Latvian names: female and male, rare and popular

A name is an inalienable attribute of a person that is inherent in every civilization, regardless of the level of its development. With the help of it, you can often identify an individual, as well as learn about nationality and confessional conditioning. But, of course, this can not always be done.

It is rather the influence of fashion and personal preferences of parents. In this article some Latvian names will be presented. Their roots go back to antiquity, in fact, like the whole Latvian culture.

Names Categories

All names can be divided into the following groups:

• On the basis of gender, men's or women's are distinguished;
• On the geography of a person's residence, they can call him a native Latvian name or a foreign name that came from other nations;
• By belonging to a particular religion distinguish pagan names and Christian.

However, if you turn to history, the last two groups are united, because initially the Latvian names are mostly pagan, while many foreign ones are Christian. This can be explained by the fact that Christianity on the land of Latvia came only in the 12th century. After that, many parents continued to call their children pagan names or even invented names for their children on their own.

Men's names

Often, Latvian names for men can be determined at the end of -c (-s). This ending is common to all groups of names. It may seem that the Latvian boys were called too eloquently. Therefore, you must first understand the meaning of a name. Latvians sincerely believe that the name has an important role in shaping the character of a person. If parents wanted their child to be diligent and zealous, they called him Centis. In devout families, boys were often called Laimonis, which means "blessed."

Why do children call this or that name?

It is quite popular in Latvia to call boys names associated with the environment. For example, Dzintars (amber) or Druvis (Niva).

Today you can hear the names that in the old days were called great generals who fought in the Crusades. The most common of these names is Viestras and Talivalds.

Basically all foreign names came to the Latvian language with the development of Christianity. Indigenous Latvians mainly profess Catholicism and Lutheranism, therefore Christian names came to these lands from Germans, Swedes and Poles. Sometimes these names are consonant with the Russians. For example, the Hebrew name John in Latvia sounds like Janis, and we have Ivan, which means "Divine Grace." The name Peteris (meaning "rock") came to Latvia from ancient Greece. Paulus is an analog of the Latin name Paul. In the Russian version, this name sounds similar.

The Latvian name Aivars means "warrior". This name came to the Latvian lands from Ancient Scandinavia. From England came the name Edgars (a wealthy warrior), from Germany - Uldis (powerful).

Some Latvian male names differ from Russian only by pronunciation. For example, in Russian there is a rule to shorten names, while in Latvian names are transformed into a caressing form and from this become much longer than the original ones.

Female names

Many indigenous women's names came from ancient pagan mythology. For example, the popular names of Lyme (patroness of happiness) and Lauma (wizard). Latvian names, women in particular, often describe only the positive light qualities of its possessor. For example, Maiga - affectionate, Ilga - beloved, Mirzd - brilliant.

Many Latvian names, feminine and masculine, are indebted to Christianity. Especially popular in Latvia are such options as Anna (favors), Christina (Christian), Maria (mistress), Inese (pure).

At the beginning of the 20th century, women's names from Lithuania and Scandinavia came to the Latvian language. Inguna, Daina, Biruta - these Latvian names are quite rare. Not so often, but still there are names that are derived from the male. Basically, use a diminutive or caress form. For example, Melita turns into Melitina.

You can choose a name for a girl, because there are no canons in the Lutheran church. Often, parents independently rewrite names, including all their imagination.

Especially popular among Latvians is to call girls Anita. But this name is not so harmless as it may seem. Parents need to learn its meaning in advance.

Popular name Anita

It can not be called sweet Anita, because her distinctive features are unimaginable irritability, perseverance, and excessive nervousness. Girls with this name do not recognize authorities since childhood. They like to uphold their opinions and views to the end, in school they often argue with teachers and object to adults. Such a girl has a huge willpower, an analytical mind, and an excellent memory. In addition, Anita has an incomparable instinct. The girl is extremely temperamental, but in life she is very independent and difficult to influence. She always gives resistance to anyone who wants to convince her or teach her something, Anita also will not listen to advice, although sometimes these very tips are irreplaceable and necessary. Detailed study of the description, we can conclude that this name - it's more a curse than a blessing. But for some reason, Latvians increasingly give the name of Anita to their newborn babies.

Fashion dictates its rules

Today, the popularity of traditional traditional names drops sharply, as parents prefer to call their children, following not the traditions of the people, but fashion. In everyday life, there were quite a few names that had not existed before. They are simply derived from others. It's sad, but some beautiful Latvian names are on the verge of extinction. But quite often in Latvia you can meet Anastasius, Victoria and Alexandrov.

It is noteworthy that the patronymic is not used in the Latvian language. Only name and surname. But if Latvians are mentioned in Russian-language sources, then this person identifier is also mentioned on a par with others.