How to choose a name for a girl: a bit of history and modernity

The choice of the name of the future child begins sometimes long before the long-awaited moment when future parents will hear the words: "You will have a child!". Sometimes favorite names come to us from childhood or from a book or movie you like. We like a hero, we subconsciously want to have such a child: beautiful, smart, fun, decisive - and plan ahead: "When I have a son, I will call him ...".

Let's talk today about how to choose a name for the girl: ancient traditions, astrological approach, superstitions and reasonable advice.

Names people had a long time ago, even in the era of antiquity, Homer wrote:

At the first moment of birth
Everyone, miserable and noble,
The name, as a sweet gift,
He gets his own from his own.

The ancient Slavs gave the children names-signs (Chernysh, Belyanochka, Rosochka, Gryaznusha, Malusha, Nesmeyana), "talking" names (Lyudmila, Love, Hope, Vera). Many babies were given names-amulet: to deceive, confuse evil spirits, it was necessary to call the child so that evil spirits did not realize that it was a man. So there appeared the names of Birch, Aspen, Dawn, Cow, Pava, Golub, Winter, Swan. Today they are considered to be pagan names. However, they did not disappear without a trace, and moved to our surnames. And if you are Lebedev, then among relatives there was someone called Swan, and if Ziminy, then there was an ancestor with the name Winter in the family.

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia , a tradition was established to give children names on a calendar basis. Orthodox parents did not puzzle over the question of how to choose a name for the girl. Everything was solved very simply: the names of the girls were determined by the date of their birth. Almost every day of the calendar in the Orthodox saints there was a saint whose name day the church celebrated on that day. The name of this saint was appropriated to the newborn, and she became the patroness of the baby for her whole life.

Sometimes it turned out that on the birthday of the crumb did not fall out any name-day, then the girl was given the name of the nearest in the calendar saint. In this case, birthday and birthday (the birthday of your patron saint) did not coincide. Today, many parents follow Orthodox traditions, look in the saints (go to church) in search of a suitable name. But you need to be prepared for the fact that the names that come to your daughter's birthday will seem disingenuous to you.

So, on January 29 women's names Leonilla and Iovilla drop out, on November 1 - Cleopatra, on July 16 - Golinduh. Not every parent will want to call that a daughter. Because today even believing people often make a compromise: they call the baby the way they like, and when baptized give a second name - the patron saint. There are no sequences in the behavior of parents, however. Usually, when baptized, the girl is given the same name that was given at birth. Only in the absence of a saint with such a name is the guardian angel "chosen" in the calendar (and not always the one responsible for the girl's birthday). However, when you are thinking how to choose a name for a girl, do not forget about this approach: it's not so bad if your baby has a heavenly patron.

Most names that today seem to us originally Russian, in fact, are so-called "calendar" names borrowed from Greek (Ekaterina, Irina, Larisa, Elena, Galina, Vasilisa, Varvara, Tatiana), Latin (Marina, Margarita, Matryona, Natalia, Julia, Valentina) and the Jewish (Anna, Elizabeth, Maria) thanks to the saints.

In the first post-revolutionary years many familiar names seemed to be beaten up by many parents, and they began to experiment: Ninel (Lenin on the contrary), Vladlen (Vladimir Lenin), Stalin, Lagshmivara (Schmidt camp in the Arctic), Iskra, Idea, Carnation, Volga, Revmira (revolution of the world), Astra, Rosa.

Later, mom and dad again returned to the most euphonious names from the calendar and Old Russian. Time rejects the unsuccessful variants of human word-making, therefore, the current "masterpieces" of some parents will surely remain the misfortune of only a specific child. Thinking about how to choose a name for a girl, such parents want to co-ordinate, and call their favorite daughters Viagra, Privatization, Dibila (Dima Bilan). It will not be easy for the girl and with such names as Esmeralda, Cinderella, Snow White and Fiona.

To choose a name for your daughter, pay attention to its prevalence (it is not very pleasant when in the class of 8 Nast), compatibility with the patronymic and surname (agree, the name "Privatization Igorevna Fisyun" will sound, at least, strange), euphoniousness, Traditions of your country, the opportunity to form affectionate names.

If you believe that the person's name determines his destiny, read Boris Khigir's books, but you need to study them seriously: for example, according to his theory, Polina Sergeevna and Polina Arkadevna are two different people, although they bear the same name.

For nine months before the birth of the baby, it is quite possible to make up your own opinion about what name will be best for her.