Two-base names, often ending in mir/měr (Ostromir/měr, Tihomir/měr, Němir/měr), *voldъ (Vsevolod, Rogvolod), *pъlkъ (Svetopolk, Yaropolk), *slavъ (Vladislav, Dobroslav, Vseslav) and their derivatives (Dobrynya, Tishila, Ratisha, Putyata, etc.)
Names from flora and fauna (Shchuka - pike, Yersh - ruffe, Zayac - hare, Wolk/Vuk - wolf, Orel - eagle)
Names in order of birth (Pervusha - born first, Vtorusha/Vtorak - born second, Tretiusha/Tretyak - born third)
Names according to human qualities (Hrabr - brave, Milana/Milena - beautiful, Milosh - beloved, Nadezhda - hope)
Names containing the root of the name of a Slavic deity (Troyan, Perunek/Peruvit, Yarovit, Stribor, Šventaragis[note 1], Veleslava)
History
In pre-Christian traditions, a child less than 7–10 years old would bear a "substitutional name", the purpose of which was to deflect attention from the child and thereby to protect it from the curiosity of evil powers. The practice was largely the result of the high mortality rate of young children at the time.[1] A child who survived to 7–10 years was considered worthy of care and was granted adult status and a new adult name during a ritual first haircut.[2]
Traditional names remained dominant until the Slavic nations converted to Christianity. Since then, however, baptismal names came into use, which were given after the patron saint of the newly baptized. Even after that, the traditional names persisted in everyday use, while in religious matters baptismal name was involved; thus, many persons had and used two names simultaneously. This is exemplified by how the Slavic saints of that time are referred to up to nowadays: e.g. St. Boris and Gleb, in holy baptism Roman and David. As the Slavic saints became more numerous, more traditional names entered the Church calendar; but more prominent was the overall decline in the number of people bearing traditional names. Finally, in 16th–17th century the traditional Slavic names which did not enter the calendar of either Orthodox or Catholic Church generally fell out of use. For Catholic Slavs, the decisive event was the Council of Trent (1545–63) decreed that every Catholic should have a Christian name instead of a native one.
Names in Poland
After the ban on native non-Christian names imposed by the Council of Trent, the Polish nobility (especially Protestants) attempted to preserve traditional names, such as Zbigniew and Jarosław. Ordinary people, however, tended to choose names solely from the Christian calendar, which contained only a handful of Slavic saints' names, in particular: Kazimierz (St. Casimir), Stanisław (St. Stanislaus), Wacław (St. Wenceslaus) and Władysław (St. Ladislaus).[3] Slavic names that referred to God (e.g., Bogdan, Bogumił) were also permitted.[4]
Names in Kievan Rus'
East Slavic names were based on common Slavic names such as Volodiměrŭ (Володимѣръ - "great ruler"), Svętopŭlkŭ (Свѧтопълкъ - "holy regiment"), Jęropŭlkŭ (Ѩропълкъ - "furious regiment"), Voislavŭ (Воиславъ - "glorious warrior"), Borislavŭ (Бориславъ - "glorious fighter"), Borisŭ (Борисъ - "fighter"),[5]Liubomirŭ (Любомиръ - "loves the peace"), Ratiborŭ (Ратиборъ "war fighter"), Vadimŭ ("Вадимъ") or Badan (belonging to the wind spirit "Badan")[citation needed], Jęroslavŭ (Ѩрославъ), Izęslavŭ (Изѧславъ "The one who took the glory"), Mstislavŭ (Мстиславъ "glorious revenge"), Vĭsevolodŭ (Вьсеволодъ "lord of everything"). In the 11th century, after the growing influence of the Christian Church, the tendency to use the names of saints of the Greek Church has increased and most pagan names were displaced by Christian names.
Old Slavic names were built with one or two lexemes:
Single-lexeme names
Single-lexeme names were derived from ordinary or adjectival words and were usually, though not always, borne by peasants, e.g.: Baran (ram), Szydło (awl), Kąkol (cockle), Broda (beard, chin), Żyła (vein), Uchacz (ear-man), Łopata (shovel), Żaba (frog), Rus (Ruthenian/Russian man), Cich (silent man), etc.[4] Many names of this kind are used today, for example:
Dithematic names are built with two lexemes. Kaleta 1995 notes that "In the case of Old Germanic and Old Slavic personal names, the dithematic name form contained a wish for the new-born child. These wishes pertained to the values that obtained in these early times".[6] In Poland alone, over 600 masculine names, 120 feminine names and 150 different affixes (lexemes) are known. These have been reconstructed from place names and the (scarce) written sources such as the Bull of Gniezno.[4] Certain names were reserved for monarchs (e.g. in Poland: Kazimierz, Władysław, Bolesław).[7] Examples are listed below. As an example of the pattern: Władysław contains the prefix wład (to rule, ruler) and the suffix sław (fame, glory). Note that feminine equivalents usually end in a (e.g. Bogusław - Bogusława).
These are derived either from the past participle (in the passive voice), e.g.: Bojan, Chocian, Kochan, Miłowan, Pomian, Stator, Wygnan, or the present participle (in the active voice), e.g.: Cieszym, Myślim, Radzim, Borzym. Such names are repositories of perhaps the largest source of sociological data about the ancient Slavic people.[9]
They have a variety of purposes, which can be listed as follows:
names containing a good wish, e.g. Kochan ('let him be loved'), Milan.
names referring to affection for the new born child, e.g. Obiecan ('promised'), Żdan ('promised', 'expected'),
names protecting from evil (consisting of lexemes with a negative, deterring effect) e.g. Wygnan, Mazan, Grozim, Niemir.[10]
Other examples: Poznan ('known', 'recognized'), Goszczon (being a guest at someone's place), Krszczon ('baptized'), Radovan, Dragan, Željan, Dejan, Nayden, Mirjana.
Diminutive and hypocoristic names
Diminutive and hypocoristic (endearing) names deriving from the above-mentioned dithematic names are created by using different diminutive suffixes. Such names are very popular in everyday usage, and usually are created by replacing part of the name with the suffix -ek (masculine, predominantly West Slavic; e.g. Polish Włodzimierz – Włodek), -ko (masculine, predominantly South Slavic and Ukrainian), -ka (feminine; also masculine in Russian), or -a: Mila, Luba, Staszek, Radek, Władek, Zlatko, Zlata, Volodya, Bronek, Leszek, Dobrusia, Slavko, Wojtek, Mirka, Bogusia, Slava, Zdravko, Zbyszko, Miłosz, Staś, Przemek, Bolko, Draho, Željko, Borya (fight), Boško, Božica, Božana, Branko, Branka, Braniša, Borko, Budimka, Hvališa, Dobar, Dobra, Dragoš, Dragica, Dragi, Draga, Dragoş, Miloš, Slavko, Slavica, Slavisa, Svetlana, Wít, Zdenka, Bratko, Braco, Braca, Bato, Bata, Batica, etc.
^folk etymological conflation of the Slavic mirŭ "peace/world" with the Gothic (Germanic) element měr, mir "great"
^D. Podlawska, "Gramatyka historyczna języka polskiego z elementami staro-cerkwienno-słowiańskiego i dialektologii", Wydawnictwo Naukowe Akademii Pomorskiej w Słupsku, Słupsk 2003|page 156-157, ISBN83-88731-23-8
^M.Malec "Wkład krakowskiego językoznastwa w polonistycznego do nauki o imionach osobowych" w LingVaria 2006/1, Wydział Polonistyki UJ, Księgarnia Akademicka, Kraków 2006, pages 127-131, ISBN83-7188-921-6
A.Cieślikowa Derywacja paradygmatyczna w staropolskiej antroponimii, Kraków 1991, ISBN83-900261-7-1(in Polish)
A. Brückner Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego, Warszawa 1985 (in Polish)
M. Malec Imię w polskiej antroponimii i kulturze, Kraków 2001, ISBN83-87623-27-X(in Polish)
M. Malec, Obraz rodziny w słowiańskich imionach złożonych, [w:] Rozprawy slawistyczne nr 16, * Słowiańskie composita antroponimiczne, Lublin 2000 (in Polish)
Notes
^Šventaragis or Świntorog - legendary Lithuanian prince, son of Utenus, grandson of Kukovoit, great-great-grandfather of Dovmont.
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