The natural simplicity of Bulgarian surnames. Bulgarian names Bulgarian surnames for men

In Bulgaria, there are many names that often carry a special meaning. By this, parents try to show the character traits of the child or give him some features. Often Bulgarian names are a kind of wish for a born person prosperity, success or health. Today we will try to consider not only their meanings, but also to understand which names are the most popular in this state, how they are formed and what Bulgarian traditions are observed when naming children.

Origin of Bulgarian names

The most common and popular Bulgarian names are of Slavic origin. They firmly entered into use after the adoption of Christianity as the main faith. Greek, Latin and Old Hebrew gained considerable popularity. Turkish rule in Bulgaria, oddly enough, had little effect on the diversity of names, since states rarely called their children in Muslim. For a long time parents named their sons in honor of the Slavic princes Alexander and Vladimir.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the names of Western European and American descent. Bulgarian names (female and male) during this period were enriched with new forms due to popular movie heroes, singers and actors.

Be that as it may, Bulgarian men and women are called in a special way, even if the names are formed from words often used in other countries. Agree, it is rare in any country in Europe, America or Asia that you can hear a girl called Miliana or Luchezara, and men Tsvetan or Yasen.

Traditions: how in Bulgaria they give a name

Bulgarian names, especially male ones, have been preserved unchanged due to the naming of descendants in honor of their grandfathers or great-grandfathers. There was no special system, which consists in the sequence of inheritance. An older child could be named like a grandmother or grandfather, regardless of what gender the baby was. Bulgarian names are unique in this regard: boys and girls are often called the same. An example of this is the male name Zhivko and the female Zhivka, Spaska and Spas, Kalin and Kalina.

In addition, the Bulgarian names of girls and boys are chosen in accordance with the church calendar. In this case, the children are named after the saints on whose day they were born. Also in Bulgaria they still believe in the power of the word as such, so often the names for young Bulgarians are the names of plants or the properties of a human character.

Female names in Bulgaria and their meaning

So we're already in in general terms learned what Bulgarian names are. Feminine and masculine, as mentioned above, are often consonant or have the same meaning. But there are those whose sound is unique not only for a particular country, but for the whole world. These include such names as Gisela ("beauty"), Smaragda ("jewel"), Salvina (healthy), Babylia ("God's gate") and so on.

Many female names in Bulgaria are given to girls as a talisman. For example, Blessed, according to the Bulgarians, should give the girl happiness, and Iskra - sincerity. A radiant girl is called if they want to give her strength, Demira - when a girl needs strength of mind. Several names for little Bulgarians originate in myths and legends. So, Veda means "mermaid" or "forest fairy", Xantha - "golden-haired", Luchesara - "heavenly star".

Male Bulgarian names

The meaning of Bulgarian is as diverse as that of girls. There is a whole list. At the same time, some of the names are able to endow the boy with certain qualities: Blagomir ("bringing good to the world"), Boyan (" strong-willed fighter"), Branimir ("protecting the world"), Nikolaa ("conquering peoples"), Peter or Penko ("strong as a stone, rock").

Bulgarian names (male) are often associated with the character of a person or the main one in the family. For example, Georgie and Dimitar are the two most popular names for peasants working on the land. They translate as "farmer". The name Philip ("loving horses") was more often given to children in families of grooms, riders or horse breeders.

Love for children, the desire to endow them with beauty in appearance and character was also reflected in male names in Bulgaria. For example, Luben (love), Lyudmil (dear to people) and Tsvetan (flower) are still often found in this country. Also in Bulgaria they believe that luck and respect in the future will be with those who were named Slavya Zvezdelin ("starry") or Yan ("worshiping God").

Popular boy and girl names in Bulgaria

Behind recent decades the Bulgarian girls became Ilia, Rositsa, Rada (Radka) and Mariyka. They are called about 20% of all newborn girls. Slightly less popular are Stoyanka, Vasilka, Stefka and Yordanka. Bulgarian names for boys that have gained popularity in last years, do not differ in great exotic sounding. Most often, boys are called Petr, Rumen, Todor and Ivan. Slightly less popular are Nikola, Atanas, Marin and Angel.

"Tiny" names

In addition to the official ones, in Bulgaria it is customary to use the so-called "tiny" names, which are an abbreviated version of the name given at birth. In relation to women, this tradition is rarely applied, but male names often reduced beyond recognition. An example of this is George: in Bulgaria, men with this name are often called Gosho, Gezha, Gogo or Zhoro. But Todor can be pronounced as Tosho, Totio or Toshko. In rare cases, a “tiny” name can become independent and official, after which it can be written into documents.

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A state in Southeastern Europe, in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The capital is Sofia. Population - 7,202,198 (2014). I will also give data on ethnic groups and languages ​​(for 2011). 84.8% are Bulgarians. The second largest group is the Turks (8.8%). 4.9% of Gypsies live, 0.15% of Russians, as well as Armenians, Circassians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Karakachans, Jews, Gagauz. Most of the inhabitants of Bulgaria are Orthodox Christians (83.96%), 0.85% are Catholics, 1.12% are Protestants. 2.02% - Muslims, 0.012% - Jews. The official language is Bulgarian, which is native to 85.2% of the population. The Bulgarian alphabet, as you know, is Cyrillic.

Turkish is the native language for 8.8% of people. It is widely distributed in the regions of Kardzhali, Razgrad, Targovishte, Shumen, Silistra, Dobrich, Ruse and Burgas.

The Bulgarian personal name is similar to the Russian one, since the basis of both are names from the Orthodox church calendar. Bulgarians have a lot of names Slavic origin. There are Thracians. Turkish, despite the long Turkish rule, the Bulgarians are almost not perceived. A feature of the Bulgarian naming in comparison with Russian is the widespread use of short forms of names as official diminutives (for example: Boyko, Vlado, Drago, Miro, Rado, Slavko).

The official statistics of names in Bulgaria is supplied by the National Statistical Institute. This statistic has been available on its website since 2010. It is usually published in late December or early January and does not include data for December. Therefore, the statistics on the names in the Institute's press releases are preliminary. In 2011, he published a press release containing information about the most popular names in Bulgaria in 2007–2010

20 most common male names

Place	Name	Number of media	% carriers
1	Georgi	171356	4.9
2	Ivan	164858	4.7
3	Dimitar	126990	3.6
4	Nicholas	94637	2.7
5	Petar	76968	2.2
6	Christo	62592	1.8
7	Alexander	57313	1.6
8	Stephen	53728	1.5
9	Jordan	53352	1.5
10	Vasil	51607	1.5
11	Todor	50090	1.4
12	Stoyan	49667	1.4
13	Atanas	47109	1.3
14	Angel	46513	1.3
15	Krasimir	44984	1.3
16	flames	41282	1.2
17	Nikola	39178	1.1
18	Ivaylo	35771	1.0
19	Valentine	33740	1.0
20	Emil	32330	0.9

Of the Muslim male names in modern Bulgaria, the most common are Mehmed(16 thousand), Ahmed(14 thousand), Mustafa(12 thousand).

20 most common female names

Place	Name	Number of media	% carriers
1	Maria	120049	3.2
2	Ivanka	63675	1.7
3	Elena	54778	1.5
4	Jordanian	40497	1.1
5	Penka	33228	0.9
6	Daniela	30451	0.8
7	Rositsa	30143	0.8
8	Mariyka	30052	0.8
9	Peter	29485	0.8
10	Desislava	29468	0.8
11	Gergana	27894	0.8
12	Violeta	27102	0.7
13	margarita	26978	0.7
14	Hope	26350	0.7
15	Radka	26002	0.7
16	Silvia	24786	0.7
17	Emilia	24729	0.7
18	Blush	24694	0.7
19	Victoria	23640	0.6
20	Parking	23567	0.6

Of the female Muslim names in modern Bulgaria, the most common are Fatme(17 thousand), Aisha(15 thousand), Emine(10 thousand).

20 most common male newborn names

Place	Name	Number of named	% named
1	Georgi	1249	3.5
2	Alexander	1222	3.5
3	Martin	1024	2.9
4	Ivan	821	2.3
5	Dimitar	775	2.2
6	Nikola	750	2.1
7	Daniel	701	2.0
8	Nicholas	696	2.0
9	Victor	693	2.0
10	Kaloyan	628	1.8
11	Christian	550	1.6
12	Boris	513	1.5
13	Theodore	503	1.4
14	Bozidar	477	1.4
15	Stephen	406	1.2
16	Petar	379	1.1
17	Alex	376	1.1
18	Michael	349	1.0
19	Christo	348	1.0
20	Ivaylo	348	1.0

The most common male names of newborns from Muslim families: Emir(202) and Mert (133).

20 most common female baby names

Place	Name	Number of named	% named
1	Victoria	931	2.8
2	Nicol	883	2.6
3	Maria	862	2.6
4	Alexandra	592	1.8
5	Gabriela	494	1.5
6	Darius	448	1.3
7	Yoana	412	1.2
8	Raya	408	1.2
9	Sofia	377	1.1
10	Simone	355	1.1
11	Elena	339	1.0
12	Theodora	313	0.9
13	Siyana	307	0.9
14	Gergana	296	0.9
15	Michaela	265	0.8
16	Ivayla	248	0.7
17	Magdalena	244	0.7
18	Bozhidara	240	0.7
19	ema	219	0.7
20	stephanie	211	0.6

The most common female names of newborns from Muslim families: Elif(136) and Melek (98).

One publication has the top 20 names of newborns in Bulgaria in 1980. Here are the first 10 names from that list.

Men's: Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Petar, Christo, Nikolai, Todor, Jordan, Stoyan, Vasil
Women's: Maria, Ivanka, Elena, Mariyka, Jordanka, Ana, Penka, Hope, Radka, Anka

You can clearly see how much the top 10 female names have been updated. Of the former composition, after 30 years, only the name remained. Maria. The male part of the name changed more slowly. In the modern top 10 we find 4 names from the top 10 of 1980: Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Nikolay.

Many of the above names of Bulgarians among Russians meet correspondences that are traditional and familiar to Russians. There are few unusual names for Russians in the top 20. I will give some of them with etymological explanations.

Bozidar- translation (tracing paper) Greek name Theodore i.e. "god" + "gift". The feminine form of the name is Bozhidar.

Desislava- feminine to Desislav(fam. from decity"find, comprehend" + glory).

Ivaylo- the name of the Bulgarian king in 1277-1280. It can also be a variant of the name Ivan and type of name Vjlo(translated as "wolf"). The feminine form of the name is Evayla.

Kaloyan- male name of several historical figures. Among them are the Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143 and the king of Bulgaria from 1197 to 1207. The name comes from the Greek Kaloiōannēs, which means "good John" or "beautiful John". The feminine form of the name is Kaloyan.

Penka- feminine form of the name Penko. The latter is the folk form of the name Petar(Russian Peter). According to another etymology, an abbreviation for Petkana(from the name of the day of the week "Friday").

Radka(female) - from glad("joyful").

Rositsa(feminine) - either associated with the word dew, or feminine to Rosen(flower name rosen, in Russian dittany).

Blush- feminine form of the name Rumen("ruddy", that is, having healthy red cheeks).

Siyana(female) - "bright, light." Although it may well be a derivative of such female names as Vasiyana, Kasiyan, Rusiyana etc., or name Siya("bright" or from the name Anastasia).

A correctly chosen name has a strong positive impact on the character and fate of a person. Actively helps to develop, forms positive qualities of character and state, strengthens health, removes various negative programs unconscious. But how do you pick the perfect name?

Despite the fact that there are interpretations in culture of what male names mean, in reality, the influence of the name on each boy is individual.

Sometimes parents try to choose a name before birth, making it difficult for the baby to form. Astrology and numerology of choosing a name have squandered all serious knowledge about the influence of a name on fate through the ages.

Calendars of Christmas time, holy people, without consulting a seeing, perspicacious specialist, do not provide any real help in assessing the influence of names on the fate of a child.

And the lists of ... popular, happy, beautiful, melodious male names completely turn a blind eye to the individuality, energy, soul of the child and turn the selection procedure into an irresponsible game of parents in fashion, selfishness and ignorance.

A variety of statistical characteristics are positive features of the name, negative traits name, choosing a profession by name, the impact of a name on business, the impact of a name on health, the psychology of a name can only be considered in the context of a deep analysis of subtle plans (karma), energy structure, life tasks and the kind of a particular child.

The topic of compatibility of names (and not the characters of people) is an absurdity that turns inside out on interactions different people internal mechanisms of influence of the name on the state of its bearer. And it cancels the entire psyche, the unconscious, energy and behavior of people. Reduces to one false characterization the multidimensionality of human interaction.

The meaning of the name has no literal effect. For example, Gabriel (the power of God), this does not mean that the young man will be strong, and the bearers of other names will be weak. The name can block his heart center and he will not be able to give and receive love. On the contrary, it will help another boy to solve problems for love or power, it will greatly facilitate life and achieve goals. The third boy may not bring any effect at all, whether there is a name or not. Etc. Moreover, all these children can be born on the same day. And have the same astrological, numerological and other characteristics.

The most popular Bulgarian names for boys in 2015 are also a delusion. Despite the fact that 95% of boys are called names that do not make life easier. You can focus only on a specific child, deep vision and wisdom of a specialist.

The secret of a male name, as a program of the unconscious, a sound wave, vibration, is revealed by a special bouquet, primarily in a person, and not in the semantic meaning and characteristics of the name. And if this name destroys the child, then there would be no beautiful, melodious with a patronymic, astrological, blissful, it would still be harm, destruction of character, complication of life and aggravation of fate.

Below is a hundred Bulgarian names. Try to choose a few, the most suitable in your opinion for the child. Then, if you are interested in the effectiveness of the impact of the name on fate, .

List of male Bulgarian names in alphabetical order:

A:

Jordan - flowing down
Alexander - Defender of Humanity
Andon - invaluable
Andrew - man, warrior
apostle - apostle
Asen - healthy, safe
Atanas - immortal

B:

Bogdan is a gift from God
Bogomil - the grace of God
Bojidar is a divine gift
Bozidar - a divine gift
Borislav - the glory of battle
Branimir - protection and peace

IN:

Vazil is king

G:

Gabriel, Gabriel strong man god, my power is god
Gavrail - strong man of god

D:

Damian - taming, subjugating
Daneil - God is my judge
Dezislav - glory
Georgie the farmer
Dimitar - loving the earth

AND:

Zhivko is alive

Z:

Zachary - God Remembers

AND:

Ivan is a good god
Iveilo - wolf
Elijah - God is my master
Ilya - God is my master
John - good god
Joseph - adding, multiplying
Jordan - flowing down

TO:

Kaloyan - handsome
carliman is human
Kiril - lord
Crastaio - the cross

L:

Lazar - my god helped
Luben - love
Luben - love
Lubomir - the world of love
Lyudmil - dear to people

M:

Momchil - boy, youth

H:

Nicephorus - bringer of victory
Nikola - the victory of the people

ABOUT:

Ognian - fire
Ognyan - fire

P:

Penko - rock, stone
Petar - rock, stone
Plaimn - fire, flame

R:

Radko - happy

WITH:

Sava - old man
Samuel - heard by God
Savior - saved
Stanimir - peaceful ruler
Stoyan - standing, persistent

T:

Timothy - worshiping God
Todor is a gift from God
Tom is a twin
Tsvetan - flower

F:

Philip is a horse lover

X:

Christo - bearer of the cross

H:

Chavdar - leader

I:

Yang - God's grace, (Persian) soul, (Chinese) sun, man, (Tibet.) male energy, strength, (Turkish) support, (Slavic) river
Yanko - good god

The ancient slogan "Know thyself" can also be attributed to a personal name. Our ancestors considered the name to be an important energy factor in the fate of a person who is able to control the fate of its owner. The choice of a name in ancient times was attributed to a ritual act capable of endowing a person with an additional source of strength. After all, almost every name has its own history, meaning and properties.

For example, in Bulgaria even now they take personal and family names. So, in Sofia state academy Sciences, there is a division that studies Bulgarian names. In this institution, everyone has the opportunity to receive a certificate, which will contain historical data about his name and surname.

A bit of history

The Bulgarians have many unique names, reflecting the rich cultural heritage various peoples. The Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, Smolensk, Bulgars, Timochan and Strumyans living on the Bulgarian lands left their mark on the history of the country. They formed its oldest traditions and influenced the ethnic features of the state. Today, the concept of "primordially Bulgarian names" implies a mixture of traditional Bulgarian and Slavic names for people.

Proto-Bulgarian names

Unfortunately, most of the Bulgarian names have sunk into oblivion, as they were difficult to pronounce. In addition, mainly monarchs, princes, boyars and their descendants had the right to wear them. Their striking examples are the Bulgarian names that have survived to our time: Kotrag, Batbayan, Asen, Asparukh, Altsek, Vylch, Vokil and Sandok. Some of the names that are still popular today, such as Jordan, Piyo and Shoul, probably originally hide the Bulgar, Cuman or Pecan root. During the long Greek and Turkish protectorate, almost all ancient names disappeared from folk tradition of this state. And only in Lately some of them have been restored literally. Another part of the Proto-Bulgarian names mixed with the Slavic ones, and now it is already quite difficult to determine their most probable origin.

Names of Slavic origin

The system that forms times personal names from one or more bases, characteristic of all Slavic tribes. For example, in the names Darin, Darko, Darinka, Daria, a common root word is used - "gift", which is actually the meaning for these names. And such Bulgarian male names of Slavic origin as Miroslav, Dobromir, Spasimir, Berislav, Berimir, Zhivoslav, Rodislav, have two bases. Their meaning is dedicated to protecting and achieving the desired goal. In general, the number of names in the Bulgarian language containing the words "good", "glory", "peace" is quite large.

The meaning of Bulgarian names with a common Slavic generatrix - Vladimir, Vladislav, Dragomir or their shortened forms Drago, Miro, Slavyan - also shows the desire to achieve peace and glory. Names that are defensive in nature are no less common. It is believed that from evil forces the names of Strazhimir, Tikhomir and Stanimir will save their carriers.

Christian names

The adoption of Christianity in the Bulgarian lands was reflected in the traditions and culture of the population. The Orthodox faith also brought new Bulgarian names. A prime example This is Prince Boris, who, having converted to Christianity, became Michael at baptism. The names we call Christian generally correspond to three language systems- Hebrew, Greek and Latin.

The Jewish system is represented mainly by biblical characters from the Old Testament. These are such names as Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Abraham, David, Daniel and so on. The Greek system is represented by the names given in the holy calendar. For example: Anastasia, Ekaterina, Zoya, Mina, Peter, George, Nikolai, Alexander, Christo, Anastas, Gerasim. Thanks to the spread Greek culture in Bulgaria, the names of such mythological characters as Galatea, Cassandra, Hercules, Dionysius also began to appear. Latin names in this country are not less popular. Quite often you can find options Victor, Victoria, Valentin, Valentina, Vera, Ignat.

Turkish influence

Despite centuries of slavery, Turkish personal names did not particularly take root among the Bulgarians, probably due to differences in religion. They are found mainly among the Pomaki population. Of these names, however, a small number have been found containing a Turkish root. But they are formed on Bulgarian soil from well-known Turkish words. These are: Demir, Demira, Demirka, Kurti, Sevda, Sultana, Sirma, Fatme, Ayse.

Political influence

During the times of national renaissance in Bulgaria, more and more names appear, reflecting political, literary and other influences. For example, at the end of Turkish slavery, the personal name Venelin appeared, which is actually the surname of the Russian writer, historian Yuri Venelin. A little later, after liberation, the names Alexander and Vladimir became more popular because of the Russian Emperor Alexander II and his son Vladimir. And then October revolution such personal names appeared as Lenin, Budion, later - Stalin and Stalinka.

By semantics, old names that are becoming popular again with young parents can be divided into two groups. They do not always have clear boundaries, but are divided into protective and those that include best wishes parents to their child.

Male names

• Life and health: Zhivko, Zdravko.
• Well-being in the family: Bro, Baino, Vezenko, Tatun, Novko, Zabarin.
• Success in life: Parvan, Vidu, Velcho, Great, Sreten.
• Strength and courage: Warrior, Boyko, Strahil, Silyan, Piles.
• Positive characteristics: Veselin, Radi, Drago, Dobri, Sincere.
• Physical beauty: Mleden, Kudra, Huden.

Women's names

Popular Bulgarian female names, in addition to the wishes of physical beauty, in themselves mean good and pleasant things:

• Beauty: Vida, Mila, Lepa.
• Flowers: Needle, Nevena, Ruya, Temenuyka, Rose, Tsvetanka, Albena.
• Herbs and trees: Bill, Detlin, Rositsa.
• Trees and fruits: Elitsa, Kalina.
• Birds: Pauna, Slavia.
• Heavenly lights: Zvezda, Denitsa, Desislava, Zornitsa, Zorka, Zorina, Zorana, Zoritsa.

Despite the growing interest in ancient names, according to sociological research, in Bulgaria they still remain the most popular: Ivan, Ivanka, Georgi, Georgana, Ayordan, Ayordanka, Bogdan, Bogdana, Anastas, Anastasia, Maria, Marin, Margarita, Alexandra, Elena , Daria, Todor, Dimitar, Vasil, Kaloyan, Ivelin, Stefan.

The centuries-old traditions of any country are largely reflected in the names given by parents to children at birth. For example, many Bulgarian names have a special meaning and show certain features of the child. In addition, they may contain a wish for success, health or wealth for a person. Some of them have Slavic roots others are Muslim. As in other countries, children in our time are called international names.

Origin and traditions

The most common names in Bulgaria are those of Slavic origin. They became most popular when the Orthodox faith was strengthened in these territories. Except them, names of other origins also became widespread:

• Turkish
• Greek
• latin;
• Jewish.

Around the middle of the 20th century, Western European and American names, often children began to be named after famous performers, actors or heroes of films and books.

However, compared to many other countries, many, especially Bulgarian, male names have been preserved unchanged. This is because the tradition of naming children after their ancestors is still alive in Bulgaria, and often a child could be named after a grandmother or grandfather, regardless of their gender. Names in the country are also unique in that many of them have both male and female forms. Among them:

• Zhivka-Zhivko;
• Kalin-Kalina;
• Todor-Todorka;
• Spaska.

Often names are chosen by church calendar. Then the child is called by the name of the saint on whose day he was born. And the name can mean one or another property. This is explained by the belief of the Bulgarians in the power of the word. In the names one can feel the influence of other cultures, in particular Turkish. Turkish origin have such names, How:

• Demir and Demira;
• Emine;
• Mustafa and other Muslim names.

In addition, there are a lot of gypsies in the country. For this reason, there are people here whose names are Gojo, Evsenia, Bakhtalo and not only. Some of them really gypsy origin, in other cases, parents called their children that due to influence.

Features of female and male names

The country is unique in that people are named following centuries-old traditions, and there are also a large number of original traditional names. The variety of Bulgarian names for girls is amazing. Many of them have special meanings, such as this:

There are women's traditional names of this country, which in Russia are considered male, and in short form. For example, Petya or Vanya. In Bulgaria, you can often meet girls whose names are Tsvetans, Ivanks, Tsvetkov, Yordanki, Zornitsy and not only.

Men's names also have their own characteristics. In particular, there are a large number of them that end in "glory" or "peace":

• Zlatoslav;
• Radimir;
• Lubomir;
• Zlatoslav.

No less popular are the more familiar names for Russians - Vladimir or Yaroslav. The original Bulgarian names can be called short forms which are often considered official. For example, Tosho (from the full Todor), Gogo (George), as well as Zhivko, Zlatko and not only.

Like female, Bulgarian boy names have their own meaning. In addition, often by the name of the boy it was possible to determine what his family was doing.

For example, the children of peasant farmers were most often called Dimitar or Georgie. But Philippi most often appeared in the families of riders or horse breeders. This name translates as "loving horses." It is possible that the ancestors of the singer Kirkorov were engaged in horses.

Among other meanings of male names:

Also in Bulgaria are the Angel or the Apostle. It is worth noting that there are the most men in the world who have “Angel” written in their passports in Bulgaria. For this reason, many call Bulgaria "the land of angels".

Modern tendencies

According to the statistics of the Bulgarian National Institute, the number of names in the country is more than 67 thousand names. Moreover, if there are 29 thousand male names, then there are much more female names - 38 thousand, respectively.

Boys are most often called Ivans and Georges. 38 percent of the male population is called that way. And the most common female name in the country - Maria, if we consider such a form as Mariyka.

Other common names in the country include:

Today, one of the most popular names for newborn girls is Victoria, which can be called a trend towards globalization. But the boys are still mostly called Georges. And in recent years, girls have often been called double names in a foreign way, such as Anna Maria, Maria Margarita and others.

Surnames and patronymics

The concept of a surname as a family hereditary sign in Bulgaria appeared relatively recently compared to others. European countries. Their history of formation began only to late XIX century.

In spelling, they do not differ from traditional Russian surnames, but, unlike them, they have a “floating” stress that can change. Like Russians, many Bulgarian female or male surnames end in -ev (Botev or Tashev) or -ov (Todorov, Vazov). A smaller number were formed by suffixes -shki, -ski or -chka, reminiscent of Polish. Their origin is ancient, they are associated with cities or villages of human origin. For example, Lesicherski (a native of the village of Lesicharska) or Ohridski (from the city of Ohrid).

Many surnames of people in Bulgaria are derived from names - both directly Bulgarian and Christian in general. For example, Pavlov, Isaev, Ivanov and others, some do not differ in any way from Russians.

There are also special surnames that are also considered traditional Bulgarian, however, it may seem that they are of Muslim origin. These include the names Khadzhipopov, Khadzhigeorgiev and others with a similar prefix. The word "hajj" in the Muslim world is interpreted as a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Bulgaria, the owners of such surnames may not be hereditary Muslims, but their ancestors during the time of Turkish oppression were called that when they traveled to Jerusalem or visited other holy places, and not necessarily Muslim ones.

There are surnames that indicate nicknames or activities. For example, the surname Kovachev comes from the word "blacksmith" and is an analogue of the Russian surname Kuznetsov or the Ukrainian surname Kovalev (or Koval).

Currently, newborns in Bulgaria are given the choice of the surname of the father or mother, or they assign a new one after the name of his grandfather, or they combine the surnames of their parents. Previously, in most cases, after the wedding, women took the surname of their husbands, but now they mainly switch to a double one.

There are also Bulgarian patronymics. They differ from Russians in the absence of the characteristic ending “vich” or “vna” and are more reminiscent of surnames. For example, if a woman's name is Ivanka Stoyanova, and her father's name is Todor, then her full name will sound like Ivanka Todorova Stoyanova. If a person has the surname Ivanov, and his father's name is Ivan, then the surname and patronymic will look the same in the letter, but differ in stress. In the patronymic it will be on the first syllable, and in the surname - on the second, respectively.

Unlike others Slavic countries, in Bulgaria a large number of Old Slavonic names, forgotten in Russia, have been preserved, which are distinguished by their euphony and have their own meaning. The traditions that continue to be honored in the country have largely contributed. Although, despite this, the fashion for international names is still growing. Whether they will be able to supplant traditional ones is still too early to say.

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