The history of the appearance of Russian names. The origin and meaning of some names Names in Ancient Rus'

In Rus', naming a baby was not a simple and mundane matter. When parents gave a newborn a name, they literally “prescribed” his fate. For this reason, the choice of name was taken very seriously and scrupulously. Mother and father wanted happiness for their child, so they looked for a name that would save him from illness, misfortune and even premature death.

Naming traditions and direct name

Usually in Russian families, the baby was given several names. One of them was considered direct, that is, given at birth. The mother called them the newly born child, based on her expectations or wishes for her son / daughter. Old Russian direct names sounded beautiful and very meaningful: Zhdan (long-awaited, anxiously expected child), Lyubava (beloved, dear daughter), Love (beloved child), Smeyana (joyful, laughing girl), Golub (meek, like a dove), etc.

Ancient names very often consisted of two parts, each of which expressed a certain concept. For example: Svyatopolk (holy regiment, holy army), Vladimir (owning the world), Radogost (welcome to guests, hospitable), Bolemysl (careful for knowledge, inquisitive, wise), etc. If the kids in the family often died, the parents chose the old or some is enough rare name(Adam, Gordey, Eve, etc.). To protect the child, he was often given the name of a grandfather or grandmother who lived a long life.

If the family grew numerous and, moreover, healthy offspring, parents could not particularly care about choosing the next name for the newborn. Children were often named by birth order, character, or simply by the time of year or the weather outside. Among such old Russian names, the following can be mentioned: May (born in the month of May), Piskun (noisy, vociferous baby), Nezhdan (unplanned child), Sixth (in order of birth, the sixth baby in the family), Moroz (born in hard frost) etc.

christening name

After the adoption of Christianity by Russia direct name, given at birth, was considered temporary. After the rite of baptism, the baby received his second - baptismal - name. Traditionally, he was chosen according to the calendar of Christian holidays and the actual name of the saint, on the day of which the baby was baptized in the church.

So in Russia there were children with names of Greek origin: Agafya (translated from Greek means “kind”), Dmitry (on behalf of the ancient Greek goddess of fertility Demeter), Evdokim (“glorious”), Efrosinya (“joy”), Irina (“peaceful”) ”, “calm”), Xenia (“hospitable”), Makar (“blessed”), Panteleimon (“merciful”), Polycarp (“fertile”), etc. From here came the tradition of naming children with double names. For example, Vladimir-Georgy (“Vladimir” is an Old Slavonic name, “George” is of Greek origin).

Security name

But they did not stop at two - direct and baptismal - names for a child in Rus'. There was also a third name - protective. It was considered "public" and was intended to protect a person from the evil eye, damage and envy. evil forces. If the mother at the birth of the baby called him affectionately Zhdan, under this name he was known in the family circle, but they called him that very rarely.

In front of strangers, the child was nicknamed somehow funny, sometimes even derogatory, so as not to cause envy. There were many protective names and almost all of them had a negative connotation. For example: Pogorelec, Tolstoy, Teterya, Lame, Curly, Turnip, Shilo, Vistula, Nekras, Malice, etc.

The Slavs had a very ancient rite in which the baby was given a protective name. The child, named at birth "Zhdan", was taken out of the hut by the father. Then he brought his son back, and from that time on, the baby was called “Rottooth” or “Curls” in public. So the parents protected their blood from misfortunes, illnesses and other troubles.

Before the advent of Christianity in Rus', old Russian original names were used to name babies. By tradition, the names reflected the character traits and characteristics of a person, for example, Clever, Cunning, Kind, Brave, Molchan, Oblique, Krasava, Curly, Chernyak, Lame, Belyay. Sometimes the sons in the family were named in the order of their birth, for example: First, Second, Tretyak, Menshak, Elder, etc. Some names denoted an occupation or profession, for example, Selyanin, Kozhemyaka, etc. In ancient times, such features in the appropriation many nations had names. So, the Indians also noticed the features of people and reflected them in the names: Sly Fox, Eagle Eye, etc.

With the adoption of Christianity, the names were fixed in special church calendars. But even today you can find surnames derived from nicknames: Beetle, Cat, Sparrow, Wolf. From the 11th to the 17th centuries, Byzantine-Greek names became popular. The two-name system also received its development, when a person was given one name at birth, but was called differently. Names consisting of two roots, the last of which is “-glory”, became widespread during this period. Thus the names appeared Slavic roots: Borislav, Svyatoslav, Yaroslav, Vyacheslav and names with Byzantine-Greek roots: Miroslav, Stanislav, Bronislav, etc.

At one time the Slavs existed interesting tradition when the child was given a name that only close relatives knew, and then they wrapped the child in a matting and carried it out the door. Thus, they showed evil spirits that the child was thrown to them, and he is not native. Then the baby was given a second name, whose task was to scare away evil spirits. "They call Zovutka, but they call it a duck." This rite meant that a person would have an unsightly name so that no one could harm him. Own true name you couldn't tell anyone. In adolescence, the second rite was performed, and then the child was given a final name, which was supposed to reflect his already formed character.

This tradition quickly faded away, as a person was called a nickname, and his character changed accordingly. There was little meaning in the name-amulet in this situation, since the person had no connection with this name.

The usual for us naming people according to the formula - last name, first name, patronymic - was introduced at the beginning of the 18th century until 1917. At the same time, lists of names that you can choose for a child were agreed upon, pseudonyms also appeared. IN Soviet time it was popular to form new names reflecting events in the country. These were very unusual names that were mostly worn by girls. Agree, not every day you meet a woman with the name Idea, Oktyabrina or Iskra. Sometimes such names sounded rather awkward, such as a girl named Artillery Academy. However, some names were so liked that they exist to this day: Lilia, Ninel (Lenin is just the opposite),

Good day, Nadezhda Mikhailovna! I'm glad to have found your resource! The topic of the lesson is relevant, informative, socially oriented, perspective-oriented. I always ask myself: "How can the knowledge and skills acquired in the lesson be useful to a student in Everyday life"After getting acquainted with this resource, I did not have such a question, because the lesson is focused on the zone of proximal development. I will not hide, I systematized and expanded my knowledge and ideas on this topic myself. The goal that was set fully determined the logic studying the content of the material and the nature of the interaction between the teacher and the students.The stages of the lesson were formulated, during which problems and ways of solving them were formulated, the ability to work according to the plan, the ability to draw conclusions developed.The action of the students to accept the purpose of the lesson was perfectly organized.Verbal-visual, practical , partially exploratory teaching methods that contributed to motivation, provided a dialogue in learning. I liked the stage of updating knowledge through activities with a timeline. An interesting literary series was selected: with deep content and meaning of the riddle about the name, an excerpt from Homer's Odyssey (it's great that already third-graders are getting acquainted with such a serious work), "Saints", "Convent on the rights of the child", " Dictionary Russian language" by S.I. Ozhegov, L. Uspensky's story "A difficult case" (it's good that it is read by a trained student - this gave the correct emotional mood to accept the idea of ​​a story), which definitely motivated me to study the topic. The stage of discovery of new knowledge is presented in the form of mini-research in groups. This form of organization of cognitive activity helps to ensure cooperation between students, the inclusion of each student in activities to achieve the goal. Information for research is presented capacious, meaningful, which, in my opinion, is justified. This is both an element of advanced training and training at a high level. theoretical level. Children must face difficulty, be able to extract necessary information to generalize it. The teacher offers homework to choose from - this will allow you to reflect on your pedagogical activity in this lesson. The lesson traces the education of children in self-control over their activities, children learn to reflect on their actions. However, it seems to me that the method of asking the same questions to each student is not entirely successful. Children understand what answer is needed and adapt - they give out the one that they think they want to hear from them. Many reflexive techniques are described in the literature, I would advise you to use the technique of an unfinished sentence, "Sinkwine", "Cluster", various symbols and only on a voluntary basis. I agree with my colleagues, I was also confused by the stage of motivation - it motivated the guys, but rather through coercion. I was impressed by the presentation - interactive, high-quality, stylish, which served as a great addition to the lesson. I take note of the exit stage new theme- the teacher competently led the children to study the next topic; this, of course, motivates some children to prepare for the lesson - someone will definitely want to know information about their own or other surnames.
The lesson turned out to be productive! All selected tasks contribute to the achievement of the goal and correspond to the content. educational material. Nadezhda Mikhailovna, thanks for the resource! I take it in my piggy bank and recommend it to my colleagues. The resource will be relevant in the lessons of the surrounding world of other teaching materials, as well as in the lessons literary reading, Russian language, circles of historical, local history orientation.
I wish you further creative success! Sincerely, Natalya Vitalievna

Question: based on excerpts from the epics, guess why the epic heroes have such names (nicknames). What surnames could come from these names? Analyze the texts of epics: are there any negative ones among the heroes? Prove your answer.

Answer: Surnames in Rus' appeared later than in Europe, and basically they come from the patronymic of one of the ancestors, from grandfather's name or from a nickname and occupation. The very first surnames were given to us by the inhabitants of Veliky Novgorod, who were the first to adopt this important custom from the Lithuanian principality. Further, Moscow boyars and princes began to receive surnames, and then this tradition spread around the 14-15th century and throughout Rus'. This applied only to noble and eminent people, but until the beginning of the 18th century, most of the general population of Russia did not have surnames, this situation continued until 1861, when serfdom in Rus'.

In order to define a person as a member of society, he was given a nickname that was tied to the place where the person came from, or indicated the estate from which he came. The nickname could also be given according to the type of activity. The nickname further partially passed into Surnames. Also, the nickname was tied to the place and surname "Barina" whose person was a serf in order to determine his affiliation.

The hero Ilya Muromets received his surname "Muromets" by the name of the city of Murom, to which the village of Karacharovo belonged, in which he was born.

The hero Alyosha Popovich had his last name from belonging to the priestly class, his father was a priest (clergyman).

Bogatyrs goodies epics.

Nightingale the Robber had the nickname "Robber" in the form of his trade. He lived not by labor, but by robbing travelers and nearby villages. Nightingale the Robber is a negative hero.

From the combination of the name and surname: Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich, the surnames could come: Muromsky, Ilyin, Popov, Aleshin. From the nickname "Nightingale the Robber" the surname Solovyov could come.

Question: Remember why Grand Dukes Yaroslav the Wise and Vladimir the Red Sun had such nicknames. Why did people call Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible?

Answer: there are different versions of such nicknames of the Grand Dukes, we will give the most relevant to reality.

Wisdom was a symbol of Yaroslav's life. It was during his reign that the state Kievan Rus reached its peak:

Kyiv has become one of the largest cities Europe, competing with Constantinople.

Rus' has reached a wide international recognition. The largest noble courts of Europe sought to make friends and intermarry with the family of the Kyiv prince.

The prince was an educated man who knew several foreign languages and had a rich library.

A code of laws "Russian Truth" was drawn up (according to some historians, it was for this that he received such a nickname).

Achieved the establishment of Christianity.

The creation of a church hierarchical organization was completed, and Kyiv became a church center.

He tried to direct the active energy of the people not to wars, but to economic activities, to strengthen faith and spirit, to encourage construction, arts and crafts. This was his basic wisdom as a ruler.

Vladimir the Red Sun.

Great respect and admiration from common people and churches for generosity and care for the common people, extensive educational activities, countless grandiose battles and high-profile conquests, most likely, were the main reason for the emergence of such a high nickname as "Red Sun". Information about the magnificent feasts that were arranged by a generous prince for the common people has come down to our days, such grand gestures also give every reason for the emergence of such a name, because in the 10-11th century it was customary to affectionately call loved ones and close people "red sun".

Perhaps such an epithet arose largely due to the military glory of the prince, a fighter against the so-called dark forces with the help of Russian heroes and members of his large family, gathered by him under his auspices in the same way that the sun gathers stars and other celestial bodies around itself.

Why did people call Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible?

It may seem that the autocrat got the nickname because of a very cool disposition: even people who are not fond of history have heard about executions, oprichnina and, of course, about Ivan’s murder of his own son, which is highly doubted. Here are the people, remembering the horrors of the tsar’s reign, and called him Terrible.

But what if the word "terrible" in the old days did not have such a negative meaning as it does today? It can be assumed that "Grozny" is a synonym for the epithet "Great", and is intended to emphasize the power and justice of the sovereign. And there was something to respect Ivan for: he annexed the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates to Rus', re-equipped the army and created the archery army, strengthened state power, created the Sudebnik, under him Yermak made his famous campaign in Siberia. Therefore, the people, remembering the strict but fair times, called the Tsar the Terrible. Finally, one of the predecessors, namely Ivan III, had two nicknames: "The Great" and "Terrible", but he was not seen in any atrocities.

One way or another, each of these versions has the right to exist, but disputes about the identity of Ivan the Terrible have been going on for several centuries, and it does not seem that they are destined to stop.

Homework: Find out what the names of your family members mean. Which old names do you know your people? What do they mean?

Answer: My mother's name is Elena, the name of Greek origin means "sunbeam", "light as a torch".

Papa's name is Vladimir, a Slavic name meaning "Owner of the world."

My name is Ivanna (John) from the Hebrew "yohanan" - the female form male name Ivan. Translated from Hebrew, it means "God's grace" or "God has mercy."

When did people first and last names appear? and got the best answer

Answer from? Golden?[guru]
Origin of names
where did your name come from? Before the introduction of Christianity in Rus', some names were similar to nicknames: Lame, Lapot, Voropay (robber), others reflected the attitude towards the child born: Zhdan, Nezhdan, or the order of their birth: Pervusha, Tretyak, Odinets (the only one). It was believed that some names could ward off troubles and illnesses from children, for example, the names: Woe, Sick. Echoes of nicknames have been preserved in Russian surnames: Zaitsev, Goryaev, Nezhdanov, etc.
Christian names came in the 10th century from Byzantium along with Orthodoxy. Registration of newborn children was carried out only by the church, and the names were given according to the calendar (saints), in which for each day of each month the names of saints revered by the Russian Orthodox Church. A person who received the name of a saint gained not only his patronage, but also a grace-filled closeness to him: "By name - and" life ".
At the end October revolution at a time when the church was separated from the state, registry offices began to deal with the registration of newborns, and parents received the right to name their children as they wanted. Then they began to come up with names inherent in the era: Oktyabrina, Marxlen, Traktorina. European (Roman Catholic and Protestant) names came to the Russian land: Herman, Zhanna, Albert, Marat, and others. A little later, more and more Eastern names began to appear: Zemfira, Timur, Ruslan, Zarema. In the middle of the 20th century, Slavic and Old Russian names: Lada, Lyudmila, Vladimir, as well as Scandinavian: Olga (from Helg), Igor (from Ingvar).
Most of the names have different origins. They include many ancient Greek and Hebrew names, as well as Latin, Scandinavian and German names. Many names were borrowed from the languages ​​of the peoples of the East. Since they appeared in the Russian language a long time ago, they have become familiar to everyone. Times pass, the fashion for names changes, everything less people parents call their children old Slavic names, but, as before, names carry a lot of information and influence the fate of a person. When choosing a name for your baby, analyze what considerations you are guided by: tradition, nationality of the name, beauty of sound or ease of pronunciation and compatibility with the patronymic. When naming your child, be wise and do not forget about aesthetic criteria.
The history of the origin of the surname
IN Lately among many people there has been a trend: many want to know their family tree. Since ancient times, people have strived to preserve the memory of their ancestors.
Previously, the names and information about relatives were passed from mouth to mouth, from grandfathers to grandchildren. Then family ties began to be depicted in the form of a tree, so the term appeared: family tree.
A special science has appeared that studies the origin, history and family ties of people, as well as compiling genealogies, called genealogy. As a result, the term genealogical tree appeared.
Drawing up a pedigree allows you to thoroughly study the origin of the genus. And this is more relevant than ever. If you think about it, each of us will come to the conclusion that it is important for him to know who his ancestors are, what his pedigree is. For a detailed study of your origin, you just need to make a family tree.
A family tree usually consists of a legend of the origin of the genus and a listing of all members of the genus by generation. Most often, two types of genealogies are distinguished: ascending and descending. An ascending family tree goes from a descendant to his ancestors, and a descending family tree
from an ancestor to his descendants.
To compile a pedigree, first of all, you need to turn to your older relatives - parents, grandparents, in general, to everyone if possible. It is from them that you can find out the maximum amount of information about the origin of the surname, about the history of childbirth.