When considering names in the Russian cultural tradition, we can identify a historically established group of names that are closely associated with Russian religion and culture. This group of names is usually called church, Orthodox or canonical names. Most of these names are included in the church calendar, which, in addition to the names, mentions the dates of memory of the saints who glorified each name. Some church names are of Greek origin, and there are also Hebrew, Latin and Slavic names.

In past centuries, church names included only those names that children were called at baptism, and those that monks took upon tonsure. Over time, the group of church names replaced the group of non-canonical names from frequent use. Orthodox names have become very popular when parents choose personal names for children. Gradually, church names that came into wide use began to acquire a pronunciation that was more convenient for Russian people.

In modern Russia, church names have not lost their popularity. Often a name from the list of canonical names is given to their children by people who are very far from religion, which suggests that church names have taken root very well in the Russian language, becoming part of the culture of the Russian people. It is not uncommon for a civil name and a church name to differ. For example, Yuri's church name may be Georgiy. A name that differs from the civil name is given to a person at baptism in the case when his name is not in the calendar.

At baptism for everyone Orthodox person The name is given in honor of one of the Orthodox saints. However, there is a whole list of traditional Russian names that correspond to saints with a different version of the same name. For example, the name Yuri, familiar to us, is a Slavicized version of the name George. Historically, the two names have been distinguished in secular tradition. A number of names, similar to the names Victoria or Svetlana, have a corresponding meaning in the calendar. So Victoria is translated as “victory” in Latin, and in Greek this word sounds like Nike. Therefore, the name Victoria corresponds to the church name Nika. There is a similar situation with the name Svetlana, a Slavic name derived from the word “light”. It corresponds to the church name Photinia, meaning “light” in Greek.

Today, most people lead a lifestyle that is far from the church. More and more names of non-Orthodox origin are appearing. For example, Eduard or Stanislav. In addition, in everyday life there are a number of names invented in the 30s of the last century, such as Oktyabrina or Vilor. And in last years More and more often, children are named after the characters of their favorite films and TV series.

In the case when a person bearing a name that is not in the calendar begins to be baptized, the priest needs to choose a suitable Orthodox name for him. Usually a church name is selected that is similar in sound or meaning. It is customary to call oneself by one’s church name during confession or communion. It is also the church name that must be indicated in notes about Health or Repose.

Augusta– With sacred, majestic (lat.)

Avdotya– see Evdokia

Agapia, Agapea- Love

Agathia (Agafa, Agafya)– good, kind (Greek)

Agathoclia– good-favored (Greek)

Agathonics, Agafonicia

Aglaida, Aglaya– beautiful, bright (Greek)

Agnia (Agna, Agneya)– fiery, immaculate (lat.)

Agrippina, Agrafena– sorrowful (lat.)

Aza– strong, strong (Hebrew)

Akilina, Akulina– eagle (lat.)

Aksinya– see Ksenia

Alevtina, Aleftina– healthy (Greek)

Alexandra– protector of people (Greek)

Alyona– see Elena

Alla– second, other, next (Greek)

Amenonia– best (Greek)

Amma

Ananias– marked by the mercy of God (Hebrew)

Anastasia, Nastasya– reborn, resurrected (Greek)

Anatolia– eastern (Greek)

Angelina- messenger (Greek)

Andropelagia

Animaisa (Animaida)– inspired (lat.)

Anisiya, Anisya, Anisa, Onisya– success, accomplishment (Greek)

Anna– grace of God (Heb.)

Antonia

Antonina, Antonida– acquisition in return, entering into battle (Greek)

Anfisa (Anfusa, Anfisa)– blooming (Greek)

Anthia– flower (Greek)

Apollinaria, Polina, Pollinaria- destroying by war (Greek)

Apraxia– see Eupraxia.

Apphia– kindling (Greek)

Argyra– silver (Greek)

Ariadne– worthy of respect, faithful wife (Greek)

Arina– see Irina

Artemia– healthy (Greek)

Archelaus– leader of people (Greek)

Ascitrea– ascetic (Greek)

Askliad– dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek deity of healing (Greek)

Asklipiodota (Asklipiad)– dedicated to Asclepius (Greek)

Asthea– magical (Greek)

Afanasia, Afonasia– immortal (Greek)

Aphra– African (lat.)

Bible (Vivliya)– biblical (Greek)

Blandina, Blanda– affectionate (lat.)

Valentina– healthy, strong (lat.)

Valeria– healthy, hardy (lat.)

Varvara– savage (Greek)

Varsima

Vasilisa, Vasilisa, Vasilina– queen, royal, royal (Greek)

Vassa– desert (Greek)

Waufa– faithful (Arabic)

Vevea (Vivea, Fivea)– faithful, firm (Greek)

Faith– faith (Russian)

Veronica– bringing victory (Greek)

Vivlia– see Bible

Quiz– winner (lat.)

Victoria– victory (lat.)

21 – martyr Victoria of Kuluz.

Virinea– green, blooming, young, fresh (lat.)

Vriena- see Virinea.

Our A new book"Name Energy"

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our address Email: [email protected]

Orthodox names. Orthodox female names for letters: A, B, C

Attention!

Sites and blogs have appeared on the Internet that are not our official sites, but use our name. Be careful. Fraudsters use our name, our email addresses for their mailings, information from our books and our websites. Using our name, they lure people to various magical forums and deceive (they give advice and recommendations that can harm, or lure money for conducting magical rituals, making amulets and teaching magic).

On our websites we do not provide links to magic forums or websites of magic healers. We do not participate in any forums. We do not give consultations over the phone, we do not have time for this.

Note! We do not engage in healing or magic, we do not make or sell talismans and amulets. We do not engage in magical and healing practices at all, we have not offered and do not offer such services.

The only direction of our work is correspondence consultations in written form, training through an esoteric club and writing books.

Sometimes people write to us that they saw information on some websites that we allegedly deceived someone - they took money for healing sessions or making amulets. We officially declare that this is slander and not true. In our entire life, we have never deceived anyone. On the pages of our website and in the club materials, we always write that you need to be an honest, decent person. For us, an honest name is not an empty phrase.

People who write slander about us are guided by the basest motives - envy, greed, they have black souls. The times have come when slander pays well. Now many people are ready to sell their homeland for three kopecks, and it is even easier to slander decent people. People who write slander do not understand that they are seriously worsening their karma, worsening their fate and the fate of their loved ones. It is pointless to talk with such people about conscience and faith in God. They do not believe in God, because a believer will never make a deal with his conscience, will never engage in deception, slander, or fraud.

There are a lot of scammers, pseudo-magicians, charlatans, envious people, people without conscience and honor who are hungry for money. The police and other regulatory authorities are not yet able to cope with the growing influx of “Cheating for profit” madness.

Therefore, please be careful!

Sincerely – Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our official sites are:

Does a name affect a person's life? This is a question many parents ask themselves when naming their baby. If you give him the name of a martyr, he will suffer all his life; if you give him the name of a monk, God forbid, he will become a monk. Maybe give the name of a 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 - this is easy to see by opening the calendar - were borne simultaneously by kings, monks, and martyrs.

Here's an example: John.
The name is Hebrew, which translated means Grace of God.
There are 188 Saint Johns in the modern church calendar.
Here are the Apostle of Christ John the Theologian, and the poet-hymn-writer and theologian John of Damascus.
And one of the founding fathers of the harsh monastic feat, John Climacus, abbot of the monastery on Mount Sinai.
John Vlasaty - a holy fool for Christ's sake, who labored in Rostov.
John of Damascus is a hermit who left the city and shut himself up in a cave.
John of Kronstadt is a great Russian pastor and public figure.
John of Palestine is an outstanding faster.
John of Constantinople - Patriarch and outstanding personality of its time.
John the Baptist, the first of the martyrs, and behind him many more martyrs of John, who suffered both in ancient times and in modern Soviet times.
We see the same thing with other famous names.
The conclusion is obvious: the name of the saint in no way affects the fate of the child.

What was the name of a child in pre-Christian times?

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

It’s the same with a person: initially, the name given to a child at birth signified his fate or future occupation. This is easy to see by remembering the names of the ancient Old Testament heroes: Jacob means taking the place of another; Naval is a madman and so on. Sometimes the name indicated the peculiarity of birth: Moses - taken out of the water, sometimes - the destiny of man: Isaiah - may God save. The name was considered to be an imprint of a person’s personality!
IN Ancient Rus' the child was given a popular 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, Pervaya, Pervak, Vtorak, Chetvertunya; from the color of his hair and skin - Chernysh, Chernyai, Belyai, Belukha. Names were also invented based on other external characteristics - height, body features - Sukhoi, Tolstoy, Dolgoy, Mal, Malysh, Malaya, Malyuta, Hare, Bespaloy, Golovach, etc.

Often, a child was named depending on some noticeable trait of his character (Zabava, Krik, Istoma, Molchan, Neublya, Smeyana, Nesmeyana) or the attitude towards him in the family (Goluba, Lyubim, Nezhdan, Chayan, Milava, Pospel, Khoten).
Names consecrated

With the emergence of Christianity, the situation began to change, but not immediately. Until about the 3rd century, all those receiving Baptism left the names with which their pagan parents gave 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, winner) for the virtue of valor. The parents wanted their child to be like ancient heroes, gods, they wanted to attract the blessing of unknown higher powers to the child 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 3rd century it became customary to give a child the name of an ascetic Christian faith. This saint, Christians thought, would become a friend to our son or daughter, and would pray for him in heaven, before the throne of the Heavenly Father.

To receive your name, and the consecrated name that was borne by an ascetic of the Church before you, means to enter into a mysterious connection both with Christ - the Absolute Person, and with the personality of a previously living ascetic of the Christian faith.

Modern theologian Father Alexander Schmemann writes:

“Human nature does not exist outside of individuals, each of which represents a truly unique 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, the presence of the divine gift of “personality”. A person’s name, distinguishing him from all other people, identifies his personality and affirms his uniqueness. The incarnate Son of God has a human name, because He is a perfect person, and not a man in general, an abstract and impersonal bearer of abstract human nature.”
People who lead a genuine Christian life often say that they feel a connection with the person whose name they bear, with their heavenly patron saint.
The day on which the memory of our saint is celebrated in the church is called name day, or Angel's Day.

Saint John Chrysostom persistently taught the parishioners:

“Christians should try in every possible way to give children 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 named their children after the Apostles of Christ, so that in the 5th century, as today, most of them were Ioannov, Petrov, and Pavlov.

How to correctly name an Orthodox child

Nowadays it is customary to give a 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 the saint.
Some saints have two names - the name they had before Baptism, and the Christian name. The Kiev prince Vladimir received the name Vasily in Epiphany, Olga - Helen. In honor of these saints, either of their two names can be given.

Today, children are named after their beloved grandmother or grandfather, the name of a book character, or simply something they like that is sonorous and beautiful name. There is nothing wrong with this, but you can remember another one, ancient tradition: the baby was given the name of the saint whose memory fell on the day the name was given (8th day after birth).

I will repeat once again what some priests sometimes don’t know: if we want to name a child according to the church, or, as they say, according to the calendar, then it will be the name of a saint, whose memory is celebrated on the 8th day after the child’s birth .
You can give a name, as is common today, in honor of the saint on whose memorial day the baby was born. They say: “my girl was born on the day of St. Xenia of St. Petersburg. Can I call her anything else? There is some logic in these words, but this is a modern practice, and not a church tradition.
Since ancient times, it has been established that those who are baptized cannot accept 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 Saint Marys, 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 when naming the baby. Names such as Aristoclius or Anempodistus are certainly beautiful and original, but don’t they oblige too much? Make sure that the name is pronounced evenly and easily, and does not cause funny or ambiguous associations (the author knows of such an anecdotal, but, unfortunately, real an example when parents who bore the surname “Durakovs” gave their daughter a name.).

At the same time, we note that in recent decades the choice of names for children has been limited to a dozen or so names. Among them - necessarily: Natalya, Tatiana, Maria, Ekaterina, Elena, etc. (you can even identify a certain fashion in 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 euphonious or interesting than those popular today, and their bearers, the saints, in their Christian deeds are no 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 found at all in practice. From an extensive list, I selected only a small part of the euphonious and ancient names and indicated what 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 memory 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 lived their conscious lives outside the Church and do not even know what saint they were named after. In addition, saints with the same name appear in the church calendar (calendars, monthly calendar) more than once. Thus, there are about thirty saints with the name Alexander, and 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 remembrance of saints with the same name as you (namesake - same name, with the same name), then of these days your Angel Day will be the day coinciding with your birthday or the closest after your day births ahead according to the calendar.

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

The words of St. Theophan the Recluse can be fully applied 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 calendar: either on what day the child will be born, or on what day he will be baptized, or in between, or 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.”

By giving a child to the parents and setting the day of his birth, the Lord already indicates his name. Determine God's will we can according to the Orthodox calendar - a monthly calendar, which includes the names of saints glorified by the Church.

Everyone knows that a child is given a name at Baptism. Moreover, this is done not by 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 calendar- the 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 miraculous icon. And it is not a name that is given to a person as an external sign, but the person is “given” a name, is included, as it were, in the “squad” 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 taken into account that in Orthodox calendar included Hebrew, Greek, and Roman names, which in these languages ​​may have a positive meaning, but for the Russian ear they are dissonant or cause unpleasant associations.

Christian names appeared in Rus' even before the adoption of Christianity - they were brought by the Varangians. With the adoption of Christianity, new calendar names came to Rus' from Byzantium, Bulgaria, the countries of the West and the Middle East (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 was used only in documents; it was not used in everyday life.
Names in the calendar are often repeated, since the most popular of them (for example, Alexander, Andrey, Vladimir, Vasily) were widely used to name people, and many rarely used ones 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 your child at Baptism. The child must receive the protection of a guardian angel.

The saint after whom the child is named is considered 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 a birthday, as some believe, it is the day of Epiphany.

Name day- a day of remembrance, which was given to a person at. Every day is dedicated to the memory of a saint (most often more than one). The list of saints' days of remembrance is at.
Most often, the day of remembrance of a saint is the day of his earthly death, i.e. transition to eternity, meeting with God, to join Whom the ascetic sought.

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 remembrance of the saint of the same name as you, closest to your birthday. 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 the saint, whose memory is celebrated on the 8th day after the birth of the child. Cm.

When determining a name day, the date of canonization of a saint does not matter, because it only records a fait accompli. In addition, as a rule, it is performed dozens of years after the saint’s transition to the heavenly abodes.

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

Name day and Angel Day

Sometimes name days are called Angel Day. This name day name recalls the fact 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 after whom a person is named, and Angel Day is the day of baptism, when a person is assigned by God. Each baptized person has his own Guardian Angel, but we do not know his name.

Veneration and imitation of one's patron saint

ABOUT prayer help Saints, the monk wrote: “The saints, in the Holy Spirit, see our life and our deeds. They know our sorrows and hear our fervent 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 exhausted we are from sorrows, how our souls have dried up, how despondency has bound them, and, without ceasing, they intercede for us before God.”

Veneration of a saint consists not only of praying to him, but also of imitating his feat and his faith. “Let your life be according to 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? To do this you need:

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

According to the nature of Christian deeds, saints are traditionally divided into faces (categories): prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, saints, righteous people, holy fools, holy believers, etc. (see).
The person named confessor or martyr, may well fearlessly profess his faith, act as a Christian always and in everything, without looking back at dangers or inconveniences, in everything he pleases, first of all, God, and not people, regardless of ridicule, threats and even oppression.
Those named after saints, can try to imitate them, exposing errors and vices, spreading the light of Orthodoxy, helping their neighbors find the path to salvation both by word and by their own example.
Reverend(i.e. monks) can be imitated in detachment, independence from worldly pleasures, maintaining purity of thoughts, feelings and actions.
Imitate holy fool- means, first of all, to humble yourself, cultivate selflessness, and not get carried away by acquiring earthly riches. The continuation should be the education of will and patience, the ability to endure the difficulties of life, the fight against 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 in honor of Angels

A person can also be named in honor of (Michael, Gabriel, etc.). Christians named after the archangels celebrate their name day (November 8, Old Style), on the day of the Celebration of the Council of the Archangel Saint Michael of God and other ethereal Heavenly Powers.

If the name is not in the calendar

If the name you were given 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, Zhanna - Joanna, Milana - Militsa. According to tradition, Alice receives the name Alexandra in baptism, in honor of St. passion-bearer Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova, who before accepting 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 Nike, both names mean “victory” in Latin and Greek.
Only the names given at baptism are written.

How to celebrate a name day

Orthodox Christians on their name days visit the temple and, having prepared in advance, visit the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
The days of “small name days” are not so solemn for the birthday person, 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 your festive joy. In the evening, you can invite your loved ones for a meal. It should be remembered that if the name day falls on a fast day, then the holiday treat should be fast. IN Lent Name days that happen on a weekday are moved to the next Saturday or Sunday.
Cm. Natalya Sukhinina

What to give for name day

In celebration of the memory of the patron saint, the best gift for the birthday boy will be something that can contribute to his spiritual growth: an icon; vessel for, container for and; beads; quality wax candles or a lamp for home prayer; books, audio and video recordings of spiritual content; scarf and scarf (this is a headdress married women); a trip to a pilgrimage.

Prayer to your saint

We should remember the saint in whose honor we receive a name not only on name day. There is a prayer to the saint in our daily morning and evening prayers, and we can also turn to him at any time and in any need. The most simple 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.
Your saint also needs to know.

In addition to the icons of the Savior - the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Mother of God, it is advisable to have your own saint. It may happen that you bear some rare name, and the icon of your 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.

Patristic sayings about name days

“We began to choose names not according to God. According to God, this is how it should be. Choose a name according to the calendar: either on what day the child will be born, or on what day he will be baptized, or within 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

History and symbolism of the name day celebration

Like many other religious traditions, the celebration of name days was forgotten in Soviet times, moreover, in the 20-30s of the twentieth century it was subject to official persecution. True, it turned out to be difficult to eradicate age-old folk habits: they still congratulate the birthday boy on his birthday, and if the hero of the occasion is very young, they sing a song: “how on ... the name day we baked a loaf.” Meanwhile, name day is a special holiday, which 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 bear.

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

The royal name days (name day day) were celebrated especially magnificently, which were considered public holiday. On this day, boyars and courtiers came to the royal court in order to present gifts and take part in festive feast, which was sung for many years. Sometimes the king himself distributed the pies. Huge birthday rolls 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 “Oktyabriny” and “Zvezdiny”. A ritual was developed in detail, in which the newborn is strict sequence the October child, pioneer, Komsomol member, communist, “honorary parents” were congratulated, sometimes the baby was symbolically enrolled in the trade union, etc. The fight against “remnants” reached anecdotal extremes: for example, in the 20s, censorship banned K. Chukovsky’s “Tsokotukha Fly” for “name day propaganda.”

Traditionally, name days are attributed to the day of remembrance of the named (namesake) saint, which immediately follows the birthday, although there is also a tradition of celebrating name days on the day of memory of the most famous named saint, for example, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Apostle Peter, St. Alexander Nevsky, etc. d. In the past, name days were considered a more important holiday than the day of “physical” birth, in addition, in many cases these holidays practically coincided, since traditionally a child was baptized on the eighth day after birth: the eighth day is a symbol. Kingdom of Heaven, 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 church calendar(saints). According to the old custom, the choice of name was limited to the names of the saints whose memory was celebrated on the day of baptism. Later (especially in urban society) they moved away from this strict custom and began to choose names based on personal taste and other considerations - in honor of relatives, for example.
Name days turn us to one of our hypostases - to our personal name.

Perhaps to the ancient motto “Know thyself” we should add: “Know thy name.” Of course, a 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 name book. But there is also a now almost forgotten, mystical meaning of the name.
In ancient times, people gave the name much higher value, than now. The name was considered a significant part of a person. The content of the name was correlated with inner meaning a person, it seemed to be put inside him. The name controlled fate (" good name — good sign"). A well-chosen name became a source of strength and prosperity. Naming was considered a high act of creation, guessing human essence, invocation of grace.
In primitive society, a name was treated as a part of the body, like eyes, teeth, etc. The unity of the soul and the name seemed undeniable, moreover, it was sometimes believed that as many names as there were, there were as many souls, therefore in some tribes before to kill an enemy, it was supposed to find out his name in order to use him in his native tribe. Often names were hidden to prevent weapons from being given to the enemy. Harm and trouble were expected from mistreatment of the name. In some tribes it was strictly forbidden to pronounce (taboo) the name of the leader. In others, the custom was practiced of assigning new names to elders, which gave new strength. It was believed that a sick child was given strength by the name of the father, who was shouted in the ear or even called by the name of the father (mother), believing that part vital energy parents will help overcome the disease. If the child cried especially a lot, it means the name was chosen incorrectly. Different nationalities have long maintained the tradition of naming “deceptive”, false names: the true name was not pronounced in the hope that death and evil spirits, perhaps they will not 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 everyone, and a “big” one, which was considered true: it was kept secret and pronounced only during important rituals. The names of the pharaohs were especially respected - in the texts they were highlighted with a special cartouche. The Egyptians treated the names of the dead with great respect - mishandling them caused irreparable harm to the otherworldly existence. The name and its bearer were one whole: a typical Egyptian myth is that the god Ra hid his name, but the goddess Isis managed to find him out by opening his chest - the name literally ended up inside the body!

For a long time, a change in name corresponded to a change in human essence. New names were given to adolescents upon initiation, that is, upon joining adult members of the community. In China, there are still children's "milk" names, which are abandoned with maturity. In ancient Greece, newly-minted priests, renouncing their old names, carved them on metal tablets and drowned them in the sea. Echoes of these ideas can be seen in Christian tradition naming with monastic names, when someone who has taken monastic vows leaves the world and his worldly name.

Many nations have taboo names pagan gods and spirits. It was especially dangerous to call evil spirits (“cursing”): in this way one could call out the “evil force.” The ancient Jews did not dare to call the Name of God: Yahweh (in Old Testament 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, and renamed Jacob Israel. The special religious gift of the Jewish people manifested itself in a variety of names, which are called theophoric - they contain God’s “ineffable Name”: thus, through his personal name, a person connected with God.

Christianity, as the highest religious experience of mankind, takes personal names very seriously. A person’s name reflects the mystery of a unique, precious personality; it presupposes personal communication with God. At the sacrament of Baptism Christian church, accepting a new soul into his bosom, connects it through a personal name with the name of God. As Fr. wrote. Sergius Bulgakov, “human naming and name-incarnation exists in the image and likeness of divine incarnation and naming... every person is an embodied word, a realized name, for the Lord himself is the incarnate Name and Word.”

The purpose of Christians is considered to be holiness. By naming a baby the name of a canonized saint, the Church tries to guide him on the true path: after all, this name has already been “realized” in life as a saint. Wearer holy name always keeps within himself the exalting image of his heavenly patron, “helper”, “prayer book”. On the other hand, the commonality 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 Mary and Christ. Previously, the name of the Mother of God was even distinguished by a different emphasis - Mary, while other holy wives 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 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 played a role, appearance, character, etc. Later, after the Baptism of Rus', these names, sometimes difficult to distinguish from nicknames, coexisted with Christian calendar names (until 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 obvious, the other hidden, known only to the confessor). When the Christian name book completely replaced the pre-Christian “nickname” names, they did not leave us forever, 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 (for example, Yaroslav, Vyacheslav, Vladimir).
With the adoption of Christianity, Rus' was enriched with the names of the entire human civilization: with the Byzantine calendar, Greek, Jewish, Roman and other names came to us. Sometimes under Christian name hidden images of more ancient religions and cultures. 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 names, neither Jewish, nor Greek, nor Latin, nor Russian - there are only universal names, the common heritage of mankind.”

The post-revolutionary history of Russian names took a dramatic turn: a massive campaign of “de-Christianization” of the name book was carried out. The revolutionary obscurantism of some sections of society, combined with tough government policies, was aimed at restructuring, and therefore at renaming the world. Along with the renaming of the country, its cities and streets, the people were renamed. “Red calendars” were compiled, new, “revolutionary” names were invented, many of which now sound simply like curiosities (for example, Malentro, i.e. Marx, Lenin, Trotsky; Dazdraperma, i.e. Long live May Day, etc. .). The process of revolutionary name-making, 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”) did not last long in Soviet Russia, about a decade (20-30s ). Soon these names became part 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 name also went along 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 (the general property “ popular cultures"—the desire for averaging, standardization).

Hieromonk Macarius (Markish):
Since ancient times, the custom has been established to give a newly accepted member of the Church the name of a saint. Thus, a special, new connection arises between earth and Heaven, between a person living in this world and one of those who have worthily passed their life path, whose holiness the Church witnessed and glorified with its conciliar reason. Therefore, every Orthodox Christian must remember the saint in whose honor he is named, know the basic facts of his life, and, if possible, remember at least some elements of the service in his honor.
But the same name, especially the common ones (Peter, Nicholas, Mary, Helen), was borne 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 a detailed church calendar, which contains an alphabetical list of saints revered by our Church with the dates of celebration of their memory. The choice is made taking into account the date of birth or baptism of the child, the circumstances of the saints’ life feats, family traditions, and your personal sympathies.
In addition, many famous saints have several days of remembrance throughout the year: this could be the day of death, the day of the discovery or transfer of relics, the day of glorification - canonization. You have to choose which of these days will become the holiday (name day, name day) of your child. It is often called Angel Day. In fact, we ask the Lord to give the newly baptized his Guardian Angel; but this Angel must under no circumstances be confused with the saint after whom the child is named.
Sometimes some difficulties arise when naming a name. There are many Orthodox saints known in history, but not included in our calendars. Among them are saints Western Europe, who lived and glorified even before the fall of Rome from Orthodoxy (until 1054, the Roman Church was not severed from Orthodoxy, and we also recognize the saints revered in it by that time as saints), whose names have gained popularity among us in recent decades (Victoria, Eduard and others), but are sometimes listed as “non-Orthodox”. There are also the opposite situations, when the usual Slavic name does not belong to any of the Orthodox saints (for example, Stanislav). Finally, there are also frequent formal misunderstandings related to the spelling of the name (Elena - Alena, Ksenia - Oksana, John - Ivan) or its sound in English. different languages(in Slavic - Svetlana and Zlata, in Greek - Photinia and Chrysa).
In the Russian Church, unlike some others Orthodox Churches, everyone's favorite name Maria is never given in honor Holy Mother of God, but only in honor of other saints who bore this name. You should also know that since 2000, our Church has canonized many of our countrymen and fellow citizens - new martyrs and confessors of the 20th century - and calls on believers to name their children in their honor and memory.

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As you know, when baptized, in most cases a child is given a completely different name than what he was given in the world. This is done so that no one can harm him, and evil spirits cannot fill his soul, because he is under the protection of God, who knows exactly his Orthodox baptismal name. This name is also said during the baptismal ceremony to the godparents, who are the spiritual mentors of the child.

That is why choosing a name for this occasion is a scrupulous and very important process. And adults need to take it seriously. How do you give a name at baptism? A complete and detailed answer to this question is contained in this article.

The name is given to a person on the eighth day from birth. But few people know about this fact, and often the prayer for naming is read by the priest before the baptismal ceremony itself. The child is named, as a rule, in honor of a certain saint, on the day (during the period of) celebration of whose memory he was born.

Thus, this saint becomes his patron and asks for him before the Almighty. Therefore, the choice of a name at baptism must be taken with full responsibility, because it is not just a naming that is chosen, but a guardian angel who will accompany a person throughout his life.

Church names at baptism

A wonderful source for choosing baptismal names is the church orthodox calendar, which has not lost its relevance today. The modern list of names of saints contains more than a thousand names of various origins.

Many of them are quite outdated and have not been used for a long time, but with Lately A peculiarity noticed among young parents is to call their baby very rare name. And if they want to do just that, the Saints will help them with this better than anyone else.

What names are given at baptism?

In Christian culture there is a group of names that developed historically. The names of this group are called ecclesiastical, Orthodox, or canonical. Many of these names can be found in the church calendar, where the dates of memory of Orthodox saints are also included.

At baptism, every Orthodox Christian is given a name in honor of a specific saint. But there is also a fairly large list of names, which correspond to saints with a name of similar meaning, for example, Yuri - George, Victoria - Nika. If the name with which a person was named is not in the calendar, and one similar to it cannot be found, then a completely different name is given, but close in sound and meaning.

An Orthodox name is given in honor of one of the saints. Throughout his life, he is the patron, the guardian angel of the baptized. The day of celebrating the memory of the saint becomes the name day of this person. But the saint not only gives a person his name and name day, he endows him with qualities specific to him, and they are always good and strong.

You must call yourself by your church name during communion or confession. It must be called in notes “On Health” and “On Repose”.

For a long time, the name before christening was chosen by the parents themselves, or with the priest according to the Saints - a list of canonized saints, which was compiled exactly by date. In this calendar, each date is the day of remembrance of a specific saint, and sometimes there can be several names on one day. Then, when choosing a name for a child, there is variety, and here you need to think carefully about which saint to entrust his fate to.

It also happens the other way around - one name corresponds to several dates, for example, John, Mary.

Particular attention should be paid to the day of the name day celebration. Often they don’t remember it, don’t know it and simply don’t notice it, believing that the only thing that matters is the person’s birthday. This is far from true. Name days are very important, because this is the day of remembrance of your saint and, by honoring him during this period, you show him your respect and gratitude, and in return he continues to patronize you in all matters of life.

How to choose a name at baptism

1. on all church canons, the child’s name is chosen according to the Saints on the 8th day from the date of birth of the child. The name day of remembrance of the saint on this date is the name day;
2. if a suitable name was not found at all during this period, then look at the days of remembrance of saints on the fortieth day from the birth of the baby. This is allowed by the church, since previously a child was baptized on the 40th day;
3. You can also name a child in honor of a saint who is especially revered in his family. This is a kind of family tradition, and it is quite strong and quite acceptable to this day.

It is also worth clarifying that there are significantly more male names in the church calendar. Therefore, at baptism, girls are often given the name of a male saint, because a derivative of his name can also be an excellent female version.

Baptismal name by date of birth

The child's date of birth is very important when choosing a church name. It is imperative to refer to it, because the Monthly calendar (church calendar) was compiled based on the written Orthodox canons.

The date when a person was born is not a random number, because God sent him to Earth on this very day, which means he endowed him with certain qualities to fulfill his mission. And on this same day, the Almighty gives him a patron who will tirelessly watch over him, protect him from everything sinful and help him in all everyday situations. And he will do this through his church name, for for him our earthly names have no power.

Church names at baptism, list

Exists great amount names that can be given at baptism. Basically, each of them corresponds to the date (period) of birth and the day of remembrance of the saint. Their list is quite large, so you should turn to the Saints, but be sure to take into account:

• day (date, period) of birth;
• definition of a saint (if there are several names);
• when choosing a name for a girl - the female version male name.

A second name at baptism is given only if this name is not in the calendar, for example, Polina - Apollinaria. The name day will then be the one that is closest to the calendar. As a rule, the clergyman tells the parents about this.

Women's baptismal names are found in much smaller numbers in the church calendar, so choosing a girl's baptismal name is quite difficult. After all, parents often want it to be both beautiful and meaningful. Then, when choosing, they need to think carefully about everything and discuss it, because the chosen name will become a symbol for the child and a sign for his patron, and in his face, for the Lord himself.

We offer church meanings some female names that are found quite often today and raise certain questions among parents during the baptism ceremony:

• Alice is the baptismal name of Alexander and Elizabeth. Such analogues are provided for in the church calendar. Note that we again encounter derivative variations from masculine ones;
• Miroslava – baptismal name Miropia or traditional Maria. Both names are quite consonant with the main one;
• Svetlana - at baptism this name in Orthodoxy corresponds to the name Fotina or Fotinya. It is advisable to give a girl named Svetlana exactly these names. The church baptismal name Svetlana is one of the few that is of Slavic origin. It comes from the word “light” and is a variant of the male name Svetlana;
• Yaroslav - when baptizing, you should choose a name that is consonant with it, since there is no such name in the calendar. Often the choice falls on a name that starts with the same letter. This name is Yazdundokta. If this name seems too difficult to parents, then you can choose another, less consonant one, be sure to consult with the priest first;
• Alina - the baptismal name Elena and Angelina, quite consonant and often used in the world;
• Milana is the baptismal name of Malanya and Maria. Both are quite simple, beautiful and Orthodox meaningful;
• Arina is the baptismal name of Irina and Ariadne. Beautiful Orthodox names with a long history;
• Diana is the baptismal name of Anna or Daria. Wonderful in consonance and combination;
• the name Victoria - at baptism, the analogues of this name are Nika and Vera. The first has not just a similar, but the same meaning as the main one - “victory”. And the second speaks for itself.

What name is given at baptism? This is a very important question for parents who want to place their child under the protection of the Lord. A church name is grace, strength and character that influence the whole life and shape a person’s destiny. And this choice, like no other, depends on ourselves.

The Lord is always with you!

Also watch the video in which the archpriest talks about the names given at baptism:

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