Today, more and more parents prefer old Russian names for their children. After all, the name is of great importance for every person, it shows the love with which his parents belonged to the child. Many are sure that it leaves a noticeable imprint on character formation and destiny.
The tradition of names among the ancient Slavs
Old Russian names today often sound unusual and even elaborate, but it is worth recognizing that most of them are very harmonious. Therefore, many parents decide to name their child in an ancient manner, hoping that from early childhood he will feel special and unique.
Interestingly, the ancient Slavs themselves, as a rule, gave the child a two-word name, putting a deep meaning into it. Often, the Old Russian name also performed the function of a talisman, protecting the little man from evil spirits.
After Christianity was adopted in Russia, the tradition to give a person two names was preserved. Moreover, the first was familiar to everyone around him, it 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 parents of the child, his godparents, and the man himself, to whom this secret was revealed as he grew up. It was believed that this secret name was able to protect the owner from the forces of evil.
Name Features
Old Russian names were selected, first of all, based on the gender of the child, as elsewhere. To begin with, we will describe in detail how the names were chosen and what they meant.
The need for the existence of names appeared shortly 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 one leader stood out who set himself the task of rationally building the life of the whole 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 specific person, and not to everyone. Therefore, ancient people began to hail each other, focusing on any noticeable traits of appearance, character or special skills. For example, they noticed hair color, the presence or absence of a beard. So the first names were born.
Over time, the surname 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 transformed into the name of the Kuznetsovs. From now on, it was passed down from generation to generation.
Names of our ancestors
The pagans had interesting traditions associated with names. For example, they sought their children to give a name that personifies any desired qualities in the kid. They were sure that, giving the baby a name with a certain meaning, in many respects predetermine his fate.
With special trepidation and attention they were always determined with a name for boys. Indeed, in ancient times they were more desirable than girls, as they were continuers, workers, on whom the welfare of the whole family depended. Future men were considered to be carriers of power and wisdom, potential heads of large families and leaders of various tribes.
Old Russian names for boys were carefully thought out. Often they were formed from the names of animals. So the parents sought to convey to their children the qualities of a particular beast. It was believed that a young man named Leo would grow up necessarily brave and fearless. Similar analogues of this name existed among other peoples. The Uzbeks transmitted lion courage using the name Aliter, and the Indians named Babar.
Pagan
Old Russian male names in pagan times were very diverse. When today parents try to give their baby an ancient, primordially Russian name, they must pay attention to its meaning. Let us dwell on the most popular and common.
The name Agnius meant "light, fiery." They sought to give it to 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 parents expected their child to follow the path of the oldest and most intelligent people of a tribe or community.
The significance of many beautiful old Russian times is clear from the very sound. Blagomir meant “blessing of the world, ” Godody means “pleasing to the gods, ” Belogor means “from the white mountains, ” All-encompassed is “dear to all, ” Dobrynya is “kind, ” Daromir is “giving peace, ” Zhelan is “desired, ” Ludimir - “brings peace to people”, Lyuborad - “pleases with love”, Love - “beloved”.
The original name, which can sometimes be found today, is Milan. In fact, it did not come from the name of the Italian city, but from the word "dear." Another ancient name Mirolyub means “loves the world”, Moguta means “powerful, ” Ostromysl “thinks sharply, ” Premislav “accepts glory, ” Umir means “appeasement, ” Khvalimir “glorifies the world.”
Moreover, the meanings of many old Russian male names today are not so obvious to modern man due to the fact that the language, words and many concepts over the past centuries have been forgotten and lost. What this or that name means can be understood only with the help of dictionaries and specialists in the field of linguistics.
Among the old Russian names for boys, Bueslav was popular - it meant "stork", Beloyar - "furious", Vyacheslav - "glorifies the council", Gradimir - "looks at the world." A bright and bright life was expected from a child who was called Gorisvet. Acts was supposed to be active and active, it was believed that a boy named Dan seemed to be given to parents from above. Zvenimir was obliged to “call for peace, ” Idan meant “walking, ” Ladislav meant “glorifying beauty, ” Lyubodron meant “dear, ” Mirodar meant “granting peace, ” Svyatoboy means “warrior.”
There were also many names that were absolutely identical to the names of animals, for example, Thrush, Eagle Owl, Wolf, Falcon; names that repeated distinctive human features - Hair, Damn, Eye, Thin.
Names in the Christian World
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 Alexei - "protector", Bogdan - "God given." So common today is the name Boris promised that the boy will be a fighter in life. Vladimir had to rule the world, and Vladislav - glory. In turn, Vsevolod meant "owning all."
Giving the child the name David, the parents hinted that he was very welcome. The name Makar meant “happy”, Timothy - “God-fearing”, Jan - “God given”, Yaroslav - “glorious, strong”.
Moreover, 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 can you meet a man named Habakkuk, which means "the love of God, " Alphaeus - "change."
Parents called their son Bronislaw if they needed a glorious defender. The name Gorislav meant "flaming glory." Izyaslav was to achieve glory in adulthood, Luke to be bright. A difficult share fell to Mstislav, because his name meant - "gloriously revenge."
Second names after baptism
Just at that time, it became popular to give babies a middle name at baptism. Often a child was named after a saint in whose name day he was born. Due to the fact that the first Christians were Jews, Jewish names began to actively penetrate into Russian soil. Over time, they became primordially Slavic, although in reality this is not so at all.
Many such names are long 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, even with an unusual and rare name. In pursuit of this uniqueness, parents increasingly turn to old Russian names, a list of which is given in this article.
Female names
No less variety reigns among old Russian female names. Among them are also many non-Slavic ones who were borrowed from the Greek language along with the Christian faith.
Prior to this, among female names, those with the help of which it was possible to notice any qualities, characteristics or characteristics of people also prevailed. After the advent of Christianity in Russia, they were almost completely supplanted 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, finding themselves on Russian soil, were preserved only as a proper name, and their immediate meaning was often lost.
Adaptation of foreign names in Russia
By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Old Russian names almost completely went into oblivion, and the Christian ones that replaced them greatly changed their appearance, which is called Russified, having adapted to the peculiarities of Russian pronunciation to the maximum.
Ideological names
At the beginning of the 20th century, the October Revolution took place in Russia, which had an impact on all spheres of social and personal life, and it did not pass by names.
A large number of names appeared associated with the new socialist ideology. For example, Diamar, which meant "dialectical materialism" or Revmira - "revolution of the world." There were names in use that clearly reflected the first stages of Soviet industrialization - Elevator, Elektrina, Rem ("revolution, electrification, mechanization").
Foreign names that appeared to be pretentious at first glance, which parents spied on foreign novels - Arnold, Rudolph, Alfred, Rosa, Lilia, also entered Russian everyday life. Over time, they also Russified.
Popular old russian female names
And today, many such names have not lost their relevance. True, their meanings are not always clear to the parents and the child himself.
So, Avdotya means “famous”, Aurora means “the goddess of the morning dawn”, Agatha means “good, honest, kind”, Aglaya means “brilliant”, Agnes means “chaste”, Agnia means “fiery”, Azalea means “flowering bush” Aksinya is “hospitable”, Alevtina is “alien to the bad”, Akulina is “eagle”, Aleksandra is “the protector of people”, Alena is “solar”, Alina is “stranger”, Alice is “charming”, Alla is “selfish”, Anastasia - "resurrected", Angelina - "angel", Angela - "angel", Anna - "grace", Anfisa - "blooming", Arina - "calm", Valentina - "healthy", Valeria - "strong", Varvara - "di arch ", Violetta -" violet ", Galina -" calm ", Daria -" winner ", Eugene -" noble ", Elena -" chosen ", Elizabeth -" worshiping God ", Zoe -" life ", Kira -" mistress ", Larisa - the" seagull ", Lydia - the" first ", Margarita - the" pearl ", Natalya - the" native ", Nina - the" ruler ", Polina - the" fortuneteller ", Tamara - the" fig tree ".
