Category Archives: Bulgarian Names

Zenobia

Posted on by
Reply

Zenobia is composed of the Greek elements, Zeus (Zeus) and bios (life). It was notably borne by a 1st-century Armenian queen of Georgian descent and later a 3rd-Century Queen of Palmyra who tried to expand into Roman territory but was defeated by Emperor Aurelian.

Zenobia of Palmyra’s name might have been a Hellenized form of her birth name, Bat-Zabbai, which is from the Aramaic meaning “daughter of Zabbai.” Zabbai itself is an Aramaic male name. It seems to be a theophoric name, meaning “gift of–.” The latter part refers to an unknown deity. It may have actually been an Aramaic form of the Hebrew female name, Bathsheba.

Speculation has also linked it with the Arabic female name Zaynab, which can either mean “father’s beauty” or be from the name of a type of flowering tree.

It was borne by the 3rd-century martyrs, Ss. Zenobia and Zenobius, two early Christians who were siblings and beheaded under Emperor Diocletian. Their feast and name-day is October 30.

In the English-speaking world, it is first recorded in Cornwall and Devon, England in the 16th-century. Early English forms of Synibie, Sinobie, Senobie, Cenobie, and Cenoby (Sen-e-bee; SIN-e-bee), would make interesting revivals in the spirit of Sydney and Willoughby. A common English diminutive was Nobby.

Zenobia appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female names between 1881-1925, peaking at #669 in 1909.

Zenobia is no stranger to English literature, it is the name of a character in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s The Blithedale Romance (1852); Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome (1911); and is even used by Anne Rice in her the eighth book of her vampire series, Blood and Gold (2001).

Zenobia “Nobby” Hawthorne appears as a character in the P.G. Wodehouse series, Jeeves.

Tina Fey used this as the middle name of daughter, Alice Zenobia.

Other forms include

  • Zenobia Զենոբիա ზენობია ܙܢܘܒܝܐ Armenian, Assyrian, Coptic, Czech, Danish, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Provencal, Romanian, Swedish, Spanish)
  • Zanubya ܙܢܘܒܝܐ (Assyrian)
  • Zinovia Зіновія Зиновия Ζηνοβία Зіновія (Belarusian, Modern Greek, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian)
  • Zinovija Зиновия (Bulgarian, Serbian)
  • Cenobia (Catalan, English, Spanish, Swedish)
  • Anobia Ⲁⲛⲟⲃⲓⲁ (Coptic); Zanubiyah زنوبيا (Modern Arabic/Coptic)
  • Zenobie (English, archaic)
  • Senobia, Senobie, Sinobia (English)
  • Synibie, Sinobie, Cenobie, Cenoby (English)
  • Senopia (Finnish)
  • Zénobie, Zénobine (French)
  • Zenovia Ζηνοβία(Greek, modern, Romanian)
  • Zenóbia (Hungarian)
  • Zanobia (Italian, archaic)

Diminutives

  • Zinooba, Nubya (Assyrian)
  • Nobby, Zeena, Zina (English)
  • Pia, Piiu, Piu, Seno, Senu (Finnish)
  • Zena, Zenna (Hungarian)
  • Zenka, Zenobijka, Zenia, Zeba, Zebia, Zebka, Zeniulka, Zenusia, Zeniusia, Zeneczka (Polish)
  • Zina Зина (Russian)

Masculine forms include

  • Zenob Զենոբ (Armenian)
  • Zinovi Զինովի (Armenian)
  • Zenobio ܙܢܘܒܝܐ (Assyrian, Italian, Spanish)
  • Kenoba (Basque)
  • Zinovij Зиновий (Bulgarian, Serbian)
  • Cenobio, Zenobi (Catalan)
  • Zenóbe (French)
  • Zenobios Ζηνόβιος (Greek, classical)
  • Zinovios Ζηνόβιος (Greek, modern)
  • Zenóbiosz (Hungarian)
  • Zanobi (Italian, archaic)
  • Zenobiusz, Zenobi (Polish)
  • Zenovie (Romanian)
  • Zinoviy Зиновий Зіновій (Russian, Ukrainian)

Sources

Theodosia, Theodosius

Posted on by
Reply
Photo by Juliano Astc on Pexels.com
  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: “giving to God.”

Both come from the Greek, θεός (theos) meaning “god” and δόσις (dosis) meaning “giving.” Both the male and female form were borne by several Christian saints and Medieval rulers. In the English-speaking world, a notable bearer was Theodosia Alston Burr (1783-1813), the daughter of Aaron Burr and an American socialite who mysteriously disappeared in a ship-wreck. Her fate has been a source of speculation for two centuries, but she most likely died in the wreck. She is also the subject of the Broadway opera song from Hamilton, My Theodosia.

It’s female version has experienced usage in the English-speaking world since the 15th-century. It has spun off several diminutive off-shoots, which later became independent names, such as Docie/Dosey, Doshie, Dosha, Docia and Theda.

Theodosia appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Most Popular Female Names between 1880-1895, it peaked at number #547 in 1880. It’s offshoot of Doshie appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1905 and peaked at #640 in 1884 whereas Doshia peaked at #582 in 1881 and Docia at #317 in 1880.

Theda (THEE-dah) was the name of silent film actress, Theda Bara (born Theodosia Burr Goodman, 1885-1955). Theda appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 between 1880-1948 and peaked at #350 in 1916. Theda Bara may have helped sustain the usage of the name in the United States, but it seems to have been common enough long before she graced the silver screen.

In the 1988 movie For Keeps, starring Molly Ringwald, a teen couple are faced with an unexpected pregnancy, in which they name their daughter Theodosia, short form Thea, it is a last minute decision decided by the father who gets the name from his deceased grandmother of the same name.

It is the name of the main character of the R. L. LaFevers 2007 children’s novel, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, which spun off a tv series.

Its pronunciation in the English-speaking world fluctuates depending on the region and personal preference, from THEE-oh-DOH-see-uh, to THEE-oh-DOH-shuh and THEE-oh-DOH-zhuh, the sky’s the limits.

Its masculine form has always been prevalent in eastern Christian countries but did not pick up the same momentum in the English-speaking world as its feminine counterpart did.

Female forms

  • Tayodosiya ታዮዶሲዮስ (Amharic)
  • Thudusya ثيودوسيا (Arabic, used by Arab Christians)
  • T’eodosia Թեոդոսիա (Armenian)
  • Teodosija ТеодосиЯ (Bulgarian, Latvian, Lithuanian)
  • Teodosia თეოდოსია (Catalan, Corsican, Georgian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish)
  • Theodosia Θεοδοσια ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲟⲥⲓⲁ.(Coptic, English, German, Greek, Latin, Nordic, Romansch)
  • Teodozija Теодосија (Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene)
  • Docia, Dosha, Doshia (English)
  • Docie, Docey (English)
  • Dosia (English, Polish)
  • Theda (English)
  • Théodosie (French)
  • Teodózia (Hungarian)
  • Teodosja (Maltese)
  • Teodozja (Polish)
  • Teodósia (Portuguese)
  • Feodosija Феодосия (Russian, Ukrainian)
  • Teudosia (Sicilian)

Male Forms

  • Teodosi (Albanian, Catalan)
  • Tayodosiyos ታዮዶሲዮስ (Amharic)
  • Thudusyus ثيودوسيوس (Arabic, used by Arab Christians)
  • T’eodosios Թեոդոսիոս (Armenian)
  • Teodosij Теодосий (Bulgarian)
  • Theodosios Θεοδόσιος ⲑⲉⲟⲇⲟⲥⲓⲟⲥ (Coptic, Greek)
  • Teodosiu (Corsican, Romanian, Sardinian)
  • Teodozije Теодосије (Croatian, Macedonian, Serbian, Slovene)
  • Theodosius (English, German, Latin, Nordic)
  • Théodose (French)
  • Theodósziosz (Hungarian)
  • Teodosio (Italian, Spanish)
  • Teodosijs (Latvian)
  • Teodosijus (Lithuanian)
  • Teodosju (Maltese)
  • Teodozy, Teodozjusz (Polish)
  • Teodósio (Portuguese)
  • Theodosi (Romansch)
  • Teodosie (Romanian)
  • Feodosij Феодосий (Russian, Ukrainian)
  • Teudosiu (Sicilian)
  • Teodóz (Slovak)

Sources

Velia

Posted on by
Reply
  • Origin: Italian
  • Meaning: unknown
  • Gender: feminine
  • It (VAY-lee-ah); Eng (VEE-lee-ah)
  • Usage: Italian, Portuguese, Spanish

The name is of uncertain origin or meaning, it has been suggested to be from an Old Roman gens name, Velius, possibly meaning “concealed.” It may have also been taken from the name of an Ancient Roman city in Salerno, which possibly has the same meaning as above, and has also been suggested to be a contracted form of Evelia or Evelina. It is mainly used in Lazio and Tuscany. It was further popularized in Italy by the 1923 novel by Bruno Cicognani, La Velia.

It is also the name of a genus of aquatic insect in the family veliidae.

It appeared in the U.S. Top 1000 Popular Female Names between 1929 and 1930, peaking at #836 in 1929.

There are also the masculine forms of Velio, Velino (Italian), Velius (Latin) and the Bulgarian, Velian Велиян.

Other forms include:

  • Vélie (French)
  • Vélia (Hungarian)
  • Veliana Велиана, Веляна (Italian, Bulgarian)
  • Velina (Italian)
  • Welia (Polish)
  • Velia (Portuguese, Spanish)

Sources

Nectar, Nectaire, Nectarius, Nectaria

Posted on by
1
  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: “nectar.”

Nectar is the English form of the Greek Nektarios Νεκτάριος, which is derived from νέκταρ (nektar), meaning “nectar, the drink of the gods. Nectar is not a name that has ever been in common use in the English-speaking world, but since it is the name of several Eastern and Western Christian saints, the proper English male translation of the name would be Nectar; or it would have appeared thus in the calendar.

It was borne by St. Nectaire of Auvergne, a 4th-century Christian missionary to the Gauls in what is now the Massif Central region of France. According to Gregory of Tours, he was sent by Pope Fabian, along with his brothers, where he transformed a temple that was dedicated to Apollo on Mont Cornadore into a cathedral that still stands, and was subsequently beheaded by the local Gaulic chieftain. The commune of Saint-Nectaire in the Puy-de-Dôme department of France gets its name from him, as does the cheese of the same name; or the latter technically comes from the Marshal of Senneterre, which is a linguistic corruption of Saint-Nectaire.

Male forms include:

  • Nektarij, Nektary Нектарий (Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian)
  • Nectari (Catalan)
  • Nektarious (Coptic)
  • Nectarije (Croatian-Serbian)
  • Nectar (English)
  • Nectaire (French)
  • Nektari ნეკტარი (Georgian)
  • Nektarios Νεκτάριος (Greek)
  • Nettario (Italian)
  • Nectareus, Nectarius (Late Latin)
  • Nektārijs (Latvian)
  • Nektariusz (Polish)
  • Nectário (Portuguese)
  • Nectarie (Romanian)
  • Nectario (Spanish)

Feminine forms include

  • Nektaria, Nektarija Νεκταρία Nექთარიჯა Нектария (Coptic, Bulgarian, Georgian, Greek, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Ukrainian)
  • Nectarie (French)
  • Nettaria (Italian)
  • Nectaria (Latin, Romanian, Spanish)
  • Nectária (Portuguese)

A modern male Greek diminutive form is Nektary and the Russian diminutive form for both the male and female form is Nechka.

Sources

Spyridon, Spyridoula

Posted on by
Reply

Spyridon is a Byzantine Greek male name which comes directly from the Greek word σπυρίδιον (spyridion), meaning “basket.” Other sources suggest it is a hellenised form of the Latin Spiritus (spirit). It was popularized by a 4th-century Greek saint who played a key role in the Council of Nicaea. He is revered as the patron saint of Corfu and of potters.

His feast day is December 12.

Spiro & Spyros are its short forms, while Spyridoula is the femininine form.

Spiro was borne by the 39th vice president of the United States, Spiro Agnew (1918-1996).

It was borne by Spyridon Louis, the first modern Olympic Gold medalist in the 1896 Summer Olympics.

Forms and usage include:

  • Spiridoni, Spiridhoni (Albanian)
  • Asbiridun اسبيريدون (Arabic)
  • Spiridon Спиридон (Assyrian, Bulgarian, Croatian, German, Lebanese-Arabic, Romanian, Serbian)
  • Espiridió, Espiridó (Catalan)
  • Spyridon Σπυρίδων (Coptic, French, Greek)
  • Špiro (Croatian)
  • Spi’ridon სპირიდონ (Georgian)
  • Spiridione, Spiridone (Italian)
  • Spirydon (Polish)
  • Espiridão (Portuguese)
  • Spiridón (Russian)
  • Espiridón, Espiridión (Spanish)
  • Spyrydon Спиридон (Ukrainian)

Italian feminine forms include: Spiridiona & Spiridona.

Sources

Stylian, Stelian, Stylianos, Steliana

Posted on by
Reply
  • Origin: Greek
  • Meaning: “piller.”

Stylianos Στυλιανός is derived from the Greek στῦλος (stylos) meaning, “pillar.” St. Stylian was a 6th-century Byzantine saint who was a hermit, known for his love of children, hence he is considered the patron saint of children.

His feast day is November 26th.

Masculine forms include:

  • Stilian Стилиан (Albanian, Bulgarian, Russian)
  • Estilià (Catalan)
  • Stylian Стиліан (English, German, Polish, Ukrainian)
  • Stélien (French)
  • Stilien,Stylien (French)
  • Stelios Στέλιος (Greek)
  • Stylianos Στυλιανός (Greek)
  • Estellio (Italian)
  • Stelio, Stellio (Italian)
  • Stiliano (Italian)
  • Stylianus (Late Latin)
  • Estiliano (Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Steliano (Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Stelian (Romanian)
  • Stilijan Стилијан (Serbian)
  • Stilijanos (Serbian)

Feminine forms include:

  • Stiliana Стилияна (Albanian, Bulgarian, Italian)
  • Stélie, Stéliane, Stélienne, Stylienne (French)
  • Stelia (Greek, Italian)
  • Styliani Στυλιανή (Greek)
  • Stellia (Italian)
  • Styliana (Polish)
  • Estiliana (Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Steliana (Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish)
  • Stilijana (Serbian)

A common short form in Greece for the female version is Stella.

Sources

Astraea

Posted on by
Reply
  • Origin: Greek Ἀστραία
  • Meaning: “star.”
  • Gender: feminine
  • Eng Pronunciation: (uh-STRAY-ah)

The name is borne in Greek mythology by the daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the goddess of justice, innocence, purity, & precision and is closely associated with Dike, the goddess of Justice. According to Ovid, Astraea was a mortal woman during the Golden Age, but ascended into the heavens to become the constellation Virgo.

Other froms of the name include:

  • Astraia Աստրաիա (Armenian, Czech, German, modern Greek, Scandinavian)
  • Astrea Астрея (Bulgarian, Catalan, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian)
  • Astrée (French)
  • Astraja (Lithuanian, Polish)
  • Astreia (Portuguese)

Sources

Adonis, Adonija, Adonise

Posted on by
Reply
The Awakening of Adonis (1899-1900) by John William Waterhouse

Adonis is borne in Greek mythology by the god of beauty and desire. According to the most popular myth, he was born of the incestuous union of Theias and his daughter Myrrha. Myrrha had tricked her own father into having sex with her. The gods transformed Myrrha into a myrrh tree after Theias attempted to kill her whilst pregnant with Adonis. Adonis was beloved of Aphrodite and mothered by Persephone, but he was subsequently killed by a boar when Artemis, or in some versions, Ares, sent a boar to kill Adonis out of jealousy. When Adonis died, Aphrodite cried tears which mingled with Adonis’ blood, producing the Anemone flower. Aphrodite instituted the Adonia festival in his commemoration, whereby all women had a mass mock funeral of Adonis by growing plants in potsherds on their rooftops and performing a mass funeral ritual as soon as the plants sprouted.

It is likely Adonis was imported by the Greeks from the Phoenicians, the latter being the descendants of the Sumerians, Mesopotamians & Babylonians. It is believed by most scholars that Adonis is an adaptation of the Sumerian story of Dumuzid & Inanna (later Tammuz & Ishtar), in which a ritual funeral rite was also performed by women across the former Babylonian empire. Adonis itself is a Hellenized form of the Canaanite, adon, which means “lord” and was often used as an appellation by the Canaanites for the god Tammuz. The Jews adopted this appellation for Yahweh in the form of Adonai (my lord).

Adonis is borne by an 8th-century French saint of Vienne. He is also listed as Adon & Ado. Adonis has sporadically been used as a given-name in Greece, anglophone, francophone & hispanophone countries. The French feminine off-shoots, though rare these days, are Adonise (AH-do-NEEZ) and Adonie, and were actually prevalent in 18th-centurry Quebec & New Orleans. An obscure Italian feminine form is Adonella.

There is the male Biblical Hebrew name, Adonijah meaning (my lord is Yahweh). It is borne by a son of King David and was Hellenized in the Septuagint as Adonias.

Other forms include:

  • Adonies (Catalan)
  • Adonia (Dutch, Italian, Swedish)
  • Adonija Адония (French, German, Russian)
  • Adonias Αδωνίας (French, Greek, Portuguese)
  • Adonías (Galician)
  • Adonja (Norwegian)
  • Adoniasz (Polish)
  • Adonías (Spanish)
  • Adoniya Адонія (Ukrainian)

Currently, Adonis is the 242nd most popular male name in the United States and the 461st most popular in France.

Other forms include:

  • Adonisi ადონისი (Albanian, Georgian)
  • Adonis Адонис Адоніс Άδωνις Ադոնիս (Armenian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, Macedonian, German, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian, Scandinavian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish, Turkish)
  • Adónis Адо́ніс (Belarusian, Continental-Portuguese, Czech, Slovak)
  • Adó (Catalan)
  • Adónisz (Hungarian)
  • Adone, Adon (Italian)
  • Adônis (Brazilian-Portuguese)
  • Adón (Spanish)

Sources

Lubomir, Lubomira

Posted on by
1
  • Origin: Slavic
  • Gender: masculine
  • Meaning: “love & peace.”

Lubomir is composed of the Slavic elements, lubo (love) & mir (peace).

Its Czech form of Lubomír was one of the most popular male names in the Czech Republic between 1935-2006, it peaked at #16 in 1959.

Other forms include:

  • Ljubomir Љубомир Љубомир (Bosnian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene)
  • Lubomir Любомир (Bulgarian, Polish)
  • Lyubomir Лыѹбомир (Old Church Slavonic, Russian)
  • Lubomierz (Polish)
  • Ľubomír (Slovakian)
  • Lyubomyr (Ukrainian)

Diminutives & Short Forms

  • Ljubiša, Ljubo (Bosnian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene)
  • Luboš (Czech)
  • Ljube, Ljupcho, Ljupčo (Macedonian)
  • Ľuboš (Slovakian)

Feminine forms are

  • Ljubomira (Bosnian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene)
  • Lubomíra (Czech)
  • Lubomira (Medieval Slavic, Polish)
  • L’ubomíra (Slovak)
  • Lyubomyra (Ukrainian)

Sources

Menas, Minas, Mina

Posted on by
Reply
  • Arabic مينا;
  • Armenian Մինաս
  • Coptic ⲙⲏⲛⲁ
  • Ge’ez ሜናስ
  • Greek Μηνᾶς

Menas is a popular male name among Eastern Christians, it is of uncertain meaning, it may derive from the Greek μήνη (mene) meaning, “moon,” or the ancient Egyptian Menes, which is the name of a 3rd-century BCE Egyptian pharaoh, in which case, the name derives from the ancient Egyptian, mnj (he who endures). It may also be related to the ancient Egyptian divinity name, Min, which is of uncertain meaning. However, according to Coptic tradition, the name means “amen.”

It is the name of a popular 2nd-century Coptic saint and martyr, known as Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲙⲏⲛⲁ (Abba Mina). According to legend, St. Menas’ parents were devout Christians who were having a hard time having children. His mother prayed to the Virgin Mary for a child, and she heard a response saying “amen,” this is where the name Menas supposedly derives from. It is speculated by some that the Western St. Christopher and the Eastern St. Menas are one and the same person. It is also borne by an Ethiopian saint of the 6th-century (CE) and a 16th-century CE Ethiopian emperor.

It was the name of 1st-century CE Roman admiral who features in Shakespeares, Antony & Cleopatra.

Other forms of the name include:

  • Minasə ሚናስ (Amharic)
  • Mina مينا; Мина ⲙⲏⲛⲁ Ми́на Міна (Arabic, Bulgarian, Coptic, Romanian, Russian, Ukrainian)
  • Minas Մինաս Μηνάς (Armenian, Greek)
  • Menna (Catalan)
  • Ménas (French)
  • Menas (German, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Ménász, Mennasz, Mínász (Hungarian)
  • Mena (Italian)

Sources