Everyone knows that the name determines the fate of a person. Old Slavic names have become very popular now. Few people know the history of their origin. In ancient Russia, it was customary to give two names. One that was known to all, so to speak, is false, and the other is secret, familiar only to a close circle of people. The main meaning of this tradition is to protect the child from evil people and unclean spirits. Often, the least attractive first name was specially chosen in order to stave off the evil eye. The Slavs sincerely believed that, not knowing the true name, it is almost impossible to inflict evil on a person. The second name was awarded to a person in adolescence, when the foundation of character was already laid. It was from the general qualities of a person that they repelled when choosing a secret name.
Name groups
Old Slavic names have always been distinguished by a huge variety. One could distinguish the names of animal origin (Ruff or Eagle), names based on the birth order (Pervush or Vtorak), derivatives of the sacraments (Zhdan or Khoten), names of the gods (Veles). Often, ancient Slavic names reflected individual traits inherent in man, for example, Brave.
Well, the largest group is the dubious names, such as Svyatoslav, Bogdan, Yaropolk and others. There is also a separate layer, where the ancient Slavic names for men were given in honor of the famous princes. These include Vyacheslav, Vsevolod or Vladimir. As a rule, these names were used only in the highest circles of society.
The roots of the origin of names
Unfortunately, many ancient Slavic names were lost or completely banned with the advent of Christianity in Russia. The fact is that some of them, such as Lada or Yarilo, came from pagan gods, which could not be allowed under monotheism. As for modern society, many baptismal names formed the basis of surnames, which are very common in our time. Surely you have friends by the name of Volkov, Ivanov or Sidorov. Currently, only five percent of children are given Old Slavic names. However, this tradition is gradually renewing in modern families. Among other things, many names that are so popular in our
time, have Slavic roots and at the same time are derivatives of Greek variants. This group includes such ancient Slavic female names as Faith, Love and Hope, which are the prototypes of Pistis, Agape and Elpis. The same can be said about the male name Leo, who duplicated Leon.
The main problem in the present is that the old Russian names are forgotten by many more and more. Often people call their children usually and standardly, thinking that they support Russian traditions, and do not even suspect that they are calling their child a foreign name. And in situations when you meet a girl or a guy with native Russian roots, many shrug their shoulders, wondering what kind of wonderful parents they have so strangely nicknamed their child. The problem of keeping traditions is far from new; many are trying to fight in order to enlighten the new generation. Old Slavic names given at the birth of a new member of modern society serve as a great reminder.