Psychology of feelings 

Is there an Orthodox name? The most beautiful names for girls: rare and unusual, Orthodox and Muslim, modern Russian

Book "A Thousand Names"section “Female names” (pages 7 - 104)

Want to find the best name in the world for your daughter? Then you cannot do without this book. The dictionary-reference book “A 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 not found anywhere else, and about each name you will find information and arguments about which before the presentation didn’t have, and didn’t even think about it!

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

There is no electronic version of the book “A Thousand Names” available. Entirelyit is only available in printed form, and this site contains individual fragments. ORDER A BOOK!

What is a godname and how is it chosen?

Passport, “calendar”, godparents, church female names

Not all names given in this book have a correspondence in Orthodox calendar, for example, Albina, Vlada, Vladislava, Yesenia, Carolina, Lada, Maya, Eleonora, Yaroslava, etc. For atheistic families, of course, this has absolutely no meaning. But for Orthodox believers, as well as for parents living in line with Russian cultural and historical tradition, when choosing such names for your child, you will definitely have to solve one more problem - choosing a godname.

The name that is written in Birth certificate, called passport

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

citizen of the Russian Federation). The name given at baptism is called godfather, it is indicated in Baptismal certificate, which should be given out at the temple. “Calendar” are the names of Christian saints contained in Orthodox church calendars (“saints” or “monthly words”), and used when carrying out the baptism of children (and adults).

Many passport names clearly correspond to calendar names: Agnia,

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

Sometimes the passport and church forms have slight differences: Anfisa - Anfusa, Arina - Irina, Elizaveta - Elisaveta, Christina - Christina, Natalya - Natalia, Pelageya - Pelagia, Praskovya - Paraskeva, Stepanida - Stefanida, Tatiana - Tatiana, Emilia - Emilia, Yulia - Julia. And sometimes very significant: Avdotya - Evdokia, Agrafena - Agrippina, Aksinya and Oksana - Ksenia, Alena - Elena, Victoria - Nika, Violetta - Iya, Irma - Ermionia, Lukerya - Glikeria, Olesya - Alexandra, Zhanna and Yana - Joanna, Polina - Paul or Apollinaria, Svetlana - Fotina or Fotinia, Snezhana - Khionia.

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

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

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

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

European names Elvira (Spanish origin, from albar - “white”) and Eleonora (from Occitan allia Aenor - “other Aenor”). But these are “non-calendar names”: there are no saints of the same name in the Orthodox calendar, so it will not be possible to baptize a child in a church with these names. As a godname for each of them, you can offer, for example, such a consonant church name as Elena (“ sunlight", "solar", Greek) or the name Leonilla ("lion", "lioness", Greek).

Other examples. The names Bogda na, Bozhe na and Yes na are absent in the Orthodox calendar, but close in meaning are such names as Theodora (“God’s gift”), Dorothe i (“God’s gift”) and Theodosia (“God gave”) - any of them can be taken as a godfather. IN recent years An increasing number of names such as Vitalina and Vitalia are being registered. Obviously these are analogues male name Vitaly, derived from the Latin word vitalis, so options for translating the name into Russian can be “ full of life", "living", "giving life". Obviously, Valentina could be a good godname for Vitalina and Vitalia - and general sense and by sound (Valentina - “strong, good health", from the Latin valens, meaning "strong, strong, healthy").

Let us emphasize once again: 1) it is not at all necessary that the passport name coincides with the godfather’s name, 2) it is not at all necessary that the passport name be of Orthodox origin (the name can be anything as long as the parents like it). Even in the hoary old days they did exactly this - every member of the princely family had two names: both a secular name and a Christian one.

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 written down on the Birth Certificate - for example, Miroslava, Ruslana, Zemfira, Inga or Yesenia, after which in the church she is baptized with any other church name she likes name - Varvara, Ilaria, Maria, Olga, Rufina, Serafima, Sofia or Faina. Neither the registry office nor the church has the right to influence the choice of parents. Advise and recommend - yes, but hinder - no!

Martyrs, righteous women, saints...

As already mentioned, baptism in the Russian Orthodox Church occurs simultaneously with the naming of a name. And naming is necessarily done in honor of a specific saint, who immediately becomes the “heavenly patron saint” (not to be confused with a guardian angel!). Parents have the right to ask the priest to baptize in the 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 Venerable Euphrosyne of Polotsk. As we see, each holy servant of God bears a certain “rank”: martyr, great martyr,

Reverend... What is this, how should it be understood?

  • Martyrs are Christian saints who accepted violent death for their faith.
  • Great Martyrs are martyrs for the faith who endured particularly severe torment.
  • Venerables 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 (also known as nokinya), igu menya (abbess of the monastery)
  • Venerable 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 youths are written in the calendar and tsa(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 monastic) life, and were not subjected to torture 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 is directly related to the words truth, 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 carried vessels with m and po m (myrrh is a fragrant, fragrant oil used for anointing and other church rituals); several myrrh-bearers became the first witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, these include Salome, Joanna, Susanna, Mary Magdalene - all of them are considered righteous saints (righteous women)
  • Equal to the Apostles - “equal to the apostles”, like the apostles they enlightened different peoples, converted them to Christianity (i.e. these are missionaries, spreaders of Christianity), among the Equal-to-the-Apostles there were not only men, but also several women
  • The faithful are queens and princesses who became saints for their pious lives and works to strengthen the faith and the church
  • The blessed and the holy fools. Blessed, that is, “happy” (in Latin- beata): this epithet is worn by several famous saints of the 4th-9th centuries (St. Mary of Hidan, Holy Muse of Rome, Holy Queen 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 Ksenia of Petersburg, for Christ's sake the holy fool), from Old Russian ugly; holy fools prophesied, denounced bad morals, regardless of their faces, showed great wisdom in the face of apparent madness
  • New martyrs - as a rule, they are understood as those who suffered for the Christian faith during the years Soviet power

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

mts. - martyr; VMC. - great martyr; St. - reverend; prmts. - venerable martyr; right - righteous (righteous); equal to - equal to the apostles; blgv. - missus; bliss - blessed

Other common abbreviations in church calendars are:

St. - holy, holy; 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 memorial day "your" saint

patron (that is, the saint whose name a person received at baptism). In many countries, name days are a more significant personal holiday than a birthday. And in Russia in the old days, as a rule, name days were celebrated, and the birthday remained in the shadows.

The days of remembrance of 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 occurred on October 25, 1917) was celebrated annually in the USSR on November 7. That's why "old New Year"and is still celebrated on the night from January 13 to 14 (in the church calendar this is the night from December 31 to January 1!).

Dates of the Julian, that is, 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 Ankirskaya, Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya, Holy Martyr

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

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

called rolling celebrations). For example, the memory of the Venerable Mary of Egypt is celebrated on the fifth Sunday of Lent, and the memory of the righteous Salome, Joanna, and Mary Magdalene is celebrated on the Sunday 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 righteous saints Susanna of Babylon, Ruth, Esther, Leah and Miriam is celebrated on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers And on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers(that is, on the penultimate and last Sunday before Christmas); word week in church calendars it means Sunday (from not doing, that is, resting); forefathers are the first righteous people 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.

When receiving a Baptismal Certificate, you must ensure that it contains

introduced full name the saint in whose honor the name was given, and the date of her memory.

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 heavenly patrons and the intercessors of all women bearing the names 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 godname for a girl (that is, choose a name

corresponding saint) based on her birthday (or day of baptism), you need to turn to the Monthly Dictionary. The Book of Months is a book in which the days of remembrance of saints are arranged by day of the year (by month), its other names are Church calendar and Saints. Several convenient and high-quality church calendars and month books are presented on the Internet, including on 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 on a permanent

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

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

Moscow Patriarchate or other Orthodox churches (Antioch, Bulgarian,

Greek, North American) the Internet links listed in the section will help you

Literature (see subsection “The Orthodox Church Abroad”).

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

"The name of the godfather in foreign Orthodox churches", given in this book on many

female names, and information on the correspondence of the “ranks” of holy saints in Russian and

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

lives of the saints").

The entire book is only available in print.

Our ancestors did not have such a problem as choosing a name for a newborn. Today, in some families, this is reaching the point of scandal, since dad wants to name his son Jordan, mom wants to name him Apollo, and grandparents dream of Vanechka. But in the old days everything was decided by the church orthodox book, which was called “Saints”. Parents came to church, and the priest offered a choice of several names of Christian saints, whose memory was honored on the baby’s birthday. And if now parents want to make a choice in this particular way - how to choose a name for a child according to the calendar?

How to choose the right name according to the calendar?

Birthday, Angel's Day, name day... Many people confuse these concepts and congratulate them on their birthday. In fact, a birthday is the day on which a person was born, and a name day is the day of remembrance of the saint after whom he was named. The second name for name day is the day of the Angel or the day of the namesake. Previously, these days coincided for almost everyone, but now they practically do not. Despite this, some people began to celebrate Angel Day on the same basis as their birthday.

The Saints contain about 1,700 different names. Most of them are for men, and they have largely fallen out of use. This is not surprising, because many names for modern people seem funny, for example, Popius, Mnasen, Kurduva or Yazdundokta.

If you decide to name your newborn according to the calendar, remember the following:

  1. It is best to choose the name for the baby of the saint who is honored on his birthday. For example, your child was born on February 1st. You are truly lucky, since according to the calendar, the newborn can be called the following names: Arseny, Gregory, Henry, Louise, Euphrasia, Mark, Makar, Meletius, Savva, Theodosius, Feodor or Januarius.
  2. If you have a boy, and on this day there are no names for a male representative, then modern church usually advises looking a few days ahead. You can do the same if you don’t like the proposed name (or names) at all.
  3. The baptismal name is given once in a lifetime and does not change again (with the exception of the name changing upon tonsure as a monk and when changing faith).
  4. IN lately Some parents give their children double names: one is secular, and the other is church. Some people do this on purpose, while others do it by accident - they simply don’t give the baby a chance at birth. Orthodox name, and in church parents learn that a child cannot be baptized under the name, for example, Stella or Camilla. In this case, the priest invites parents to choose an Orthodox name for the baby - close or consonant with the “passport name”.
  5. If the saint after whom you named your baby is venerated several times a year, then the Angel’s day is the next name day after the day birth.

From antiquity to the present day

The Orthodox book “Saints of Saints” is nothing more than full list all the names of the saints whom he honors Orthodox Church. The second name of this book is “The Book of Months”, since it describes the whole year, day by day, month by month.

Giving a child a name according to the calendar is ancient tradition many peoples. The Slavs were no exception to this. People believed that when a baby receives the name of a saint who is venerated on the day of his birth or baptism, he will have a happy and long life. At the same time, it was not advisable to name a child after the great martyr - then he would be destined for a hard life, full of hardships and suffering.

If several saints were commemorated on a child’s birthday, then the parents could choose a name from several suggested by the priest. If there was only one name, then, alas, the parents had no choice. People did not dare to contradict the church. Later, if no saint was commemorated on the new person’s birthday, or they really didn’t like the name, then parents began to “increase” the list of names: they could consider the names of saints whose memory is celebrated on the eighth or fortieth day after the birth of the child. The fact is that our ancestors believed that a newborn should be given a name no earlier than the eighth day, and the sacrament of Baptism had to be carried out precisely on the fortieth day.

“Mesyatseslov” was used until the 1917 revolution. With the advent of Soviet power, when churches began to be massively destroyed and religion began to be banned, the tradition of naming children according to the calendar was abandoned. Nowadays, parents have begun to turn much more often to the Orthodox calendar to choose a name for their child. Many believe that it will make the baby happy, and the saint after whom it was named will become an intercessor and guardian angel for the child. And some parents simply follow modern fashion, because today the ancient or unusual name is the last word. So in kindergartens and schools we meet children with the names Luka and Akulina, Spiridon and Evdokia, Hilarion and Pelagia.

Calendar of names according to the calendar for each month

Name day in January

Names in February

Names in March

Names in April

Names in May

Names in June

The tradition of giving newborn children names according to the calendar appeared in Rus' with the adoption Orthodox faith. According to church canons, a child is a creation of God, who, with the birth of a baby, already determines a Guardian Angel for him. Parents can only name their child after the Saint whose memorial day the church honors on this date.

Names of girls born in June: from 1st to 6th

Since the calendar contains more male names than female ones, it often happens that there is no suitable option for a bewitched girl. Then you should look at the calendar a few days in advance and choose the name you like.

In June (from the 1st to the 6th) the following:

1. Anastasia. Translated from ancient Greek, the name means “resurrected” or “returned to life.” On this day, the church honors the memory of the holy martyr Anastasia, who accepted death, but did not renounce her faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Susanna (Sosanna). From the biblical language this name is translated as “white lily.”

3. Elena. On this day, the church honors Queen Helen of Constantinople, the mother of Emperor Constantine. Around 330, during excavations with her participation, it was discovered Life-giving Cross on which Christ was crucified. After her death she was canonized as a saint equal to the apostles.

4. Sofia.

5. Euphrosyne, Maria.

What to name a girl born from June 7 to June 12

A girl named after the Saint, whose memorial day is celebrated along with her birth, finds a Guardian Angel who will always protect her and help her in life. life path.

From the 7th to the 12th the following are provided (June) according to the church calendar:

8. Elena. On this day, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the martyr Helen, daughter of the Apostle Alpheus, who was stoned to death for her Christian faith.

9. Anastasia, Fedora.

10. Elena. Memorial Day of Elena Diveevskaya (Manturova), who in 1825 became a novice of the Kazan community under Diveevsky convent in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

11. Maria, Faina, Feodosia. Day of Remembrance of the Righteous Mary of Ustyug and the Virgin Mary; righteous Faina.

Name for a girl in June: from the 13th to the 18th

Parents begin choosing a name for their baby even before she is born. If the expected due date falls in the first month of summer, they ask the question: “What name for a girl (June) would be appropriate?”

13. Christina. Memorial Day of the Martyr Christina of Nicomedia.

14. Faith. In June, on the 14th, the Orthodox Church remembers the New Martyr Vera (Samsonova), canonized in 2000.

15. Maria, Ulyana, Juliana. Memorial Day of the Martyr Juliania of Vyazemskaya, Novotorzhskaya, Princess and Martyr Mary, who suffered for her faith in Jesus Christ.

16. Women's name days are not celebrated on this day. The name for a girl in June (18th) should be chosen from those presented in the calendar over the next few days.

17. Maria, Martha, Martha, Sofia.

Women's names according to the church calendar from June 19 to June 24

19. Archelaus, Susanna (Sosanna), Thekla. For their faith in Jesus Christ and the healings they carried out on the sick, the martyrs were subjected to cruel torture in Italian city Salerno. After a few days of abuse, they were beheaded.

20. Valeria (Kaleria), Zinaida, Maria, Kyriakia (Kiriya). The holy martyrs Valeria, Zinaida, Kyriacia and Maria were residents of Caesarea (Palestine). During the reign of Emperor Diocletian (284-305) they were persecuted and then tortured for their Christian faith. Accepted martyrdom.

21. Melania. Memorial Day of Melania the Elder - grandmother of Melania of Bethlehem, Palestine (January 13), to whom it is customary to pray during difficult childbirth. Both saints became famous for their exploits in the name of Jesus Christ.

22. Marianna, Maria, Martha, Thekla. Mary of Persia was beheaded by the sword in 346 during the persecution of Christians by the ruler Sapor II.

23. Antonina. Day of remembrance of the martyrs Virgin Antonina and the warrior Alexander, who suffered martyrdom under the ruler Fist.

24. Maria. Memorial Day of the Holy Martyr Mary of Pergamon.

The name for a girl in June, born from the 19th to the 24th, should be chosen from the options presented above. Then the patron saint will always be next to her, protect her and guide her in life.

Church name for a girl born on June 30

25. Anna, Euphrosyne. Memorial Day of the Blessed Princess Anna (monastically Euphrosyne) Kashinskaya.

26. Alexandra, Anna, Antonina, Pelageya. Memorial Day of St. Alexandra Diveevskaya (Melgunova); Venerable Anna of Bithynia; Martyr Antonina of Nicaea, who was persecuted and mortal torture during the reign of Maximian; New Martyr Pelageya (Zhidko).

27. Women's name days are not celebrated on this day.

28. The name for a June girl born on the 28th should be chosen from those presented on the following days.

30. Pelagia. Memorial Day of the New Martyr Pelageya Balakireva.

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

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

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

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

Every year Orthodox calendars 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 names, for example, Alexander, John, Eugene. Then a male patron saint is chosen for the girl.

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

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

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

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

Most of the names that are used today in everyday life appeared in Russian culture from antiquity. Many of them have no Slavic origin. Female Russian names appeared as a result of the development of ancient Slavic culture, associated with the customs, life, and faith of the ancient Slavs.

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

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

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

A significant part of the ancient church names is of Greek origin, for example, Inessa, Evdokia, Veronica. Although they are considered ancient, they can often be heard in society, so 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 hurt the ears and are positively perceived by society.

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

Most people choose familiar and modern Russian names:

  • Catherine.
  • Elena.
  • Xenia.
  • Daria.
  • Elizabeth.
  • Sophia.

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

Selection with values

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

The tradition of naming a child in honor of a saint goes back centuries - in Rus' it appeared after the adoption of Orthodoxy. It was believed that a person who bears the name of a saint has a close connection with him and even adopts some of his good qualities and strength. Moreover, parents, giving a child a name in honor of a powerful saint, count on the fact that this saint will protect him from dark forces evil will be his guardian angel. A name in honor of a particular canonized saint was chosen by parents or a clergyman according to the Saints, or Monthly Book - a list of names of canonized saints compiled by months and dates. In the Saints, or Orthodox Church calendar, each date is church holiday, or the day of remembrance of the saint. Almost every day of the year is the day of remembrance of at least one saint, and in some cases there may be up to several dozen of them on the same date. The same name in the Orthodox church calendar corresponds to several dates at once - on these days the person named in honor of the saint celebrates his name day.

Names according to the calendar in the church calendar

The church calendar is an inexhaustible source of names even for modern parents who are not always true believers and Christians who observe all traditions. The fact is that the list of names of saints currently contains more than 1000 names of very different origins. Among them there are names of Slavic and Greek origin, Latin and Hebrew names. Many names from the Saints are currently an anachronism, but in recent years there has been a tendency to name a child with a rare, little-used name. If parents want to choose a rare and unusual name for their child, Saints are an excellent source of inspiration.

How to choose the right name for a child according to the Saints?

According to the rules, parents choose a name for their child according to the Saints, based on his date of birth. Most often they look at which saints are commemorated on the child’s birthday, but it is permissible to choose a name among the names of saints whose memory is celebrated on the eighth day from the child’s birth. This tradition is connected with the fact that in ancient times it was on the eighth day that the child’s naming celebration was held. If there are no suitable names that fall on the child’s birthday, as well as on the eighth day from the day of his birth, then we can choose a name from those that fall on the fortieth day from the child’s birth. This tradition is connected with the fact that it was on the fortieth day that the child was brought to the temple for baptism. As an exception, a child can be named after a particularly revered saint in the family.

There are significantly more male names in the Saints than female ones. Therefore, girls can be named after a male saint if there is a used analogue of a male name in female version: so, if the date of birth of a girl falls on the day of remembrance of St. Eugene (Victor, Alexander, Anastasia, Apollinaria), then it is permissible to name her Eugene (Victoria, Alexandra, Anastasia, Polina) in honor of a male saint, choosing him as the patron saint for the child.