Ancient Slavic female names. Russian female names of Jewish origin. The meaning of the name according to the Orthodox calendar

After the introduction of Christianity in Rus', children at birth began to be given names according to Orthodox calendar in honor of Orthodox saints. The child receives the heavenly protection of the chosen saint, and a close spiritual connection is created between them. The saint becomes for the child his guardian angel for life.

Every day Russian Orthodox Church honors the memory of a saint, sometimes several saints. On these days of remembrance, corresponding to their names, people celebrate name days.

You can choose a name for your child based on the Orthodox calendar (saints). It contains full list Orthodox names for both girls and boys. When choosing a name, they usually focus on the date of birth. The calendar provides a list of months and the days they contain. For each day, the names of the saints whose memory is honored on a particular day are indicated.

If for some reason the parents are not satisfied with the names suitable for the child, you can choose names from other days or the eighth day from the moment the child is born. Our ancestors named babies on the eighth day after birth. If names intended for the birthday or the eighth day are not suitable, you can name the baby with a name that falls on the fortieth day after birth.

Every year Orthodox calendars of names are updated. The 2018 calendar includes more male names than female ones. In this regard, girls are often called female names derived from male ones, for example, Alexander, John, Eugene. Then a male patron saint is chosen for the girl.

The choice of name depends largely on the time of year in which the child was born.

Girls born in winter are physically and mentally strong, purposeful, assertive and have strong will. Therefore, they try to give softer names in order to give the girl more femininity and tenderness.
In the spring, girls are born who are selfish, vulnerable, timid, and afraid of change. In the future, these girls often find it difficult to arrange personal life. They are given names such as to give the child confidence and decisiveness in character.
Summer children have a bright temperament and love adventure. Such girls usually become leaders in any team. They are recommended to be given calm names to balance their choleric temperament.
Autumn girls are endowed with such character traits as integrity, independence, and coldness. Usually there is no sense of tact. To compensate for the missing softness and femininity, gentle names are chosen.

What is better: rare church ones or Russian women's ones of today?

There are many beautiful female names, both familiar Orthodox ones and non-standard, rare ones that came from antiquity.

Most of the names that are used today in Everyday life appeared in Russian culture from antiquity. Many of them are not of Slavic origin. Russian female names appeared as a result of the development of ancient Slavic culture, associated with the customs, life, and faith of the ancient Slavs.

When choosing a name for a girl, you need to imagine how comfortable the child will feel with it in life and in society. Sometimes, in pursuit of originality, parents choose pretentious names, because of which their children suffer in the future. The name must correspond to the traditions of the area and belong to the culture in which the girl lives.

The key factors when choosing a name are its melody and harmony, as well as consonance with the surname and patronymic. The name should emphasize the baby’s individuality and endow the girl with beauty and femininity.

In ancient times, the meaning of a woman’s life was motherhood and keeping family hearth, therefore, the meaning of many names contained the purpose of a woman - creating a family and its well-being.

A significant part of the ancient church names is of Greek origin, for example, Inessa, Evdokia, Veronica. Although they are considered ancient, they can often be heard in society, so you can safely choose them for your child.

Today, many parents are returning to their roots and Russian culture, so today you can often hear old names. Especially often they use such names as Zlatotsveta, Vera, Dobromila, which do not hurt the ears and are positively perceived by society.

However, many ancient church names can be difficult to understand. A name that is too complicated can lead to the fact that in the future it will be difficult for the child to get along with the children's team.

Most people choose familiar and modern Russian names:

Catherine.
Elena.
Ksenia.
Daria.
Elizabeth.
Sophia.

The choice depends on the preferences of the parents, the degree of religiosity and cultural values.

Selection with values

Thanks to our selection, you will be able to choose the best Russian female name for your child, with a very beautiful, unusual, rare sound, especially if it is an old church name.

With the adoption of Christianity by Russia, Slavic names were gradually replaced by names that were of Byzantine origin: we bear these names in modern times and we consider them the most ordinary Russians: Olga, Elena, Konstantin, Alexander. However, the fashion for names has changed, and, as a consequence of the constant craving for ancient Russian culture, today rare, Slavic names for children are regaining their relevance. After all, names contain a significant part of the culture, traditions, customs and history of the entire people.

The main thing in the article

Popularity of baby names

So, the fashion for Slavic names is returning, and today this process is gaining momentum, since names that came from Western countries they begin to become boring, people want something exotic, new, but still native, with Slavic origins. At the same time, parents give boys and girls not only old Russian names: those of Bulgarian, Serbian or Polish origin are also actively used.

How can we explain the increased demand for rare men's and female names, the trend of which is observed in last years in our country? It’s not easy to feel special if, besides you, there are four Dimas or three Alyoshas in the class, but before this was no surprise to anyone, newborn babies were universally called Lena or Katya.

By giving their son or daughter an unusual, exotic name, parents, first of all, strive to highlight the child, provide him with increased attention from others, get rid of possible complexes, and make him feel like an individual and self-confident.

How to choose a name for a child?

When choosing a name for a child, mothers and fathers often face serious dilemmas and disagreements. Young parents, before choosing a single name for their son or daughter, take dozens and even hundreds of male and female names as a basis. Today rare names for children are increasingly found even in the most ordinary families, because every parent wants to make their child stand out from the crowd. Therefore, options for what to name a child are chosen not only from modern and well-known in society, but also from ancient, even ancient names.

Just a couple of decades ago, such euphonious and courageous names, How Matvey, Yaroslav, Egor, Fedor or David, and so beautiful and feminine, like Milana, Zlata or Glafira. Today, such names will no longer surprise anyone, and they have moved from the category of unusual to the category of well-known and widely used. But names like Vedagoras, Ovid, Orestes or Evsei and today they can cause bewilderment and surprise.

However, having given the baby a rare unusual name, it is also necessary to ensure that it is harmoniously combined with a very ordinary and ordinary patronymic and the same ordinary Russian surname: the discrepancy between the exotic and the “ordinary” can spoil the impression of even the most beautiful and extravagant name “with a twist.”

Traditions associated with Slavic names

Before accepting Christianity, the Slavs used names consisting of two parts. Often a second name was given to a child when he reached adolescence, the main traits of his character had already had time to form. It was on the basis of these that a name was selected that duplicated the main one. Then the girl could be called Chernava(black, dark), Ulada(the one who gets along with everyone) Malushey(youngest in the family) Veselina(cheerful), Hang on(slender) and other names that reveal a person’s features.

Such names are still used in our time, but most of them are mentioned only in ancient chronicles. The tradition of giving children composite names continues today, and is manifested in the fact that at birth a child is given one name, and at baptism - another, which is chosen according to church calendar. In this way, parents protect the child, because this should protect him from damage or the evil eye.

With the adoption of Christianity, some names were prohibited by the church, because many of them were derived from the names of the ancients pagan gods, which contradicts the canons of Christianity.

There are names that are not Slavic, but are considered as such, and are widely used in modern days. They are formed from Slavic roots, but in fact they are of Greek origin. Such names include Faith, Love And Hope. Here's a girl's name like Gorislava, may cause bewilderment among relatives and friends: why was the child not named by the usual Russian name - Ira, Lena or Katya? In fact, names like Gorislava, Radoslava or Tsvetana are primordially Russian names, but long ago consigned to oblivion.

Rare names and society

It is also worth thinking about so that a baby with a very rare name does not experience discomfort in society and communication with other children, who, as we know, can be very cruel and can give offensive and unfair nicknames, deliberately distorting even the most beautiful and rare name.

It is important that the child is not ashamed of his name, and as an adult, does not experience problems of a more serious nature (for example, constant errors in documents due to the incorrect spelling of the name by others).

A person who has a rare name, but does not focus too much attention on this peculiarity and some “selectedness” of his, evokes respect from others. He gains fame strong in spirit, special, extraordinary person, goes through life with his head held high and, thanks to this, often reaches great heights on his life’s path.

If the parents called the baby rare, original name, they need to repeat it more often, tell the child the story of its origin, tell the reasons why it was chosen, and reveal its meaning. We need to help the child be proud of his name and love it. It is also important to ensure that, despite its rarity, the name for the child is not too fancy. It would be a shame if it caused ridicule from classmates, forcing little man complex and feel like a “black sheep”, lowering his self-esteem.

Beautiful ancient Russian names for girls

Thanks to its euphony and good value, newborn girls today are often given Slavic names such as:

Milan or Milena(Darling);
Zlata(gold);
Darina(sweet gift);
Zarina(fiery, hot);
Lada(beautiful, okay);
Snezhana(snowy, cool);
Mira(peaceful);
glad(the one that gives joy);
Rostislav(giving glory);
Ioannina(river);
Yesenia(clear);
Mayan(the one born in May);
Yarina(solar).

How to choose a name for a girl according to the church calendar by month, look at the photo:

What rare name to choose for a boy?

You need to choose rare names for boys wisely: such a name can sound either elegant and cute, or outlandish, ridiculous and even funny. Statistics on children's names over the past years will help you choose a name for your baby: after reading it, you can avoid getting into trouble by choosing a name that is too banal or too pretentious for your baby.

If names like Alfred, Askold, Heinrich, Dionysius, Ismail, Erast, Agathon, Osip, Leopold, Kamil, Zhdan or Lavrentiy seem too unusual and ancient, you can give preference to the following rare, but very euphonious names, which have already been adapted to modern society and have not yet become ordinary. These names include:

Arkhip,
Luke,
Kuzma,
Demid,
Zakhar,
Plato,
Ostap,
Lukyan,
Mitrofan,
Borislav,
Makar,
Martin;
Savely,
Efim,
Elisha,
Klim,
Gregory,
Tikhon,
Hilarion,
Zinovy,
Yakov,
Gabriel.

You can choose a more exotic name for your baby by calling him Ratmir, Kamil, Robert, Oscar, Samvel, Elmir, Milan, Marat, Rustam or Ernest, however, the child’s surname in this case must also be appropriate.

How to choose a name for a boy according to the church calendar by month, look at the photo:

Meanings of Slavic girl names

Often parents give their children names based not only on its sound, but also taking into account its semantic characteristics, that is, they pay special attention to the meaning of the name, for example:

If the daughter was very long-awaited and was born after for long years appeals to the Lord, she is called Bogdana, Bazhena or Blagoslava, or alternatively Zhdanoy(long awaited).
If the baby was born at dawn, she is given a beautiful ancient Slavic name Zoreslav.
If they want a girl to have a cheerful disposition, they call her Fun.
If they want her to grow up to be a sweet, kind, harmonious, peace-loving girl, they name her Ladomila, Miroslava, Nezhana, Tikhomira or Milada.
If parents want their daughter to always be loved by everyone, they give her names with appropriate meanings - Lyubava, Lyuboslava, Lyubomila or Lyudmila.
If they wanted to glorify the baby or she was born the day before important event, they gave her a name Radonitsa, Radoslava, Slavina, Dobroslava or Zvenislava.

When parents want their daughter to always be the center of attention and be successful with men, to be attractive and good-looking, they give her a name that embodies their wishes:

Belyan(light, clear),
Vereya(attractive, attractive)
Glafira(important, main),
Golub(loving),
Dina(light),
Dobrina(kind, earthly),
Zhelana(desired),
Krasava or Krasimira(beautiful),
Ladomila(dear beauty)
Liticia(giving tenderness),
Medea(pleasant)
Svetolika(having a bright face),
Charms(sweetheart, beautiful)
Vasilisa(valid).

You can choose a name for a girl according to any characteristics that are important in the opinion of parents.

Meanings of Slavic names for boys

Naming a son ancient Slavic name, parents want to give him character traits, inherent in heroes ancient military or biblical tales. Basically, this is strength of spirit and will, power, sharp mind and charisma, perseverance, kindness, desire for glory and leadership, nobility and greatness. The meanings of some ancient names that we will tell you about will help you make the right choice:

Bazhen- desired, long-awaited;
Belozar- white dawn;
Belogor- enlightened;
Berislav- the one who cares about fame;
Blagoslav- glorifying kindness.
Bogolyub- worshiper of God.
Veligor- great.
Wenceslaus- crowned with glory.
Gorislav- fiery, highly revered.
Darimil- merciful.
Dobroslav- glorifying, giving kindness.
Lubomir- loving world.
Miloslav- glorifying mercy.
Radimir (Radomir)- protecting the world.
Svetovid- insightful;
Svetozar- illuminating with light.
Yaropolk- commander of the solar army.

Which names should you not choose and why?

And yet, not many parents are extreme and consider it possible to name their child with a too unusual Slavic name. Such native Slavic names of girls as Alatyrka, Amelfa, Valkyrie, Dabizhiva, Dragana or Ragosna are not used in modern names.

In addition, a name for a boy should not sound too pretentious or pretentious, or cause unpleasant associations with both parents and other family members. Eg, Adolf, Caesar, King or Friedrich may cause an ambiguous reaction from society: you should not create problems for your child from birth.

Statistics of Old Russian names for children in Russia

Since the demand for rare names is steadily growing, by giving such a name today, the child’s parents are not at all immune from the fact that in a few years the chosen one will not become as popular as today’s Daniel And Nikita. The same story happened with such incredible beautiful names, How Kirill, Timofey, Nazar, Gleb, Matvey, Ilya or Arseny– despite their external rarity, unusualness and antiquity, they are today quite widely used, not being outlandish or rare.

And yet, so far the most popular name for boys remains Alexander. Also in the top ten most popular Egor, Kirill, Timofey, Maxim, Ivan, Artem, Daniil And Nikita. Girls are most often called Sophia, Maria, Varvara, Miroslava And Zlatami. Not inferior in popularity are names such as Anastasia, Eva, Alisa, Alexandra, Daria.

Today in our country, about 7% of newborn babies receive original Slavic names, but this trend is becoming more widespread from year to year.

You can familiarize yourself with the unique TOP names of boys and girls in recent years from the videos presented below.

With the adoption of Christianity, the Russian name book was enriched with names belonging to almost the entire world civilization: with the Byzantine calendar, Greek, Jewish, Roman and other names came to us. Thus, it turns out that the female Russian names that surround us have the most different origins, they came to us from different nations and enriched Russian culture with their sound, content and meaning.

Female names of Slavic origin

These are female names Slavic origin can be considered truly Russian. In the old days, there were a great many female names of Slavic origin, but to this day only a few remain in use.

Russian names for women of Greek origin

Among all modern female Russian names, the most names are Greek origin. They were most often given as baptismal names, which led to their wide distribution during Christianity.

Female names of Latin (Roman) origin

In ancient times, the Latin (or ancient Roman) language was quite widespread. Therefore, Roman names penetrated the cultures of many peoples. Over time, female names of Roman origin gained wide popularity in Rus'.

Russian female names of Jewish origin

Female names Jewish origin also met and are found quite often in Rus'. And the most famous of them is Maria.

Most female names of Soviet origin were rarely used and did not take root, remaining rather a historical and linguistic curiosity. However, some of these names, composed successfully, have survived and become quite widely known.

Popular and rare female Russian names and their meanings are destiny, destiny. All female names define the purpose of life, therefore, since ancient times, choosing a name has been a sacred ritual called “naming”. Unfortunately, almost forgotten now. Parents, when choosing a name for their daughter, are guided by anything but the simplest attitudes. Despite the variety of female Russian names, parents sometimes choose the most suitable name It becomes very difficult for your daughter. You can choose endlessly, but it is important to remember one simple rule: the rougher and tougher a Russian female name sounds, the stronger, more daring and even courageous a girl with that name will have. Those names in which vowel sonorant sounds predominate most often reward their owners with softness and tenderness.

When choosing a name for your daughter, it is important to achieve harmony between the first name, last name and patronymic. If we talk about the main traditions of naming, then quite often parents name their daughters in honor of relatives, prominent personalities, and celebrities.

And, of course, like other names, Russian female names are not without meaning; they carry a certain message, a message. So, the most popular and common Russian female names are Alexandra, Daria, Elena, Elizaveta, Anna, Tatyana.

Among Russian female names there are also the most interesting, melodic and beautiful. These could be the names Vasilisa, Valeria, Veronica, Victoria, Evgenia, Miroslava, Polina, Yulia. Increasingly, modern parents are choosing these once rare names for their daughters.

A characteristic feature of female Slavic names is the presence of several stems, most often two. Here, for example, are Yaroslava, Miroslava, Svetlana, Milolika and others. Female Slavic names are quite simple and understandable; to understand their meaning, you do not need to turn to special literature. That's why they are so popular.

If you touch upon the ancient Slavs, it will become clear that they, in fact, adhered to the double name, since they believed in a mystical connection between it and its owner. So, the real name was known only to a narrow circle of people, that is, relatives. Everyone else knew the so-called “false name.” As a rule, a middle name was given to a child in adolescence, as it denoted a certain trait of his behavior and character.

In the last few years, parents have begun to choose female Slavic names for their daughters, which have been rare for quite a long time. And all because I want to emphasize individuality, expressiveness, and also endow the child with certain features characteristic of this name. The most beautiful and sonorous female names of Slavic origin can be called Yarina, Miroslava, Zlata, Vladislava, Lyubomila, Lyubov, Lyudmila, Milana, Milena, Snezhana.

Traditions of Old Slavonic female naming

Old Slavonic names for women were divided into simple and complex. This was due to the influence of traditions, the time and circumstances of birth, as well as the peculiarities of the tribal way of life.

In Russian fairy tales you can find variants of names in which an additional nickname is used: Varvara Krasa - Long Braid, Elena the Wise, Marya the Artisan and others. IN ordinary life this was transformed into such options as:

Dobronrava Kunitsa;
Dobryana Solnechnaya;
Yasun Light;
Zarina Krasa.

Apart from the double names that were talked about individual qualities child, secret names were used. The secret name was known only to the priest who performed the naming ceremony, as well as to the owner of the name herself. According to legend, the function of a secret name was to protect a person throughout his life from negativity, failure and attacks from evil spirits.

To mark a girl with the power of any Goddess, she was given a name using the root of the name of the chosen Goddess, or the entire divine name was used. It was believed that such a connection with the Gods made it possible in the future to get married successfully, easily give birth to children, and become a companion and a real caretaker for her husband. According to the pantheon of Slavic goddesses and gods, names such as Zara (derived from Zarya Zaryanitsa), Maria (derived from Mary, Morena), Dana, Yarila, Perunitsa, Velesynya were used.

Features of choice

According to Slavic mythology the name was chosen according to a special principle. Initially, the girl was given a temporary name. It was used for several years from the moment of birth. It was not specific; options such as “Child” or “Child” were used, as well as serial numbers. When the girl grew up, her parents chose a name for her according to her personality traits.

When naming, a mandatory condition was to honor the ancestors and the ancestral God. The ritual began in the lake and ended at the temple. Usually the ceremony was carried out upon reaching the age of 9, 12 or 16 years, depending on the qualities of which classes were manifested in the child.

Slavic mythology described cases when it was allowed to rename a child. New naming rituals were used when the previously chosen name was not suitable. Cases were also described when a temporary name was assigned to a girl for life.

The name definitely had to sound! The Slavic ancestors believed that names had mystical powers. The name was a conductor of power from the gods, nature and elements. Slavic culture The northern part of Russia still preserves these traditions, especially in the outback.

List by month

Winter

December

January

Agnia- “from the fire”, “enlightened”. There is also such a translation as “immaculate”, “innocent”. The meaning of the name Agnia is considered related to the name ancient god Agni (progenitor of fire).
Varvara- “foreigner”, “tough”. The name was formed from the ancient Slavic battle cry “in ar, in ar,” which warriors shouted when rushing into battle. "Ar" is translated as earth.
Gorislava- “glory”, “blazing in fire”. Sometimes you can find such a translation as “bright glory.” The male equivalent is Gorislav.
Golub- “modest”, “meek”.
Zvenislava- “ringing glory.” The male version is Zvenislav.
Casimir- "world". The male equivalent is Casimir.

February

Spring

March

Velizhana- “pacifying feelings”, “polite”. In the male version - Velizhan.
Daria(in the old version of Darius) - “gift”, “gift”, “owner of the good”, “rich”. It is also interpreted as “kind”, “positive”.
Marina- “sea”. This is a derivative of Mary, the Old Slavic goddess of winter, the patroness of Rus'.
Hope– “hoping for the best” or literally “hope”. Included in the Russian name book along with the names Vera and Lyubov.
Polada– “steel”, “powerful”. Male equivalent – Polad.

April

Boyana- “fighter”, “warrior”. The male equivalent is Boyan.
Dana– “given”, “given”, “God is my judge”. This modern form the names Danitsa and Denitsa, formed from the common Slavic “dennitsa”, meaning “ morning Star"(after the name of the planet Venus). According to historical data, the name Danuta was previously used instead of Dana.
Spark– “sparkling”, “honest”. Sometimes you can find such a translation as “sincere.” There is a little known male version– Spark.
Miroslava- “bringing glory to the world”, “glorified throughout the world.” Men's doubles version - Miroslav. Consists of a combination of 2 semantic units.
Stanislava- “becoming glory”, “creating glory”. This is a two-root name. The root “stan” is short for “to set” or “install”, and the root “slav” is short for “to glorify”.

May

Summer

June

Akulina- “eagle”, “eagle”. The name became widespread in Rus' with the advent of Christianity.
Alyona– “attractive”, “shining”, “exciting”. From Old Church Slavonic it is translated as “scarlet”, “chosen”, “fiery”. According to history, it is believed that the name comes from the name of the Slavic tribes Alyonov.
Blaginya- "good". Sometimes translated as “possessing good energy.”
Maria- “beloved”, “desired”. Maria is a derivative name from the ancient Slavic goddess of winter Mara.

July

August

Vladana– “possessing”, “possessing”. Sometimes used as one of the forms of the name Vladislav, however, it is an independent name.
Gala– “spiritual”, “feminine”, “earthly”. IN modern version sometimes used as a shortened form of the female name Galina.
Karina- “friend”, “beloved”. Translated from Slavic it means “mourning.” Literally translated as - steering the ship, or the keel of the ship.
Milena- “sweetheart”, “beloved”. The Slavic names Milada and Militsa have a similar meaning. They are used as different forms for each other, but, nevertheless, they are independent names.
Yarolika- “symbol of reliability”, “sun-like”, “like the sun”. Sometimes you can find the translation “with a furious face.”

Autumn

September

October

Alla- “different”, “different”, “goddess”, highly spiritual. There are similar names in ancient Greek, German and Chaldean.
Vedana- “knowing”, “knowing”. Can be converted into the name Vedeneya.
Vladislav- “possessing glory”, “glorious mistress”. Given name can act short form appeals in relation to such female names as Vladlena, Vladilena and the male name Vladislav.
Dobrodeya- “doing good.” Male name- Dobrodey.
Zlata- “golden”, “gold”, “golden”, “golden”. This name is a literal translation of the Greek "chrys". It is believed to be a shortened form of Goldenflower.
Prekrasa (Prekrasa)- “beautiful.” History mentions that in the 10th century Princess Olga (premarital name) - the wife of Igor the Old - was called Beautiful.
Semidola- “experienced”. The more common male version is Semidol.

November

Beautiful Slavic names for girls are incredibly popular in modern society. And this is not surprising! After all Old Slavonic names harmonious, filled deep meaning, sound original and carry pieces of the history of many generations. Periodically returning from the past, they never lose their relevance.