There is an Orthodox name. name day

The name of the child given to him at birth will influence his entire life. later life. It is not for nothing that there are happy and unlucky names in history, they are associated with some events, natural phenomena, religious holidays, etc. It is believed that one should not give the name of a deceased child to a newly born one, since he will be unhappy, taking on all the misfortunes of a deceased brother.

Where to look for a name for a girl

When Christianity was introduced in Rus', and people began to plan their lives according to Orthodox saints, children began to be named in honor of Orthodox saints. It is quite rightly believed that receiving the name of a saint, a person receives both a close spiritual connection and the patronage of this saint. He may even receive the power and grace of a holy man. Therefore, when choosing names for children, you should think carefully, because you are also choosing a caring guardian angel and spiritual patron for him for life.

The Orthodox Monthly Book will help you choose a name by date of birth

In Orthodox calendars, there are many more male names than female ones. But some male names have analogues in the female gender.

Every day of the year keeps the memory of some canonized saint, some days can boast of a good dozen birthdays. In addition, the names of some saints are repeated several times in the Orthodox calendar, and therefore the names are suitable for children born at different times of the year.

Church calendar or Monthly calendar

Many modern parents turn to the Monthly Book or the calendar. The church calendar can provide invaluable assistance in this, as it contains the names of Orthodox, Old Slavonic, Hebrew and Greek, different origin. Some names are anachronistic today, they are long out of use, and cause a slight smile when they are mentioned. But many names are in great demand today.

Of course, almost all parents want to choose a rare and unusual name, and the Saints can help them choose a name by month.

Choosing an Orthodox name for a girl

Parents are especially reverent in choosing names for girls. I want a beautiful name to emphasize her tenderness, grace and grace.

Women's names always have some sacred magical meaning. Their meaning is intended to bestow tenderness or strength, wisdom or patience, fertility or love. For example, the well-known female names - Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia (Wisdom) personify the main Christian virtues. Women's names also praised some character traits necessary for the future mistress - diligence, patience and determination, humility and complaisance.

But, be that as it may, it is worth choosing a name with all responsibility, thinking about its sound and correspondence with the patronymic and surname. And also pay attention to the time of year in which the child was born.

It is well known that at different times of the year children (especially girls) are born with completely opposite characters. Women's names are designed not only to emphasize the individuality of the owner, but also to help in life.

Relationship between name and time of year

In winter, children are born hardy, in good health, hard and tough. They have a stern, adamant character that helps to achieve what they have planned. But this character often harms them in their personal lives. Firmness and inflexibility interfere with trusting relationships with loved ones. Children born in winter usually do not tolerate interference in their affairs and do not listen to anyone's advice. They are self-confident, active, purposeful and go ahead to the intended goal.

Girls born in winter have a purely male character, which helps them succeed in their careers and business, but interferes with their personal lives. That's why female name it should be gentle, melodic, softening the harsh winter cold.

Spring is a capricious, changeable season. And girls in the spring are born capricious, selfish, squeamish, physically weak. They are conservative and difficult to get used to changes. But if they consider themselves right, then nothing will convince them. They are very stubborn, proud, indecisive and cautious, they love flattery and a certain narcissism is inherent in them. It is not easy for a girl born in the spring to find a husband for herself, because she is afraid of any changes in her lifestyle.

And at the same time, “spring” children are able to adapt to any life situation. Therefore, the female name must be firm and tough.

Generous, cheerful and optimistic children are born in summer. They are not petty, they are not greedy, and at the same time they are extremely hardworking and diligent. Summer children are emotional, quick-tempered, temperamental, impressionable. Among other things, they are the most kind and fair natures.

Girls born in the summer are proud and courageous, persistent and purposeful. They will passionately love their husband and anxiously take care of the children. Therefore, neutral names are best suited for them, designed to slightly restrain their noble nature.

Autumn is a time for reflection. And children born in autumn are characterized by such character traits as wisdom, slowness, prudence and accuracy. Such a child will never act at random, he will carefully weigh all the pros and cons, but he will act diplomatically, without offending anyone. Loyalty and humility will help them find happiness in marriage.

Girls born in autumn are calm and thoughtful, balanced, and in any situation lead, first of all, common sense. The names of these girls should be given names filled with sacred meaning.

That is, when choosing the name of the girls, it is imperative to consider it by months to help in arranging the female fate.

Names for girls born in January

January is the harshest month of the year. A girl named by one of these names will spend her whole life in happiness and prosperity without any problems and obstacles, she will achieve her goals without investing too much work. She will make a good wife and mother, and she will be happily married all her life.

CLAUDIA, AGLAYA, AGAFIA, IRAIDA, ANISYA, TATIANA, APPOLINARIA.

Names for girls born in February

Very often these women do not have an attractive appearance. But they have a wonderful character: active, sociable, cheerful and hardworking. They are extremely fond of dressing up, changing their appearance, keeping up with fashion and spending a lot of money on it. They are not attracted by a calm and measured life, they need constant communication, fun and music. In most cases, these women marry several times, and usually the second marriage is successful.

RIMMA, CAROLINA, CHRISTINA, CHRISTIAN, INNA, EMMA, MARIA, ANNA, PAUL.

Names for girls born in March

These girls and women are envious and extremely curious. They are rarely lucky in married life, but they are also married to people with a high position in society who have achieved success. In the family, the woman will play the main role.

REGINA, RUFINA, MARGARITA, ANTONINA, ULYANA, VASILISSA, KIRA, VALERIA, NIKA, MARIANNA, DOMNA, AGAFIA.

Names for girls born in April

A woman who lives in love and for love. Very often she marries a jealous man, but she can establish a wonderful relationship with him. Sometimes in old age it changes for the worse: it becomes an evil-speaking gossip, embittered at the whole world around.

ALEXANDRINA, DARIA, PRASKOVIA, PELAGIA, SVETLANA, THEODOSIA, LYDIA, LYUDMILA, SUZANNA, SUZANNA, MATRYONA.

Names for girls born in May

This woman will passionately adore her husband all her life. Although she has intelligence, beauty, and upbringing, she talks too much, moreover, out of place. She is often envied, so they can do harm, especially in matters of the heart.

ELIZABETH, GLAFIR, ZOYA, PELAGEYA, EVDOKIYA, EFROSINIA, MUSE, LUKERIA, GLYKERIA, FAINA, NAINA, JULIA, YULIANNA, TAMARA.

Names for girls born in June

This is an emotional woman surrounded by friends and admirers. But because of his temper, he often conflicts with others and quickly breaks off relations.

ELENA, THEODOSIA, THEODORA, CAROLINA, ADELAID, IDA, ADA, AKULINA, FEKLA, KALERIIA, ALEFTINA.

Names for girls born in July

For this woman, love is a game. This is a passionate and temperamental nature, passionate and tender at the same time. She likes men, she herself likes to flirt. Bright and beautiful, she is in a whirlpool of relationships, love and fun.

AGRIPPINA, IRINA, SARAH, RUTH, OLGA, RIMMA, ELLA, JULIANNA, SOSIPATRA.

Names for girls born in August

This woman is generous and patient, impartial and self-possessed. Her kind and sympathetic nature attracts everyone around her to her. It is not easy for her to choose a husband for herself, because a large number fans. But if her first marriage falls apart, she will become distrustful and cautious.

MAGDALINE, EKATERINA, MILENA, FUN, CHRISTINA, PRASKOVIA, SERAPHIM, NONNA.

Names for girls born in September

Very optimistic and cheerful person. Even troubles and disappointments will not diminish her optimism. She is flirtatious and sociable, and over time becomes the most devoted mother.

VASS, ANFISA, ANITA, MARF, RUFINA, LYUDMILA, VERA, HOPE, LOVE, SOFIA.

Names for girls born in October

This is a woman with the happiest character and the happiest fate. She will live happily married with a loving husband and children for a long life.

EPHROSINIA, CONCORDIA, SOSIPATRA, VERONICA, IRAID, PELAGEIA, TAISIA, EVLAMPIA, JONA.

Names for girls born in November

This woman will spend her whole life in quarrels with her husband because of her love of clothes and the company of strangers. A playful lifestyle is the norm for her.

GLIKERIA, GLYKERIA, LUKERIA, KAPITOLINA, PRASKOVIA, ELENA, NELLY, CLAUDIA.

Names for girls born in December

This woman has an attractive appearance and an open noble character. He does not like to obey someone else's will and be in submission.

AUGUST, VARVARA, TATYANA, TATIANA, ANFISA, LARIS, MARINA, ZOYA, ZINOVEYA.

The Book of a Thousand Namessection "Women's names" (pp. 7 - 104)

Do you want to find the best name in the world for your daughter? Then you can't do without this book. Dictionary-reference book "Thousand Names" is a practical guide for parents, in it you will find almost 400 Russian female names: from the rarest to the most popular in Russia.

Your choice will be conscious and justified, because the book is not only popular, but also scientific in nature. The names are presented in a format that is not found anywhere else, and about each name you will find such information and arguments that you had no idea about before, and did not even think about!

A complete list of female names is given at this link. Separate chapters of the "Women's Names" section are devoted to the choice of a godname and the popularity ratings of the names of newborn girls in Russia and a number of countries (Belarus, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, England, USA) in 2010-2015.

The electronic version of the book "A Thousand Names" is not provided. Wholeit is available only in printed form, and individual fragments are given on this site. ORDER THE BOOK!

What is a godname and how is it chosen?

Passport, "calendar", godparents, church female names

Not all the names given in this book have a correspondence in the Orthodox calendar, for example, Albina, Vlad, Vladislav, Yesenia, Carolina, Lada, Maya, Eleanor, Yaroslav, etc. For atheistic families, of course, this does not matter at all. But for Orthodox believers, as well as for parents living in line with the Russian cultural and historical tradition, when choosing such names for your child, you will definitely have to solve one more problem - to choose a godname.

The name that is written in Birth certificate, is called a passport

(since when a child reaches the age of 14, it is transferred to the Passport

citizen of the Russian Federation). The name that is given at baptism is called the godfather, it is indicated in Baptism certificate, which should be issued in the temple. "Calendar" refers to the names of Christian saints contained in Orthodox church calendars ("saints" or "months"), and used in the baptism of children (and adults).

Many passport names uniquely correspond to calendar names: Agnia,

Alexandra, Alla, Anna, Veronica, Galina, Evdokia, Zinaida, Zoya, Lydia, Lyubov, Nina, Serafima, Tamara, Faina, ... (passport and godfather names are the same).

Sometimes passport and church forms have slight differences: Anfisa - Anfusa, Arina - Irina, Elizabeth - Elizabeth, Christina - Christina, Natalia - Natalia, Pelageya - Pelagia, Praskovya - Paraskeva, Stepanida - Stephanida, Tatyana - Tatiana, Emilia - Emilia, Julia - Julia. And sometimes very significant: Avdotya - Evdokia, Agrafena - Agrippina, Aksinya and Oksana - Xenia, Alena - Elena, Victoria - Nika, Violetta - Iya, Irma - Ermionia, Lukerya - Glykeria, Olesya - Alexandra, Zhanna and Yana - John, Polina - Pavel or Apollinaria, Svetlana - Fotina or Fotinia, Snezhana - Khionia.

In all the cases considered, the passport forms of names come from the corresponding church forms. So, for example, the name Lukerya has a direct connection with the church name Glikeria, since it is its Russian transformation, and the names Oksana and Aksinya are recognized folk and literary variants of the church name Xenia.

However, it should be said that there are no strict rules. And the presence of a connection between the passport and god names is not at all necessary. It is quite possible that the Christian name Anna or, say, Tamara will be chosen as the passport name, and another Christian name will become the godfather, for example, Agrippina, Angelina, Evdokia or Agafia (in honor of her famous grandmother or great-grandmother).

Let's go ahead and ask a question. Can the Orthodox bear such "non-Orthodox" names as Aurora, Azalea, Vladislava, Yesenia, Zarina, Inga, Camilla, Carolina, Louise, Miroslava, Teresa, Yaroslava? - Yes, of course, but for the rite of naming (naming), which is performed in the process of baptism, you will need to choose another name - a church one. In principle, it can be anything, but usually it is chosen so that it is either consonant, or close in meaning to the passport name.

Here is one possible example. They became quite popular in Russian families

European names Elvira (of Spanish origin, from albar - "white") and Eleonora (from Occitan allia Aenor - "another Aenor"). But these are “non-calendar names”: there are no saints of the same name in the Orthodox calendar, so it will not work to baptize a child in a church with these names. As a cross name for each of them, one can offer, for example, such a consonant church name as Elena (“sunshine”, “sunny”, Greek) or the name Leoni lla (“lion”, “lioness”, Greek).

Other examples. The names of Bogda na, God na and Yes na are absent in Orthodox calendars, but close in meaning are such names as Theodora (“God's gift”), Dorothe I (“God's gift”) and Theodosiya (“God gave”) - any of them can be taken as a godfather. IN last years an increasing number of such names as Vitalina and Vitalyia are being registered. Obviously, these are analogues of the male name Vitaliy, which comes from the Latin word vitalis, therefore, the translation options for the name into Russian can be " full of life”, “living”, “giving life”. Obviously, a good godname for Vitalina and Vitalia can be Valentyna - and by common sense and in sound (Valentina - "strong, strong in health", from the Latin valens, meaning "strong, strong, healthy").

We emphasize once again: 1) it is absolutely not necessary that the passport name coincides with the godfather name, 2) it is absolutely not necessary that the passport name be of Orthodox origin (the name can be anything, as long as parents like it). Even in hoary antiquity they did just that - each member of the princely family had two names: both a worldly name and a Christian.

So, when choosing a “non-Orthodox” name, the procedure should be as follows - in the registry office, the name chosen by the parents for the girl is recorded in the Birth Certificate - for example, Miroslava, Ruslana, Zemfira, Inga or Yesenia, after which she is baptized in the church by any other church she likes name - Barbara, Ilaria, Maria, Olga, Rufina, Seraphim, Sofia or Faina. Neither the registry office nor the church has the right to influence the choice of parents. To advise and recommend is yes, but to hinder is not!

Martyrs, saints, saints...

As already mentioned, baptism in the Russian Orthodox Church occurs simultaneously with the naming. And the naming is necessarily done in honor of a particular saint, who immediately becomes the “holy patroness of heaven” (not to be confused with the guardian angel!). Parents have the right to ask the priest to baptize with that name and in honor of the saint whom they themselves consider most desirable and preferable for their child, for example, in honor of the holy martyr Agnia of Rome or the holy great martyr Catherine of Alexandria, or the holy reverend Euphrosyne of Polotsk. As you can see, each saint of God wears a certain “rank”: a martyr, a great martyr,

reverend... What is it, how should it be understood?

• Martyrs are Christian saints who have accepted violent death for your faith
• The Great Martyrs are martyrs for the faith who endured especially severe torments.
• The monks are nuns revered as saints for their selfless, ascetic life, entirely dedicated to God (celibacy, asceticism, fasting, prayer and physical labor in monasteries and deserts); nun (in a different way and nokinya), igu menya (abbot of the monastery)

• Martyrs - holy martyrs from among the nuns (nuns who accepted death for their faith)

• Virgin martyrs - unmarried, chaste girls (not nuns) who suffered during the persecution of Christians; sometimes lads are written in the saints and ca(i.e. teenage girl)

• Righteous (righteous women) - these include such holy women who during their lifetime were family people, led a secular (that is, not a monastic) life, and were not subjected to torment or persecution for their faith. As saints, they are revered for their righteous, that is, virtuous, correct life, especially pleasing to God (the word righteous, directly related to the words true, right, fair)

• Myrrh-bearing women - women who became the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead; myrrh-bearers in ancient times were women who carry vessels with m and ro m (myrrh is a fragrant, fragrant oil used for chrismation and other church rites); several myrrh-bearing women became the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, these include Salome, John, Susanna, Mary Magdalene - they are all considered holy righteous (righteous women)

• Equal-to-the-Apostles - “equal to the apostles”, like the apostles, they enlightened different peoples, converted them to Christianity (i.e. they were missionaries, spreaders of Christianity), among the Equal-to-the-Apostles were not only men, but also several women

• The faithful - queens and princesses who became saints for their pious life and deeds to strengthen the faith and the church

• Blessed and holy fools. Blessed, that is, “happy” (in Latin - beata): several well-known saints of the 4th-9th centuries wear such an epithet (St. Mary of Khidan, Holy Muse of Rome, Holy Empress Theophania), as well as St. Matrona of Moscow (XX century). The epithet "blessed" when applied to other Russian saints has a different meaning: holy fool (for example, holy blessed Xenia of Petersburg, for Christ's sake holy fool), from Old Russian ugly; holy fools prophesied, denounced bad morals, regardless of faces, showed great wisdom in seeming madness

• New martyrs - as a rule, they are understood as those who suffered for the Christian faith during the years of Soviet power

In church calendars, calendars, calendars, these “ranks” (categories, ranks, in other words “faces of holiness”) are written in abbreviated form:

mts. - martyr; vmts. - great martyr; Rev. - reverend; prmts. - venerable martyr; rights. - righteous (righteous); equal to ap. - equal to the apostles; blgv. - faithful; blissful - blessed

Other frequent abbreviations in church calendars are:

sv. - saint, saint; book. - prince, princess; led . - great, great

English equivalents (used in foreign Orthodox churches):

holy = saint; martyr = Martyr; great martyr = Great-martyr; reverend = Venerable ; venerable martyr = Venerable-martyr; virgin martyr = Virgin-martyr; righteous = Righteous; myrrhbearers = Myrrhbearers; Equal-to-the-Apostles = Equal-to-the-Apostles ; enlightener = Enlightene r; missus = Right-believing (princess = princess; queen = queen); holy fool = Foolfor-Christ; new martyr = New-martyr

Name day (name day, name day, name day holiday)

The well-known concept of "name day" means Day of Remembrance "his" saint

patron (that is, the saint whose name a person received at baptism). In many countries, name days are more important personal celebrations than birthdays. Yes, and in Russia in the old days, as a rule, they celebrated name days, and the birthday remained in the shadows.

The days of remembrance of the saints in this book are indicated according to the old and new styles. It looks like this: July 6/19; December 2/15; November 19 / December 2. The fact is that the Russian Orthodox Church still lives according to the Julian calendar, all dates in which differ from the modern civil calendar by 13 days. That is why the holiday of the Great October Revolution (which took place on October 25, 1917) in the USSR was annually celebrated on November 7. That is why the old New Year”And is still celebrated on the night of January 13-14 (in the church calendar this is the night from December 31 to January 1!).

The dates of the Julian, that is, the church calendar are considered "old style". And the dates

Gregorian, that is, the modern civil calendar" - "new style".

Some saints have several memorable days. For example, the holy martyr

Alexandra of Ankirska, Holy Blessed Princess Anna of Kashinskaya, Holy Martyr

Galina of Corinth and a number of others - two memorable dates each, and the holy martyr Iraida (Raisa) of Alexandria and the holy righteous Anna (mother Holy Mother of God) - three.

For several saints, memorial days do not have fixed, but movable dates (so

called rolling celebrations). For example, the memory of St. Mary of Egypt is celebrated on the fifth Sunday of Lent, and the memory of the righteous Salome, Joanna, Mary Magdalene is celebrated on the week of the holy myrrh-bearing women(that is, annually on the third Sunday after Orthodox Easter). The celebration of the memory of Eve (the foremother of all people), the holy righteous Susanna of Babylon, Ruth, Esther, Leah and Miriam takes place Sunday of the Holy Forefathers And on the week of the holy fathers(that is, on the penultimate and last Sunday before Christmas); word a week in church calendars it means Sunday (from not to do, that is, to rest); the forefathers are the first righteous in human history, they are mentioned in Old Testament: Adam, Eve, Abel, Noah, Abraham, etc., fathers (Godfathers) - the closest relatives of Jesus Christ: King David, righteous Joachim and Anna (parentsVirgin Mary), righteous Joseph.

Upon receipt of the Baptismal Certificate, care must be taken that it contains

the full name of the saint, in whose honor the name was named, and the date of her memory are entered.

An interesting exception to the rule are the names Inna and Rimma. In Russia they

are considered feminine, but it should be borne in mind that in the Orthodox calendar they are contained in the section " Male names". So the heavenly patrons and intercessors of all women bearing the names of Inna and Rimma are men - the holy martyrs of the 2nd century Inna Novodunsky and Rimma Novodunsky, disciples of St. Andrew the First-Called.

If the task is to choose a godfather for a girl (that is, to choose a name

corresponding saint) based on her birthday (or the day of baptism), you need to refer to the Monthly Book. The Monthly Book is a book in which the days of remembrance of the saints are arranged according to the days of the year (by months), its other names are church calendar and Saints. Several convenient and high-quality church calendars and calendars are presented on the Internet, including in English. You will find links to them in the book "A Thousand Names" in the Literature section.

If you are abroad on a long business trip or permanent

residence - in Australia, Western Europe, the Middle East, Canada, China, USA

or Japan, then find the nearest Orthodox church of the Russian Orthodox Church

Moscow Patriarchate or other Orthodox churches (Antioch, Bulgarian,

Greek, North American) you will be helped by the Internet links indicated in the section

Literature (see subsection "Orthodox Church Abroad").

When communicating with a priest, the information line may be useful

“God name in foreign Orthodox churches”, cited in this book for many

female names, and a certificate on the correspondence of the "ranks" of saints in Russian and

English (see a little higher - Martyrs, righteous women, reverends ...)

lives of the saints).

The entire book is only available in print.

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 patronage of the chosen saint, a close spiritual connection is created between them. The saint becomes for the child his guardian angel for life.

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

You can choose a name for a 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 lists the months and days in them. For each day, the names of the saints whose memory is honored on that day are indicated.

If the names suitable for the child for some reason do not suit the parents, you can choose the names of other next days or the eighth day from the moment the child was born. Our ancestors named babies on the eighth day after birth. If the names intended for the birthday or the eighth day are not suitable, you can name the baby by the 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 a name depends largely on the season in which the child was born.

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

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

There are many beautiful female names, both familiar Orthodox 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. Female Russian names appeared as a result of the development of the ancient Slavic culture, associated with the customs, life, faith of the ancient Slavs.

When choosing a name for a girl, it is necessary to imagine how comfortable the child will feel with him in life and in society. Sometimes, in pursuit of non-standard, parents choose frilly names because of which children suffer in the future. The name should 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 melodiousness and harmony, as well as consonance with the surname and patronymic. The name should emphasize the individuality of the baby, endow the girl with beauty and femininity.

In ancient times, the meaning of a woman's life was motherhood and keeping the family hearth, so the meaning of many names contained the purpose of a woman - the creation of a family and her well-being.

A significant part of the old church names has Greek origin, for example, Inessa, Evdokia, Veronica. Although they are classified as ancient, they can often be heard in society, so they can be safely chosen for a 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 cut the ear and are positively perceived by society.

However, many old church names are difficult to understand. Too intricate name can lead to the fact that in the future it will be difficult for a child to get along in a 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 indication of values

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

Does a name affect a person's life? Many parents ask themselves this question when naming their baby. Give the name of a martyr - he will suffer all his life, call him the name of a reverend (monk) - God forbid, he will become a monk. Maybe give the name of the king, commander, thinker?

And every time the priests patiently explain: the name, given to the child does not affect human life in any way. And many common names - it is easy to verify this by opening the calendar - were worn simultaneously by kings, and monks, and martyrs.

Here is an example: John.
The name is Hebrew, which in translation means - the Grace of God.
There are 188 people in the modern church calendar of St. John.
Here is the Apostle of Christ John the Theologian, and the poet-songwriter and theologian John of Damascus.
And one of the founding fathers of the severe monastic feat, John of the Ladder, hegumen of the monastery on Mount Sinai.
John Vlasaty - for the sake of Christ, the fool, who labored in Rostov.
John of Damascus is a hermit who left the city and shut himself in a cave.
John of Kronstadt is a great Russian pastor and public figure.
John of Palestine is an outstanding fast.
John of Constantinople - Patriarch and outstanding personality of his time.
John the Baptist, the first of the martyrs, and after him many more martyrs John, who suffered both in ancient times and in modern times. Soviet time.
We observe the same about other well-known names.
The conclusion is obvious: the name of the saint in no way affects the fate of the child.

How was the name given to the child in pre-Christian times

In the Bible, the name was not at all some random symbol; name - determined the place that its carrier should occupy in the world. God completes creation by naming its elements: day, night, sky, earth, sea, naming each luminary by its name, and this determines the location in the universe of these elements of the universe. Or, God allows Adam to give names to all animals and thereby determine their place and role in Adam's world.

It is the same with a person: initially, the name given to a child at birth denoted his fate or future occupation. This is easy to see, remembering the names of the ancient Old Testament heroes: Jacob means one who takes the place of another; Naval is a madman and so on. Sometimes the name indicated the peculiarity of the birth: Moses - taken out of the water, sometimes - the destiny of a person: Isaiah - God save. The name was considered as an imprint of a person's personality!
IN Ancient Rus' the child was given a common name. The Russians were not as inventive as the Greeks or Romans. Often the baby was given a name derived from the number of children in the family - Perva, First, Pervak, Vtorak, Chetvertunya; from the color of his hair and skin - Chernysh, Chernyay, Belyay, Belukha. Names were also invented according to other external signs - height, body features - Dry, Tolstoy, Long, Mal, Kid, Malaya, Malyuta, Hare, Bespaloy, Golovach and so on.

Often a child was named depending on some noticeable trait of his character (Fun, Cry, Istoma, Molchan, Neulyba, Smeyan, Nesmeyana) or the attitude towards him in the family (Golub, Lyubim, Nezhdan, Chayan, Milava, Pospel, Khoten).
Names sanctified

With the emergence of Christianity, the situation began to change, but not immediately. Until about the 3rd century, all those who received baptism left the names that their pagan parents called them. Many names, even such as Faith, Hope, Love, are pagan names: Roman, Greek or Jewish.

Names could indicate virtues, some kind of occupation, character traits, and much, much more. For example, the name Roman, Victor (in Latin the winner) on the virtue of valor. Parents wanted their child to resemble ancient heroes, gods, they wanted to attract the blessing of unknown higher powers through the name - it came from the name of the city of Rome; Name
However, with the spread of Christianity, other principles of naming are born. Already in the III century, it becomes customary to give the child the name of an ascetic of the Christian faith. This saint, Christians thought, would become a friend to our son or daughter, would pray for him in heaven, before the throne of the Heavenly Father.

To receive your name, moreover, the name sanctified, which the ascetic of the Church had before you, means to enter into a mysterious connection with Christ - the Absolute Personality, and with the personality of the former ascetic of the Christian faith.

The contemporary theologian Father Alexander Schmemann writes:

“Human nature does not exist outside of personalities, each of which is truly the only and completely personal type of embodiment and realization of this nature. Therefore, the rite of naming is the recognition by the Church of the uniqueness of this particular child, that he has the divine gift of “personality.” The name of a person, distinguishing him from all other people, identifies his personality and affirms his uniqueness. The incarnated Son of God has a human name, because He is a perfect personality, and not a man in general, an abstract and impersonal bearer of an abstract human nature.
People who lead an authentic Christian life often say that they feel a connection with the person whose name they bear, with their patron saint in heaven.
The day on which the church celebrates the memory of our saint is called the name day, or the day of the Angel.

Saint John Chrysostom persistently taught the parishioners:

“Christians should try in every possible way to give children such names that would not only arouse those who receive these names to virtue, but also serve as an instruction in all wisdom for all others and for subsequent generations.”
Most often, Christians called their children the names of the Apostles of Christ, so that in the 5th century, as today, there were most of all Johns, Peters, Pauls.

How to give a name to an Orthodox child

Now it is customary to give the child the name of a glorified saint, and a saint of the Orthodox Church. However, if parents persistently want to name the baby some extravagant name or a non-Orthodox name, this is possible. In this case, according to the passport, the person will have the name Olesya, Alena, Ruslan, Sanchez, etc., but at Baptism he will be given the name of a saint.
Some saints have two names - the name they had before Baptism, and the Christian name. Kyiv prince Vladimir in Baptism received the name of Vasily, Olga - Elena. In honor of these saints, either of their two names can be given.

Today, children are called by the name of their beloved grandmother or grandfather, by the name of a book hero, or simply by the sonorous and nice name. There is nothing wrong with this, but we can also recall another, ancient tradition: the baby was given the name of the saint whose memory fell on the day the name was given (the 8th day after birth).

I will repeat once again what some priests sometimes do not know: if we want to name the child according to the church, or, as they say, according to the calendar, then this will be the name of the saint, whose memory is celebrated on the 8th day after the birth of the child .
You can give a name, as is common today, in honor of the saint on whose memory the baby was born. They say: “My girl was born on the day of St. Xenia of Petersburg. How can I call her otherwise? There is some logic in these words, but this is a modern practice, not a church tradition.
Since ancient times, it has been established that those who are baptized cannot take the Names of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Most Pure Mother - Mary. You can take the name Jesus in honor of the Old Testament saint Joshua, and the name Mary - in honor of the saints Mary, of which there are many.

When choosing a name for your child, you should remember that this name is for life, so you should not try to stand out by naming the baby. Names such as Aristocles or Anempodist are certainly beautiful and original, but aren’t they obliging too much? See that the name is even and easy to pronounce, does not cause funny or ambiguous associations (the author is aware of such an anecdotal, but, unfortunately, real example, when parents who bore the surname "Durakovy" gave their daughter a name.).

At the same time, we note that in recent decades the choice of a name for children was limited to a dozen or two names. Among them - necessarily: Natalia, Tatyana, Maria, Ekaterina, Elena and so on. (You can even identify a certain fashion for names).

Parents forget that there are a lot of interesting and wonderful names that are almost never used today. And these names are no less harmonious or interesting than those popular today, and their bearers-saints in their Christian feat are not at all less famous than those whose names are well known.

To show how, unfortunately, we know little about our names, we will give examples of male and female names that are rarely or not encountered at all in practice. From an extensive list, I chose only a small part of the euphonious and ancient names and indicated that this name means in the language of the people in whose midst it appeared.

Every Orthodox Christian bears the name of a saint who becomes his heavenly patron and intercessor. This Orthodox calendar lists the most common names of saints glorified by the Church, and indicates the days of their remembrance according to the new style.

If a person was baptized in childhood and grew up in an Orthodox environment, then from childhood he knows in honor of which saint he was named. But it also happens that people who were baptized in childhood have lived their conscious lives outside the Church and do not even know what saint they are named after. In addition, saints with the same name are found in the church calendar (saints, menologion) more than once. So, there are about thirty saints with the name Alexander, more than eighty with the name John; in addition, one saint may have several days of remembrance.

The following practice has developed in the Church: if in the Orthodox calendar there are several days of commemoration of saints who are named with you (named namesake, with the same name), then from these days your Angel's day will be the day that coincides with your birthday or the closest after your day birth ahead of the calendar.

The saint, whose memory is celebrated on this day, will be your heavenly patron.
If your saint has several days of remembrance during the year, then the day after your birthday is the day of your name day, while the rest of the days of his memory are called small name days.

The words of St. Theophan the Recluse can be fully attributed to our time: “We began to choose names not according to God.” The saint explains: “In God’s way, this is how it should be. Choose a name according to the holy calendar: either on what day the child will be born, or on what day it is baptized, or at intervals, or on three days after baptism. Here the matter will be without any human considerations, but as God wills: for birthdays are in the hands of God.

Giving the parents of a child and setting the day of his birth, the Lord already points to his name. We can determine God's will according to the Orthodox calendar - the month-book, which includes the names of saints glorified by the Church.

The fact that a child is given a name at Baptism is known to everyone. Moreover, this is done not at the choice or desire of the parents, but in honor of some saint, usually one or the other, whose memory (which) is celebrated on this day by the Church. The name is chosen in accordance with the so-called saints - church calendar, which indicates the memory of which saint the day is dedicated to.

The church name book is full of deep meaning, which, however, was known to everyone in Rus' - from a simple peasant to a monarch. Each day is dedicated to the memory of certain saints, a holiday or a miraculous icon. And it is not a name that is given, as an external sign, to a person, but a person is “given” a name, is ranked, as it were, in the “team” of this or that martyr or ascetic. It is important on what day, under whose name you were born and you were baptized: Baptism, the baptismal name determines fate and character.

It should be borne in mind that Jewish, Greek, Roman names got into the Orthodox calendar, which in these languages ​​\u200b\u200bmay have a positive meaning, but are dissonant for the Russian ear or cause unpleasant associations.

Christian names appeared in Rus' even before the adoption of Christianity - they were brought by the Vikings. With the adoption of Christianity from Byzantium, Bulgaria, the countries of the West and the Middle East, new calendar names came to Rus' (Anisim, Fedor, Anna, Maria, Elizabeth). At Baptism, a person was given a second, calendar, name, which could have ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic, ancient Persian or ancient Egyptian roots.

For a Russian person, a foreign name was incomprehensible and they used it only in documents, they did not use it in everyday life.
Names in the calendar are often repeated, since the most popular of them (for example, Alexander, Andrei, Vladimir, Vasily) were widely used to name people, and many rarely used were excluded from the lists.

It is important on what day the child was born and under whose name he was baptized: it is Baptism, the baptismal name that determines fate and character. Therefore, you should choose the right name for the child at Baptism. The child must receive the protection of a guardian angel.

The saint named after the child is said to be the "patron" of his namesake. Therefore, the believer does not celebrate his birthday, but the day of the Angel, that is, the day of the saint, after whom he is named. "Name days" are in no way connected with the birthday, as some believe, this is the day of Epiphany.

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Most often, the day of memory of a saint is the day of his earthly death, i.e. the transition to eternity, meeting with God, to commune with Whom the ascetic aspired.

How to determine the name day

In the church calendar, there are several days of commemoration of the same saint, and many saints also bear the same name. Therefore, it is necessary to find in the church calendar the day of memory of the saint named with you, the closest after the day of your birth. These will be your name days, and the saint whose memory is remembered on this day will be your heavenly patron. If he has other days of memory, then for you these dates will become “small name days”.

If we want to name the child strictly according to church tradition, then this will be the name of a saint whose memory is celebrated on the 8th day after the birth of the child. Cm.

When determining the name day, the date of the canonization of the saint does not matter, because it only fixes a fait accompli. In addition, as a rule, it takes place dozens of years after the transition of the saint to heavenly abodes.

The name received by a person at baptism not only remains unchanged throughout his life (the only exception is the case of becoming a monk), but is also preserved after death, passes with him into eternity. In prayers for the dead, he also remembers their names given in baptism.

Name day and Angel Day

Sometimes name days are called Angel Day. This name name recalls that in the old days, heavenly patrons were sometimes called the Angels of their earthly namesakes; it is incorrect, however, to confuse saints with angels. Name day is the day of remembrance of the saint whose name the person is named, and Angel Day is the day of baptism, when a person is assigned by God. Each baptized has his own Guardian Angel, but we do not know his name.

Honoring and emulating one's patron saint

About the prayerful help of the saints, the monk wrote: “Saints, in the Holy Spirit they see our life and our deeds. They know our sorrows and hear our ardent prayers... The Saints do not forget us and pray for us... They also see the suffering of people on earth. The Lord gave them such great grace that they embrace the whole world with love. They see and know how we are exhausted from sorrows, how our souls have dried up, how despondency has bound them, and, without ceasing, they intercede for us before God.

The veneration of the saint consists not only in praying to him, but also in imitation of his feat, his faith. “Let your life be by your name,” said the monk. After all, the saint whose name a person bears is not just his patron and prayer book, he is also a role model.

But how can we imitate our saint, how can we at least follow his example in some way? For this you need:

• First, to know about his life and exploits. Without this, we cannot sincerely love our saint.
• Secondly, you need to turn to them with prayer more often, know the troparion to him and always remember that we have a protector and helper in heaven.
• Thirdly, of course, we should always think about how we could follow the example of our saint in this or that case.

By the nature of Christian exploits, saints are traditionally divided into faces (ranks): prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, reverend, righteous, holy fools, faithful, etc. (see).
The person who bears the name confessor or martyr, it is quite possible to fearlessly confess their faith, to act like a Christian always and in everything, without looking back at dangers or inconveniences, in everything to please, first of all, God, and not people, regardless of ridicule, threats and even oppression.
Those who are named after saints may try to imitate them, denouncing errors and vices, spreading the light of Orthodoxy, helping their neighbors find the way to salvation both by word and by their own example.
Reverend(i.e. monks) can be imitated in detachment, independence from worldly pleasures, keeping the purity of thoughts, feelings and actions.
Imitate holy fool- means, first of all, to humble yourself, to cultivate selflessness in yourself, not to be carried away by the acquisition of earthly riches. The continuation should be the education of will and patience, the ability to endure the difficulties of life, the struggle with pride and vanity. You also need the habit of meekly enduring all insults, but at the same time not being shy about exposing obvious vices, telling the truth to everyone who needs admonition.

Names after angels

Also, a person can be named after (Michael, Gabriel, etc.). People named after the archangels celebrate their name day on November 21 (November 8 according to the old style), on the day of the Celebration of the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael of God and other incorporeal Heavenly Powers.

If the name is not in the calendar

If the name that you were called is not in the calendar, then at baptism the name that is closest in sound is chosen. For example, Dina - Evdokia, Lilia - Leah, Angelica - Angelina, Jeanne - John, Milan - Militsa. According to tradition, Alice receives the name Alexandra in baptism, in honor of St. Passion-bearer Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, before the adoption of Orthodoxy, bore the name Alice. Some names in the church tradition have a different sound, for example, Svetlana is Photinia (from the Greek photos - light), and Victoria is Nika, both names in Latin and Greek mean "victory".
Only the names given in baptism are written in.

How to celebrate name day

Orthodox Christians visit the temple on their name days and, having prepared in advance, the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The days of "small name days" are not so solemn for the birthday man, but it is advisable to visit the temple on this day.
After communion, you need to keep yourself from all fuss, so as not to lose the festive joy. In the evening, you can invite loved ones to a meal. It should be remembered that if the name day falls on a fast day, then the festive treat should be fast. IN great post name days that occur on a weekday are transferred to the next Saturday or Sunday.
Cm. Natalya Sukhinina

What to give for a birthday

In celebration of the memory of the patron saint, the best gift would be something that contributes to his spiritual growth: an icon, a vessel for, beautiful candles for prayer, books, audio and video discs of spiritual content.

Prayer to your saint

About the saint, in whose honor we receive a name, we must remember not only on the name day. In the daily morning and evening there is a prayer to the saint, we can also turn to him at any time and in any need. The simplest prayer to the saint:
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
You also need to know your saint.

In addition to the icons of the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Virgin, it is desirable to have your own saint. It may happen that you are wearing some rare name, and the icon of his heavenly patron will be difficult to find. In this case, you can buy an icon of All Saints, which symbolically depicts all the saints glorified by the Orthodox Church.
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Patristic sayings about birthdays

“We began to choose names not according to God. By God, this is how it should be. Choose a name according to the holy calendar: either on what day the child will be born, or on which it is baptized, or in the interval and three days after baptism. Here the matter will be without any human considerations, but as God wills, for birthdays are in the hands of God.
saint

The history and symbolism of the celebration of name days

Like many other religious traditions, the celebration of name days in Soviet times was forgotten, moreover, in the 20-30s of the twentieth century it was subjected to official persecution. True, it turned out to be difficult to eradicate age-old folk habits: they still congratulate the birthday man on his birthday, and if the hero of the occasion is very young, they sing a song: “as on ... name day we baked a loaf”. Meanwhile, name day is a special holiday that could be called a day of spiritual birth, since it is associated primarily with the sacrament of Baptism and with the names that our heavenly patrons of the same name bear.

The tradition of celebrating name days has been known in Rus' since the 17th century. Usually, on the eve of the holiday, the family of the birthday boy brewed beer, baked birthday cakes, pies and loaves. On the day of the holiday itself, the birthday man with his family went to church for mass, ordered a prayer service for health, put candles and kissed the icon with the face of his heavenly patron. In the afternoon, birthday cakes were distributed to friends and relatives, and often the filling and size of the cake had a special meaning, determined by the nature of the relationship between the birthday man and his relatives. In the evening there was a festive dinner.

The tsar's name-days (Tezoname Day), which were considered a public holiday, were celebrated especially splendidly. On this day, the boyars and courtiers came to the royal court in order to bring gifts and take part in a festive feast, at which they sang for many years. Sometimes the king personally handed out pies. Huge birthday cakes were distributed to the people. Later, other traditions appeared: military parades, fireworks, illuminations, shields with imperial monograms.

After the revolution, a serious and systematic ideological struggle began with name days: the rite of baptism was recognized as counter-revolutionary, and they tried to replace it with “Oktyabrins” and “Stars”. A ritual was developed in detail, in which the newborn was congratulated in strict sequence by the Octobrist, the pioneer, the Komsomol member, the communist, “honorary parents”, sometimes the baby was symbolically enrolled in the trade union, and so on. The fight against "survivals" reached ridiculous extremes: for example, in the 1920s, censorship banned K. Chukovsky's "Fly-Tsokotukha" for "propaganda of name days."

Traditionally, name days are attributed to that day of memory of the named (named) saint, which follows immediately after the birthday, although there is also a tradition of celebrating name days on the day of memory of the most famous saint of the same name, for example, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Apostle Peter, St. Alexander Nevsky, etc. e. In the past, name days were considered a more important holiday than the day of “corporal” birth, in addition, in many cases these holidays practically coincided, because traditionally the child was baptized on the eighth day after birth: the eighth day is a symbol Heavenly Kingdom, to which the baptized person joins, while the number seven is an ancient symbolic number denoting the created earthly world. Baptismal names were chosen according to the church calendar (saints). According to the old custom, the choice of name was limited to the names of saints whose memory was celebrated on the day of baptism. Later (especially in urban society) they abandoned this strict custom and began to choose names, guided by personal taste and other considerations - in honor of relatives, for example.
Name days turn us to one of our incarnations - to a personal name.

Perhaps to the ancient motto "Know thyself" one should add: "Know thy name." Of course, the name primarily serves to distinguish people. In the past, a name could be a social sign, indicating a place in society - now, perhaps, only monastic (monastic) names stand out sharply from the Russian nomenclature. But there is also a mystical meaning of the name, almost forgotten now.
In ancient times, people attached much more importance to the name than now. The name was considered a significant part of a person. The content of the name correlated with the inner meaning of the person, it was, as it were, put inside him. The name controlled fate (" good name — good sign"). A well-chosen name became a source of strength and prosperity. The naming was considered a high act of creation, guessing the human essence, invoking grace.
In primitive society, the name was treated as a part of the body, like eyes, teeth, etc. The unity of the soul and the name seemed undoubted, moreover, it was sometimes believed that as many names as there are so many souls, therefore, in some tribes, before to kill the enemy, it was supposed to find out his name in order to use it in his native tribe. Often the names were hidden in order not to give weapons to the enemy. Harm and trouble were expected from bad treatment with a name. In some tribes it was strictly forbidden to pronounce (taboos) the name of the leader. In others, it was customary to assign new names to the elders, giving them new strength. It was believed that the sick child was given strength by the name of the father, who was shouted into the ear or even called him by the name of the father (mother), believing that part of the vital energy of the parents would help overcome the disease. If the child cried especially much, then the name was chosen incorrectly. Different nationalities have long preserved the tradition of naming "deceptive", false names: true name was not uttered in the hope that death and evil spirits maybe they won't find the baby. There was another version of protective names - unattractive, ugly, frightening names (for example, Nekras, Nelyuba and even Dead), which averted adversity and misfortune.

IN Ancient Egypt personal name was carefully guarded. The Egyptians had a "small" name, known to all, and a "big" one, which was considered true: it was kept secret and was pronounced only during important ceremonies. The names of the pharaohs enjoyed special reverence - in the texts they were distinguished by a special cartouche. With great respect, the Egyptians treated the names of the dead - improper handling of them caused irreparable harm to otherworldly existence. The name and its bearer were one whole: the Egyptian myth is characteristic, according to which the god Ra hid his name, but the goddess Isis managed to find out by opening his chest - the name literally turned out to be inside the body!

From time immemorial, the change of the name corresponded to the change of the human essence. New names were given to teenagers at initiation, i.e., upon joining adult members of the community. In China, there are still children's "milk" names, which are abandoned with maturity. IN ancient Greece the newly minted priests, renouncing the old names, carved them on metal plates and drowned them in the sea. Echoes of these ideas can be seen in the Christian tradition of naming monastic names, when a person who has taken tonsure leaves the world and his worldly name.

Many peoples taboo names pagan gods and spirits. It was especially dangerous to call evil spirits (“cursing”): in this way it was possible to call out “evil force”. The ancient Jews did not dare to call the Name of God: Yahweh (in the Old Testament it is the “ineffable Name”, the sacred tetragram, which can be translated as “I am who I am.” According to the Bible, the act of naming often becomes God’s work: the Lord gave names to Abraham, Sarah , Isaac, Ishmael, Solomon, renamed Jacob to Israel.The special religious gift of the Jewish people manifested itself in a variety of names that are called theophoric - they contain God's "indescribable Name": this is how a person contacted God through his personal name.

Christianity, as the highest religious experience of mankind, takes personal names with all seriousness. The name of a person reflects the sacrament of a unique, precious personality, it implies personal communication with God. At the sacrament of Baptism Christian church, accepting a new soul into its bosom, connects it through a personal name with the name of God. As he wrote about Sergei Bulgakov, “human naming and name-incarnation exists in the image and likeness of the divine incarnation and naming… every person is an incarnate word, a realized name, for the Lord himself is the incarnate Name and Word.”

The purpose of Christians is holiness. Naming the baby with the name of a canonized saint, the Church tries to direct him on the true path: after all, this name has already “realized” in life as a saint. The bearer of the holy name always keeps in himself the exalting image of his heavenly patron, "helper", "prayer book". On the other hand, the community of names unites Christians into one body of the Church, into one "chosen people."

Reverence for the names of the Savior and the Mother of God has long been expressed in the fact that in Orthodox tradition it is not customary to give names in memory of the Virgin and Christ. Previously, the name of the Mother of God was distinguished even by a different accent - Mary, while other holy women had the name Maria (Marya). The rare monastic (schema) name Jesus was assigned in memory not of Jesus Christ, but of the righteous Joshua.

The Russian Christian name book has evolved over the centuries. The first extensive layer of Russian names arose in the pre-Christian era. The reasons for the emergence of a particular name could be very different: in addition to religious motives, the circumstances of birth, appearance, character, etc. played a role. Later, after the Baptism of Rus', these names, sometimes difficult to distinguish from nicknames, coexisted with Christian calendar names ( up to the 17th century). Even priests sometimes had nicknames. It happened that one person could have as many as three personal names: a “nickname” name and two baptismal names (one is explicit, the other is hidden, known only to the confessor). When the Christian name book completely supplanted the pre-Christian "nickname" names, they did not leave us for good, moving into another class of names - in surnames (for example, Nekrasov, Zhdanov, Naydenov). Some pre-Christian names of canonized Russian saints subsequently became calendar ones (eg Yaroslav, Vyacheslav, Vladimir).
With the adoption of Christianity, Rus' was enriched with the names of all human civilization: with the Byzantine calendar, Greek, Jewish, Roman and other names came to us. Sometimes under the Christian name, images of more ancient religions and cultures were hidden. Over time, these names became Russified, so much so that the Hebrew names themselves became Russian - Ivan and Marya. At the same time, one should keep in mind the lofty thought of Fr. Pavel Florensky: "There are no Jewish, Greek, Latin, or Russian names - there are only universal names, the common property of mankind."

The post-revolutionary history of Russian names evolved dramatically: a mass campaign of "de-Christianization" of the name-word was carried out. The revolutionary obscurantism of some sections of society, combined with a tough state policy, was aimed at reorganizing, and therefore at renaming the world. Along with the renaming of the country, its cities and streets, people were renamed. “Red calendars” were compiled, new, “revolutionary” names were invented, many of which now sound just like curiosities (for example, Malentro, i.e. Marx, Lenin, Trotsky; Dazdraperma, i.e. Long live May Day, etc. .). The process of revolutionary name-creation, characteristic of ideological revolutions in general (it was known in France at the end of the 18th century, and in republican Spain, and in the countries of the former "socialist camp"), continued in Soviet Russia not for long, about a decade (20-30s). Soon these names became the property of history - here it is appropriate to recall another thought about. Pavel Florensky: “you can’t think of names”, in the sense that they are “the most stable fact of culture and the most important of its foundations”.

The change in the Russian personal name also followed the line of borrowing from other cultures - Western European (for example, Albert, Victoria, Zhanna) and common Slavic Christian names (for example, Stanislav, Bronislava), names from Greek and Roman mythology and history (for example, Aurelius, Aphrodite , Venus), etc. Over time, Russian society again returned to calendar names, but "de-Christianization" and a break in tradition led to an extraordinary impoverishment of the modern name-book, which now consists of only a few dozen names (it also played its role common property « mass cultures"- the desire for averaging, standardization).

Hieromonk Macarius (Markish):
From ancient times it has been customary to give a newly received member of the Church the name of a saint. This creates a special new connection between earth and Heaven, between a person living in this world and one of those who worthily passed his life path whose holiness the Church has witnessed and glorified with her conciliar mind. Therefore, every Orthodox must keep in mind the saint after whom he is named, know the basic facts of his life, and, if possible, remember at least some elements of the divine service in his honor.
But the same name, especially from the common ones (Peter, Nikolai, Maria, Elena), was worn by many saints of different times and peoples; therefore, we have to find out in honor of which saint, who bore this name, the baby will be named. This can be done using the detailed church calendar, which contains an alphabetical list of saints revered by our Church with the dates of the celebration of their memory. The choice is made taking into account the date of birth or baptism of the child, the circumstances of the feat of life of the saints, family traditions, and your personal sympathies.
In addition, many well-known saints have several days of remembrance during the year: it can be the day of death, the day of finding or transferring relics, the day of glorification - canonization. You have to choose which of these days will become a holiday (name day, name day) of your child. It is often referred to as Angel Day. Indeed, we ask the Lord to give the newly baptized his Guardian Angel; but this Angel must by no means be confused with the saint after whom the child is named.
Sometimes when giving a name there are some difficulties. There are many Orthodox saints known in history, but not included in our calendars. Among them are the saints of Western Europe, who lived and were glorified even before the fall of Rome from Orthodoxy (until 1054 the Church of Rome was not separated from Orthodoxy, and we also recognize the saints venerated in it by that time as saints), whose names we acquired from us popularity in recent decades (Victoria, Edward, etc.), but are sometimes listed as "non-Orthodox". There are also reverse situations when the usual Slavic name does not belong to any of the Orthodox saints (for example, Stanislav). Finally, there are often formal misunderstandings associated with the spelling of the name (Elena - Alena, Xenia - Oksana, John - Ivan) or its sound in different languages ​​(in Slavonic - Svetlana and Zlata, in Greek - Photinia and Chris).
If necessary, the child can be given a baptismal name that is different from the one recorded on the birth certificate, choosing it, for example, by consonance (Stanislav - Stakhiy, Karolina - Kaleria, Elina - Elena). There is nothing flawed in this: among the Serbs, for example, almost everyone has one name in everyday life and another in baptism. Note that in the Russian Church, unlike some other Orthodox Churches, the beloved name Mary is never given in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos, but only in honor of other saints who bore this name. You should also know that since 2000, our Church has been counting as saints many of our countrymen and fellow citizens - the new martyrs and confessors of the 20th century - and calls on believers to name their children in their honor and memory.