Ukrainian names have much in common with Russian and Belarusian. This is not surprising, because our peoples have common roots and one story. The interweaving of fates led to the fact that now in Ukraine they are asked to record children in the Russian-language form of the name, while in their native language it can sound completely different. What is the peculiarity of Ukrainian names?
Take a look at the past
Now in Ukraine, the fashion is returning to call children Old Slavic names. So in kindergartens and schools you can meet girls Bogdan, Miroslav, Bozhedan, Velen, Bozhena. The boys are called Dobromir, Izyaslav, Lubomyr. But these are only modern trends, although they have been observed almost throughout the centuries-old history of the fraternal people.
When Christianity was adopted in Russia, everyone was necessarily baptized in the church and given the names of the holy great martyrs. This tradition is preserved now. But we still continue to name children just as it is written in the certificate? Why is this happening?
It turns out that this phenomenon is more than a thousand years old. Ever since the first Christian years, people accustomed to Old Slavonic names continued to call their children. And what the church requires of them simply remained on paper. So the famous Ukrainian names of Bogdan Khmelnitsky and Ivan Mazepa could actually be different. In childhood, Bogdan was baptized under the banner of St. Zinovy, and Ivan as Istislav.
Examples of Christian Names
But the language of the people is great and powerful, so some Ukrainian names were still borrowed from the Christian faith. Over time, they were changed and adapted to the gentle sound of a colorful language. Analogues, by the way, are native Russian. Here, for example, Elena in Ukraine sounds like Olena, Emilian - Omelyan, Glyceria - Liqueur (Russian Lukerya).
In the Old Russian language there were no names that began with the first letter of the alphabet A. This rule later passed to Ukraine, with the exception of the name Andrey (Andriy, although in some villages you can hear Gandriy) and Anton. But the more familiar to us, Alexander and Alexey got hold of the first O and turned into Oleksandra and Oleksiya. By the way, dear Anna in Ukraine sounds like Ganna.
Another phonetic feature of the ancient language is the absence of the letter F. Almost all words that have are borrowed from other countries. That is why, the Christian variants of Thecla, Philip and Theodosius turned into Tesla, Pilip and Todos.
Ukrainian male names
It is simply impossible to name all the names suitable for the boys and which will be considered primordially Ukrainian. There are a great number of them, and all of them have Old Slavonic roots. We propose to consider the most common Ukrainian male names and their meaning.
- Agap - romantic, frivolous.
- Oleksandr (Alexander) - protector, courageous warrior.
- Oleksiy (Alexey) - the same as Alexander.
- Bogdan - blessed by God.
- Boleslav - famous for centuries.
- Bratoslav is voluntary, fair.
- Bronislav is a defender, a warrior.
- Velemir - sent for the world.
- Vitomir is the giving world.
- Vsevolod - from the word glory, conquering and glorified.
- Vratislav - glorious, stately, strong.
- Gabriel - from Christian Gabriel - strong as God.
- Gordey - proud, stately.
- Gordislav is the same as Gordey.
- Danil - from Christian Daniel - a disciple of God.
- Dobromir is the one who brings good.
- Daromir is the same as Dobromir.
- Dobroslav - glorious, kind.
- Jeremiah - blessed by God.
- Yermolai is the messenger of the people.
- Zhytomyr - living in the world.
- Zlatodan - bestows gold, jewelry.
- Zlatomir is the golden world.
- Ladomir is the way and the world.
- Mstislav is a defender.
- Ostap - persistent, faithful.
- Radomir - fighting for freedom and peace.
- Rostislav - born for glory.
- Svetogor - granted by the sun.
- Svyatoslav - sacred, glorious.
- Tihomir is quiet and peaceful.
- Tikhon is calm, polite.
- Fedor (Fedot) - gifted by God.
- Jaromil - on behalf of the Slavic God of the sun - Yaril.
- Yaroslav - brave, strong, furious.
Female names
Many female names are derived from male names. List of Ukrainian names in female form:
- Bereginya - protecting the house (on behalf of the Slavic goddess).
- Velimira is peaceful.
- Spring is fresh, young.
- Ganna (Anna) - sweet, responsive.
- Gorislava is wise.
- Dana - given by God.
- Valley is the ruler of the world.
- Fun - funny, mischievous.
- Zlata - illuminated by the sun.
- Zorina (Zorya) - the dawn sun.
- Krasava is beautiful.
- Kupava - (from the glories of the Goddess) - rich, tender.
- Lada - peaceful, bringing good.
- Malusha is small.
- Mallow is calm.
- Rada - joyful, cheerful.
- Dewdrop - bright, clean.
- Rusana is blonde.
The meaning of Ukrainian names can be understood from the very name. Original Ukrainian words were used to reflect their meanings on the character of the child. Therefore, if you read Miloslav, then you mean that this sweet creature is sure to become famous.
How to read Ukrainian names correctly
In the Ukrainian language, almost all letters are similar to Russian. Except some. They are particularly difficult for residents of other countries, since the language requires to pronounce them smoothly and gently.
So, the letter g is in two versions. The first ordinary is read gutturally, softly, and the second with a tail - more firmly. Moreover:
- e reads like Russian e;
- her:
- i - and;
- and - similarly s;
- ї - like "yi"
- io - like Russian .
Features of modern names
Modern Ukrainian names have already lost their uniqueness. Of course, the parents of the western regions and some central regions still preserve the ancient traditions, but the rest and especially large cities prefer to use Russified forms. By the way, in the Ukrainian passport data about a person is written in two languages - national and Russian.