Georgian male names and their meanings

Georgian male names are diverse, they fully reflect the country's history, periods of its development, its culture, as well as the influence of friendly countries or even invaders. Over time, the names changed, adapting to the language, new ones were born from them, which gradually occupied their niches and became full-fledged individual units. Today it is sometimes difficult to see the common origin of two names, which are based on the same word, and to distinguish its true origin in a name generally seems an impossible task.

Traditional Georgian Male Names

The most ancient names are formed from the names of natural phenomena, animals, birds, plants, precious stones, etc., for example, Vepkhia - tiger, Lomia - lion, Nukri - deer; or some character trait that parents would like to see in their son, for example, Alale is honest, Malkhaz is handsome, Raindi is a knight.

In addition, from ancient times there was a tradition of naming children in honor of kings, famous military leaders and other famous figures in the hope that the baby would repeat the fate of the great namesake. It is for this reason that the names of kings are still widespread in Georgia: Giorgi, Vakhtangi, David - or writers and poets: Shota, Elias, Akaki, Vazha.

There are also Georgian male names that have analogues in other languages ​​and carry the emotional burden associated with the birth of a son - Velodi or Mindia for the long-awaited, expected child (Slavic analogue: Zhdan and Khoten), or Arvelodi (Nezhdan), if the baby appears was unplanned in the family.

An interesting fact: among Georgian names there are only a couple of common ones for male and female - Suliko (darling) and Nukri (deer).

Eastern names

For many years, Georgia suffered raids by the eastern peoples, periodically establishing more or less friendly relations with them. Close, albeit forced communication, entailed the borrowing of many names that were closely interwoven with the life of the country and became its integral part. Eastern names that are popular in our days: Avtandil - the heart of the Motherland, Rati - the lord, Badri - the full moon - and many others.

Christian names

Georgia adopted Christianity in the IV century, and from that time on, newborns began to be called Hebrew, Greek and Latin names that were mentioned in the Bible: Giorgi (George), Ioane (John), Luke, Mose (Moses), Mate (Matvey). It is noteworthy that these names do not lose their popularity to this day, occupying the top lines in the lists of the most common Georgian male names.

Russian names

In the XVIII-XIX centuries, when Georgia became closer to Russia, and subsequently became part of the Russian Empire, among the Georgians names that were traditional for single-faith Russia, although not always having original Slavic roots, quickly spread: Egor, Yuri, Vladimir, etc. It is worth noting that due to linguistic differences, these names took a slightly different, distorted form - Iagora, Iuri, Vladimirei.

Separately, one can note the names that appeared during the Soviet era, which, as in the Russian language, were formed from the names of leaders or in honor of any significant events. For example, in the 20-30s of the XX century, the names of composites Vladlen (from Vladimir Lenin) and Lenstalber (from Lenin, Stalin, Beria) were popular.

European names

Western literature, and then cinema, having reached the general public in recent centuries, also contributed to the diversity of Georgian male names. Thus, the names John, Albert, Maurice, Edward, Karl spread in Georgia. In recent years, they are not so common, giving way to traditional Orthodox names.

Popular

Modern Georgian male names, by and large, are not very different from those that were common even several centuries ago. Of course, now some of them are much less common, but the bulk remains unchanged. Probably the reason for this is the tradition of naming, according to which the boy often inherits the name of his grandfather or other senior relative. As before, the most popular Georgian male name is Giorgi. It is given in honor of George the Victorious, the patron saint of Georgia.

In the last decade, such beautiful Georgian male names as Giorgi, David, Nikoloz, Luka, Ilia, Mate, Saba, Demeter and others are on the list of the most popular.

In addition, as in Russia, recently in Georgia there has been a tendency to use old names that almost did not occur 30 years ago. Among them are Lazare, Ioana, Gabrieli, who become more and more popular every year.

List of Georgian male names and their meanings

Of course, the list of names presented is not complete, but it contains the most popular and common male names of Georgian men.