrodhait ("glorious in property, rich"). But later its origin was forgotten and was rethought with a focus on the Latin name of the flower - rosa.

Russian female names of Greek origin

With the adoption of Orthodoxy and thanks to intensive contacts with Byzantium, the Slavs of Kievan Rus adopted many achievements of ancient culture. For a long time within the ruling dynasty it was acceptedgive your children two names: pagan and baptismal. Over time, baptismal names supplanted traditional Slavic ones, and broad sections of the population adopted them from princes and boyars.

As already noted, the female name Elena is of Greek origin. However, it appeared in the Russian name-book not thanks to the instigator of the Trojan War. That was the name of the mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine (in the Greek manner - Konstandinos), whom the church equated with the apostles for her missionary work.

Another curious female name of Greek origin is Zoya. From Greek it is translated as "life". According to researchers, this name arose as an attempt to literally translate the name of the progenitor of mankind - Eve. In the Russian language, it did not take root right away - only from the 18th century it can be found in the sources. Perhaps this is due to the activities of the Byzantine empress, whose rule brought the country to the brink of death.