What do Bulgarian names mean: interpretation and history of origin. Bulgarian names
select a country and click on it - a page with lists of popular names will openA 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 Bozhidar 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 Most frequent male names 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, AnkaYou 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.
Bozhidar- 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).
Bulgaria is a country with interesting history and culture. It impresses with its beauty, hospitality, delicious cuisine and wonderful nature. There is a lot of sun, sea, kindness and Have a good mood. And there are a lot of names in Bulgaria. Perhaps, in no other country in the world there is such a variety of them, and all of them are surprisingly beautiful in sound and rare. Belotsvet, Bazhan, Rusan, Desislav, Radoslav, Stanimir, Krasimir. Where else can you meet people with such interesting names. From the same root, the Bulgarians managed to come up with a dozen names. For example, with the root -rad -: Radan, Radana, Radko, Radail, Radislav, Radostin, Radon, Radoy. And it should be noted that all these are not variants of the same thing, that is, not an abbreviation. Each of them can be seen in the passport of a citizen of Bulgaria. One can only guess how difficult it is for parents in Bulgaria to decide what to name their daughter or son. After all, they have to choose from more than 2,000 male nicknames, and the number of female ones even exceeds 3,000.
A bit of history
The most ancient are Slavic. These include, for example, Boyan, Radislav, Dragomir, as well as Vladimir, familiar to Russians. They have diminutive forms that are used not only in Everyday life but also in the documentation. Even in the passport of a Bulgarian citizen you can find the names of Boyko, Rado and Drago. But Vladimir in Bulgaria is neither Vova nor Volodya. Diminutive form this nickname here is Vlado.
Due to the settlement of the Slavs in the Balkans in Bulgarian culture Thracian, Latin and Turkic names began to appear. And after the baptism of Rus', children here began to be called Greek and Jewish names. Even though Bulgaria long time was under Turkish rule muslim names are practically non-existent here. IN recent decades, however, as in other countries, names of foreign origin are increasingly common here. It is not uncommon to meet little Diana, Nicole or Gabriela on the streets of the country.
- The name of a person in Bulgaria is more important than his last name. Some documents don't even mention it;
- Bulgarians practically do not use patronymics in everyday life, although officially every inhabitant of the country has one;
- more than 50,000 men in Bulgaria are called Angel;
- Petya, Vanya, Borya and Gena in Bulgaria are worn by women, and boys here are called Lyudmil and Marin;
- Bulgarians have a lot of "flower" nicknames. If for Russians it is Rose and Lily, then in Bulgaria you can meet Tsvetana, Jasmine, Camellia, Rouge, as well as men Tsvetan, Tsvetko and Rosen;
- Zapryanka and the male counterpart Zapryan are symbolic nicknames among the Bulgarians. They are called boys and girls, if there are too many children in the family, and the parents want to, as it were, lock the door, stop;
- the use of the forms Lenka, Verka, Lyubka does not carry a shade of neglect in Bulgaria. In our country it is more like nicknames, but here respected people are also called that;
- Bulgarians love to cut. Anastasia - Ani, Elena - Elya, Magdalena - Magicians, Nikolo - Niki, Violeta - Vili:, Maria - Mimi;
- Newborns in Bulgaria are usually named after their grandparents. Few parents change this tradition. Some name children by the first letter of their father's or mother's nicknames;
- Until the second half of the 20th century, Bulgarians did not have surnames. This function was performed by the patronymic. For example, the son of Peter and the grandson of Kolya were called Ivan Petrov Kolov;
- among Bulgarians, patronymic is formed by adding the suffix -ov. If the Russians call their son Ivan, for example, Pyotr Ivanovich, then in Bulgaria they will call him Pyotr Ivanov;
- Maria and Mariyka are different names among the Bulgarians;
- from the original male nicknames, one can single out the Apostle, the Warrior and the Lord.
Common names
Most often, boys in Bulgaria are called George. More than 170 thousand men are called that, and this is 5% of the total population. This is evidenced by the data of the National Institute of Statistics. More than 3% of the residents are called Marys. This is the most common name in Bulgaria for newborn girls. The second most popular male nickname is Ivan. It is quite a bit behind George. A little more than 130 thousand male population is called Dimitar. Thus, it is the third most popular name. The top ten also includes Nikolay, Petyr, Christo, Jordan and Aleksandyr.
As for women, the second most popular after Maria is Ivanka, followed by Elena, Yordanka, Penka, Mariyka, Rositsa. In the last five years, most often girls are called Alexandra and Victoria, as well as Nicole, Gabriela and Simone, borrowed from the West. However, the Bulgarians honor their culture, and therefore primordially Slavic names do not lose their popularity here.
You will soon have a son or daughter, you are expecting a child and do not know what to name it?
Is life and community very important to you?
Have you decided to give your child a special or real Bulgarian name?
Or maybe you yourself want to change the name and surname to a more original, beautiful and consonant famous people Bulgarian history?
We really hope that our top 50 most popular first and last names in Bulgaria will help you solve your urgent problem.
To select the most popular names and surnames in Bulgaria, phone book data was used to understand what was used main point- statistics. The data itself is quite suitable for this kind of statistics, because it contains a large number of names and surnames from different regions of Bulgaria. There are more than 1 million people in the book from all municipalities and regions in Bulgaria.
The top has the results and complete statistics separately for women and male surnames and names, which is reflected in the top 50 (or most popular) Bulgarian given names and surnames.
Number of phonebook entries analyzed: 1089948
Number of unique names: 15791
Number unique surnames: 55055
Here are all the statistics compiled from several TOPs.
Top 50 Most Popular Bulgarian Names and Surnames
This top 50 contains all the names and surnames of the most popular, regardless of gender.
1. IVANOV Ivan
2. GEORGIEV Georgi
3. DIMITROV Dimitar (Dimitrov Dimitar)
4. PETROV Petar (Petrov Petrov)
5. CHRIST Christo
6. TODOROV Todor
7. STOYANOV Stoyan
8. YORDANOV Jordan
9. NIKOLOV Nikola
10. ATANASOV Atanas
11. VASILEV Vasil
12. NIKOLOV Nikolai
13. PETKOV Petko
14. ILIEV Ilia
15. STEFANOV Stefan
16. ANGELS Angel
17. IVANOV Georgi
18. MARINOV Marin
19. GEORGIEV Ivan
20. Georgi Dimitrov
21. IVANOV Dimitar (Ivanov Dimitar)
22. Dimitrov Ivan
23. GEORGIEV Dimitar (Georgiev Dimitar)
24. IVANOVA Maria
25. PETROV Ivan
26. MIKHAILOV Mikhail
27. ALEXANDROV Aleksandyr (Aleksandrov Aleksandyr)
28. KOLEV Kolyo
29. NIKOLOV Georgi
30. IVANOV Petar (Ivanov Petar)
31. NIKOLOV Ivan
32. KOSTADINOV Kostadin
33. PETROV Georgi
34. DIMOV Dimo
35. IVANOVA Ivanka
36. Simeonov Simeon
37. STOYANOV Ivan
38. CHRISTOV Ivan
39. TODOROV Ivan
40. CHRIST Georgi
41. GEORGIEVA Maria
42. STOYANOV Georgi
43. DIMITROVA Maria
44. GEORGIEV Petar (Georgiev Petar)
45. KOLEV Nikolay
46. NIKOLOV Dimitar (Nikolov Dimitar)
47. IVANOV Christo
48. PAVLOV Pavel
49. PETROV Dimitar (Petrov Dimitar)
50. TODOROV Georgi
Top 50 Most Popular Bulgarian Names
The most popular Bulgarian names regardless of gender.
1. Ivan
2. Georgi
3. Dimitar (Dimitar)
4. Petar (Petar)
5. Maria
6. Christo
7. Todor
8. Nicholas
9. Vasil
10. Stefan
11. Jordan
12. Stoyan
13. Nicola
14. Ivanka
15. Atanas
16. Elena
17. Cyril
18. Angel
19. Aleksander (Aleksandyr)
20. Elijah
21. Jordanian
22. Boris
23. Krasimir
24. Foam
25. Margarita
26. Petko
27. Flames
28. Valentine
29. Violet
30. Rumen
31. Emil
32. Lubomir
33. Vladimir
34. Lilyana
35. Flower
36. Michael
37. Marin
38. Radka
39. Kostadin
40. Tsvetan
41. Hope
42. Veselin
43. Mariyka
44. Blush
45. Todorka
46. Stefka
47. Parking lot
48. Asen
49. Cornflower
50. Simeon
Top 50 Most Popular Bulgarian Surnames
Bulgarian surnames are presented regardless of gender. With a small margin from each other, women with the same surnames are leading in our top.
1. IVANOV
2. GEORGIEV
3. Dimitrov
4. IVANOV
5. PETROV
6. GEORGIEVA
7. NIKOLOV
8. DIMITROVA
9. CHRIST
10. STOYANOV
11. TODOROV
12. PETROVA
13. NIKOLOVA
14. STOIANOVA
15. Iliev
16. CHRIST
17. Vasilev
18. ATANASOV
19. TODOROVA
20. PETKOV
21. ANGELS
22. KOLEV
23. YORDANOV
24. MARINOV
25. ILIEV
26. VASILEVA
27. ATANASOV
28. PETKOVA
29. STEFANOV
30. POPOV
31. ANGELOV
32. KOLEVA
33. YORDANOVA
34. MIKHAILOV
35. KRYSTEV (Krystev)
36. KOSTOV
37. MARINOVA
38. DIMOV
39. STEFANOVA
40. KOSTADINOV
41. POPOV
42. MIKHAILOV
43. PAVLOV
44. MITEV
45. SIMEONOV
46. FLOWERS
47. KRESTEVA (Krysteva)
48. ALEXANDROV
49. MARKOV
50. KOSTOVA
Top 50 most popular Bulgarian male names
1. Ivan
2. Georgi
3. Dimitar (Dimitar)
4. Petar (Petar)
5. Christo
6. Todor
7. Nicholas
8. Vasil
9. Stefan
10. Jordan
11. Stoyan
12. Nicola
13. Atanas
14. Cyril
15. Angel
16. Aleksander (Aleksandyr)
17. Elijah
18. Boris
19. Krasimir
20. Petko
21. Flames
22. Valentine
23. Rumen
24. Emil
25. Lubomir
26. Vladimir
27. Michael
28. Marin
29. Kostadin
30. Tsvetan
31. Veselin
32. Asen
33. Simeon
34. Luben
35. Borislav
36. Mitko
37. Pavel
38. Anton
39. Slavcho
40. Ventsislav
41. Valerie
42. Methodi
43. Bozhidar
44. Hello
45. Colo
46. Dimo
47. Constantine
48. Boyan
49. Fire
50. Zhivko
Top 50 Most Popular Bulgarian Male Surnames
1. IVANOV
2. GEORGIEV
3. Dimitrov
4. PETROV
5. NIKOLOV
6. CHRIST
7. STOYANOV
8. TODOROV
9. ILIEV
10. Vasilev
11. ATANASOV
12. PETKOV
13. ANGELS
14. KOLEV
15. YORDANOV
16. MARINOV
17. STEFANOV
18. POPOV
19. MIKHAILOV
20. KRESTEV
21. KOSTOV
22. DIMOV
23. KOSTADINOV
24. PAVLOV
25. MITEV
26. SIMEONOV
27. FLOWERS
28. ALEXANDROV
29. MARKOV
30. SPASOV
31. LAZAROV
32. DOBREV
33. ANDREEV
34. MLADENOV
35. RUSEV
36. VLCHEV
37. RADEV
38. YANEV
39. FOUND
40. PENEV
41. YANKOV
42. STANCHEV
43. STOYCHEV
44. SLAVOV
45. GRIGOROV
46. KIROV
47. ALEKSIEV
48. STANEV
49. STOYKOV
50. BORISOV
Top 50 most popular new Bulgarian female names
1. Maria
2. Ivanka
3. Elena
4. Jordanian
5. Foam
6. Margarita
7. Violet
8. Lilyana
9. Flower
10. Radka
11. Hope
12. Mariyka
13. Blush
14. Todorka
15. Stefka
16. Parking
17. Cornflower
18. Rositsa
19. Stanka
20. Emilia
21. Donka
22. Milka
23. Wieliczka
24. Rayna
25. Anka
26. Krasimira
27. Snezhana
28. Mariana
29. Valentine
30. Yanka
31. Christina
32. Katya
33. Nikolina
34. Daniela
35. Tatyana
36. Light
37. Galina
38. Zlatka
39. Lily
40. Catherine
41. Tsvetana
42. Not a good guy
43. Diana
44. Antoaneta
45. Peacock
46. Anna
47. Veselina
48. Warbler
49. Mariyana
50. Julia
Top 50 most popular Bulgarian female surnames
1. IVANOV
2. GEORGIEVA
3. DIMITROVA
4. PETROVA
5. NIKOLOVA
6. STOIANOVA
7. CHRIST
8. TODOROVA
9. ILIEV
10. VASILEVA
11. ATANASOV
12. PETKOVA
13. ANGELOV
14. KOLEVA
15. YORDANOVA
16. MARINOVA
17. STEFANOVA
18. POPOVA
19. MIKHAILOV
20. KRESTEVA
21. KOSTOVA
22. DIMOVA
23. PAVLOVA
24. KOSTADINOVA
25. MITEVA
26. SIMEONOV
27. TSVETKOVA
28. ALEXANDROVA
29. MARKOV
30. SPASOVA
31. LAZAROVA
32. DOBREVA
33. MLADENOVA
34. ANDREEVA
35. YANEVA
36. RADEV
37. RUSEVA
38. YANKOVA
39. PENEVA
40. VLCHEVA
41. GRIGOROVA
42. KIROVA
43. NAYDENOVA
44. STANCHEVA
45. ALEKSIEVA
46. STOYCHEVA
47. BORISOVA
48. SLAVOV
49. STANEVA
50. PANAYOTOVA
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 also in last years girls often began to be 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.
Attention, only TODAY!
Bulgaria is a generous country. There's a lot here. Lots of sun and sea, smiles and good mood, greenery, fruits and vegetables.
Here's what else turned out to be a lot, so these are the names involved in Bulgarian passports. There are probably no such number of them in any other country, in Europe for sure. I won’t even try to do a complete review of Bulgarian names. In order, it seems, it is necessary to graduate from the philological faculty of the university.
First of all, in Bulgaria there are all known Slavic names and various diminutive derivatives derived from them, which are also used as independent names. Ivan - Ivanka, Dimitar - Dimitrinka, Todor - Todorka, Stoyan - Stoyanka, Zdravko - Zdravka, Tsvetan - Tsvetanka, Milen - Milena, etc. and so on.
Bulgarian female names are full of variety: Shchilyanka, Zhivka, Siyana, Tsvetka, Khristinka, Ivanka, Petya (namely Petya, in Bulgaria there is also a female name Vanya), Petka, Penka, Yordanka, Mariyka (the name Maria is present in itself and is one of the most common). Belotsveta, Beads, Berislav, Desislav, Bozhana, Chrysantha, Gisela, Jasmine, Rusana, Svetlena, Svetla, Zornitsa, Zaryana, Svetozar, Tsvetomir - an incredible number of beautiful and, most importantly, rare names. The name of the Bulgarian princess is Kalina. This is Lyubka in Russia - not the most respectful nickname, and even the nickname of a goat. And in Bulgaria it can be written in the passport of the owner of this name.
In male names in Bulgaria, there are all conceivable Glories (Zlatoslav, Miroslav, Radoslav, Vladislav, Svetoslav, Berislav, Borislav, Dezislav) as well as Miras (Radomir, Lubomir, Zlatomir, Stanimir, Krasimir, Vladimir). Mitko, Mirko, Tudko, Venko, Nedko, Zhivko, Radko, Zlatko, Batko are popular. And then there are such names as Galin, Lyudmil, Dobrin, Ognyan and Svetlin.
Turkish times left the names Demir and Demir in Bulgarian passports, but they are not so popular today, although some Muslim names are present - Mehmed, Mustafa, Emine. The names left from the nomadic Turkic tribes, such as Asparukh and Krum, are almost never found.
Bulgaria is the land of Angels. There are about 50,000 men bearing this name. Surely, in no country in the world there are so many Angels, and even with passports where this is written. Well, exactly, a paradise country - Bulgaria.
There are many Apostles in Bulgaria. And the most unusual male name, perhaps, Mr. When I first heard such a name, I thought that the man who introduced himself to them was joking.
In Bulgaria, as in neighboring Romania, there are many gypsies. Therefore, among the Bulgarians there are many people with gypsy names- Shukar, Evseniya, Gozho, Godyavir, Bakhtalo. Of the pan-European names, the first place in Bulgaria is firmly held by the names Alexander and Victoria. There are many names in Bulgaria “according to mood”: Veselin and Veselin, Radostin, Zdravka, Svetlina.
Even at the border I noticed that the name in Bulgaria is much more important than the surname. Border guards identify people primarily by name and date of birth. Later, when buying a TV in the warranty card, in the column “buyer (buyer)”, only my name was also written down. Officially, the Bulgarians also have a patronymic, but in real life completely unused.
With so many names in Bulgaria, they have long been confused about who should celebrate the name day, and they introduced a wonderful holiday - the Day of All Bulgarian Saints.
In January 2010, the Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics published the latest official statistics on proper names in Bulgaria.
According to these data, the number of names is more than 67 thousand (29 thousand for men and 38 thousand for women). The most common male names in Bulgaria are George and Ivan. Almost 1,372,000 men in Bulgaria (38%) are bearers of these names. Ivans celebrate their Ivanovden holiday on January 7th.
The variety of names among women is much greater. Mary is the most common - more than 125 thousand women have this name, and if we take into account its derivative Mariyka (35 thousand women), then leadership is obvious.
According to the Institute, significant changes are taking place in the structure of Bulgarian names. Newborn boys today are most often called Georges, and girls Victoria. In recent years, there has been a noticeable tendency in Bulgaria to give girls double names. Today, Anna-Maria, Marie-Magdalena, Marie-Antoinette are growing up in the country. So far, the trend of double names has not spread to boys.
Source of statistics:
//www.omda.bg/engl/narod/BULG_IME_en.htm
