Not to be confused with the Spanish surname of a different etymology, Rangel is a traditional Bulgarian first name derived from Рангел (arangel), meaning “archangel.”
The designated name-day is November 8th.
Notable bearers include Bulgarian actor, Rangel Valchanov (1928-2013); and Bulgarian footballer, Rangel Ignatov (b. 1997).
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The name is derived from the Old Slavic root najĭti (to find). These names were given to children after a long awaited pregnancy.
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Chariton is an ancient Greek masculine name derived from χάρις (charis), meaning “grace, kindness, favor.”
The name was borne by Saint Chariton the Confessor (4th century), a revered Christian monk and founder of several monasteries in the Judaean Desert. His feast day is observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church on September 28.
Chariton also appears in classical Greek literature as a personal name. It was the name of a 1st-century Greek writer.
International Variations
Charitine, Charitina
The feminine form of Charitine (Χαριτίνη) is the feminine counterpart, and it was latinized as Charitina. An English pronuncitation would be KARE-e-TEE-nee (Grk), and KARE-e-TEE-nah or KARE-e-TIE-nuh).
Saint Charitine of Rome (also known as Charitina, 4th century) is a virgin martyr honored in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholic Churches. The feast day and designated name-day is October 8th.
Charitina was later borne by a Medieval Russian Orthodox saint of Lithuania. Very little is known of her hagiography other than her being an indigenous Lithuanian woman who was born pagan but later converted to Christianity.
Female International Variations
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Both names are Bulgarian and come from the Slavic adjective румен / rumen, meaning “rosy, ruddy, red-cheeked, healthy-looking.”
A notable female bearer was Bulgarian pop singer, Rumyana (1965-1999).
Variants & Diminutives
A Western Slavic (Polish, Czech, Slovak) hypothetical translation of both names would Rumian and Rumiana.
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The name appears in Greek mythology. It is connected to a woman who killed herself when her love for Demophon was not returned. She was transformed into an almond or hazelnut tree, depending on the legend. It comes directly from the Greek word, Φυλλίς, meaning, “leaves, foliage,” which shares a root with the words chlorophyll and phyllotaxis. Its Turkish form of Filiz comes from the same root but the meaning slightly changes to “sprout; root.”
It also appears as the name of a minor river god of Bithynia.
It came into widespread use in England in the 16th-century and later spread to the rest of the Anglosphere.
Early Puritan records occasionally include Phyllis/Phillis, reflecting classical learning even among settlers. Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), the first published African-American female poet, is a striking historical bearer.
An 18th-century English short form was Lissie or Lissy.
It frequently appears in Elizabethan and Restoration poetry and drama. Poets such as Ben Jonson and Andrew Marvell used “Phyllis” as a stock name for a beloved in pastoral verse. Later modernists like Ezra Pound continued this tradition. This usage helped keep it familiar to English speakers for centuries.
It marked its presence in baroque operas (e.g., Handel’s Acis and Galatea includes a character named Phyllis) and in folk songs of the British Isles.
Victorian painters of the Pre-Raphaelite school sometimes chose the Phyllis and Demophon story for mythological canvases.
In the United States, it appeared in the Top 100 Female Names between 1915-1958, peaking at #24 in 1929. In the U.K., it came in at #14 in 1914, #4 in New Zealand in 1911, and #29 in 1922 in Canada.
Its Turkish offshoot of Filiz appeared in the Turkish Top 100 between 1980-1996, peaking at #11 between 1980-1982.
Today, the name is considered dated in the English-speaking world.
Phillyda, pronounced /ˈfɪl.ɪ.də/ in English is an alternate form.
Other forms include:
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The name is derived from the Greek genitive λέοντος (leontos), meaning, “belonging to a lion; lion-like.”
It was borne by an 8th-century Byzantine emperor and several saints.
The designated name-day is January 13th.
An early English form is perhaps, Leontes, which appears in Shakespeare’s play, The Winter’s Tale (1610).
Léonce is its unisex French form. It appeared in the French Top 1000 Male Names between 1900-1969, and peaked at #95 in 1909. It simultaneously appeared in the French Top 1000 Female Names between 1900-1940 and peaked at #187 in 1915.
Léonce also appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Male Names between 1887-1895, peaking at #819 in 1887.
Other masculine forms
Feminine forms include
Another possible female off-shoot is Léontine – popular in France from the late 19th to early 20th centuries, it is pronounced [le.ɔ̃.tin]. It is debated whether it is a direct feminine form of Leontius or related to a Latin source meaning, “from Lentini.” A future entry will be written completely dedicated to Léontine.
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Krastyo кръст is derived from the Bulgarian krast (cross), and is a vernacular form of the Greek, Stavros.
It was borne by Krastyo Krastev (1866-1919), a Bulgarian writer, philosopher and translator known as Bulgaria’s first literary critic. It was also borne by Krastyo Hadzhiivanov, a Bulgarian poet and resistance fighter (1929-1952).
Other forms include: Krastyu, Krastan, Krustan and Krustyo.
Croatian and Serbian forms are Krst and Krstan.
Feminine forms include: Krastana, Krastina, Krustana, and Krustina.
It’s designated name-day is September 14th.
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The name is from the classical Greek, related to Apollo. It was borne by several early Christian saints. The most notable being St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, a Syrian Christian missionary to Ravenna who was martyred there and thereafter became the city’s patron saint.
The French form Apollinaire is linked to the Franco-Polish poet, Guillaume Apollinaire. He lived from 1880 to 1918. He was born Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki.
Apolinary was common in Poland during the late 19th-century and early 20th-centuries, it is now obsolete. Diminutives include: Apolinek, Apollinek, Apolin, Apollin, Polin, Polinary, Polinarek, Polinaruś, Poli, and Polik.
In Italy, Apollinare was mainly used in the Romagna region due to it being the name of their patrion saint, but it has since fallen out of use.
Apollinaire sporadically appeared in the French Top 1000 between 1900 and 1926 and peaked at #403 in 1923. In 2024, 5 babies were given this name.
Neither its masculine form nor its feminine form had much usage in the English-speaking world. It was mostly used in families of Greek or Eastern European background during the late 19th-century.
Designated name-days include July 20th, July 23rd, and September 12th
Other forms include
Its feminine form is Apollinaria, which is also borne by an early Christian saint.
Other feminine forms include:
A traditional feminine diminutive form in Russian is Polina. Polish diminutives include: Apollinka, Apollina, Apolinka, Apolla, Apola, Pola, Polka, Polcia, Polina, and Polinka. Modern Greek diminutives include: Nαρία (Naría), Πόλλα (Pólla), or Λίνα (Lina). Potential English short forms would include: Apple, Pollie, Polly, and Narey, or Narie.
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The name comes from the Greek Ποιμήν (poimen) meaning, “shepherd.”
In Greek Mythology, the earlier form of Poemenius is known as the name of a satyr. He led the god Dionysos’ satyr troops in a war against India.
It was borne by a 4th-century desert father and Christian saint, known in the Coptic Church as Abba Poemen.
Other forms include:
In Poland, the designated name-day is September 9th
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The name is composed of the Old Slavonic elements, stracho (fear) and mir (peace). Strachomir is the Polish form, it is first recorded in Poland in 1386 but has since fallen out of use.
It spun off the Medieval Czech and Polish male name, Strachota, which was used as a vernacular form of the Greek name, Methodius which also means “fear.” A hypothetical female form would be Strachomira.
Hypothetical Polish diminutive forms would be, Stracha, Strachot, Strasz, Straszech, Straszek, and Straszko.
The South Slavic forms are Strahimir Страхомир, Strahomir Страхимир, and Strashimir Страшимир.
Strashimirite is a type of mineral which was discovered by Bulgarian minereologist Jordanka Minčeva-Stefanova who named it after Bulgarian minerologist, Strashimir Dimitrov (1892–1960).
Strashimira Страшимирa is a Bulgarian feminine form and it is borne by Bulgarian volleyball player, Strashmira Filipova (b. 1985).
The designated name day in Croatia is September 9.
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