Names for Children

[Tsarina]

If you have children, what are there names? How and why did you choose those names?

For those who don't have children and are planning to: What Orthodox names would you give your children, how would you pick them, and why?

Those who don't have children or are planning not to have any, you may also put down names you want that you like with an explanation. I just want to see how people choose the names: because they're nice sounding? the life of a saint is outstanding and therefore the name is given to your child? or is in remembrance of a resposed family member? etc...

Also, would you prefer names from the Old Testament, New Testament, or after? Explain.

 

[Panagiotis]

My Oldest is named Annakah which means "Sweet Face". Her baptized name is Theodora Ionna, from St. Theodora who fought Iconoclasm.

My second is named Rivkah which means "unfettered beauty". Her baptized name is Tamara Irene, named from St. Tamara, the Queen of Georgia who defended Orthodoxy from the Mongol Hordes.

My latest edition is named Mishka Tatjanna. She will be baptized in the Church as a baby. My others were not baptized as infants, but young enough not to remember.

Blessings,
Panagiotis

[Tsarina]

My Oldest is named Annakah which means "Sweet Face". Her baptized name is Theodora Ionna, from St. Theodora who fought Iconoclasm.

My second is named Rivkah which means "unfettered beauty". Her baptized name is Tamara Irene, named from St. Tamara, the Queen of Georgia who defended Orthodoxy from the Mongol Hordes.

My latest edition is named Mishka Tatjanna. She will be baptized in the Church as a baby. My others were not baptized as infants, but young enough not to remember.

Blessings,
Panagiotis

Theodora, Tamara and Miskka. Beautiful names! I never heard the name "Mishka" before. Where does that name come from?

[Panagiotis]

Theodora, Tamara and Miskka. Beautiful names! I never heard the name "Mishka" before. Where does that name come from?

Thank you! My wife and I both rack our brains for something special to name our children.
Mishka is a Russo-Slavic version of Mikela, Michaela, Mikheila or however you want to feminize the name Michael. The name means "Who is like God?" We found the name Mischa and was figuring out how to feminize it. So we transliterated it somewhat, trying to retain the name in meaning. Our Priest approved of the name so she will have two wonderful intercessors watching over her: the Archangel Michael and Tatiana the Martyr of Rome.

Christ is in our midst,
Panagiotis

[Sloga]

Im gonna name my sons Mateja (Mathew), Lazar and Konstantin (Kosta). And If if I have a uhhh...daughter It will be Tatjana

[Thomas]

We chose all of our childrens names from the Old and new Testament and had no problems when we converted  we all could retain our Christian names with Patron Saints that were Orthodox. We originally chose our children's names with the eye to the Bible and the meaning of tehir name.  Coming from an American Indian background my family always new what the name of each child meant and it has been taught to the child despite teh fact that we are 4 generations away from beingm full blooded.  Each Child proudly wears their name and we hope use it as an example of how they should live and witness in their life.

Their names are : Miriam Elizabeth, Thomas-Aaron, Jacob, Hannah Nichole, Saria Michal.

In Christ,
Thomas

[Tsarina]

Thank you! My wife and I both rack our brains for something special to name our children.
Mishka is a Russo-Slavic version of Mikela, Michaela, Mikheila or however you want to feminize the name Michael. The name means "Who is like God?" We found the name Mischa and was figuring out how to feminize it. So we transliterated it somewhat, trying to retain the name in meaning. Our Priest approved of the name so she will have two wonderful intercessors watching over her: the Archangel Michael and Tatiana the Martyr of Rome.

Christ is in our midst,
Panagiotis

Thanks for answering my question, interesting to know. When i read the name "Miskka" i thought perhaps it was probably realated to "Misha" as in Michael in Russian.  Nice name! and thank's for sharing.

Im gonna name my sons Mateja (Mathew), Lazar and Konstantin (Kosta). And If if I have a uhhh...daughter It will be Tatjana

LoL. It seems like you don't like the idea of having a daughter?

We chose all of our childrens names from the Old and new Testament and had no problems when we converted  we all could retain our Christian names with Patron Saints that were Orthodox. We originally chose our children's names with the eye to the Bible and the meaning of tehir name.  Coming from an American Indian background my family always new what the name of each child meant and it has been taught to the child despite teh fact that we are 4 generations away from beingm full blooded.  Each Child proudly wears their name and we hope use it as an example of how they should live and witness in their life.

Their names are : Miriam Elizabeth, Thomas-Aaron, Jacob, Hannah Nichole, Saria Michal.

In Christ,
Thomas

I'm glad each child proudly wears their name. It is important that the kids do know the meaning of the name, and the Saint that it came from.

Beautiful names for the kids! I never heard of "Saria" before, i'll look into it.

[jmbejdl]

My eldest is William Åžtefan Vlad (his patron is Åžtefan cel Mare). William is a family name (though Wilhelm as that side of the family is German) and Vlad was chosen just because it's one of my wife's favourite names. William is also a western saint's name, San. Guillermo de Penacorada from Spain. My youngest is Sabina Daniela Ioana. The story with her names is similar. Her patron is Daniil Sihastru, Sabina is her great grandmother's name and that of a western (Roman) 4th century martyr and Ioana was chosen because my wife has always liked it. We have a good pair in terms of the children's patrons as Daniil was the spiritual father of Åžtefan. Both children were born reasonably close to their patrons' feast days. In fact, Sabina was due on Daniil's feast day, she just chose not to wait quite that long.

James

[aurelia]

Well, I had some advice from my mother to start with.  Pick something that you wouldn't be ashamed to be called yourself in old age.  Example, would you really like to see your child in the old age home someday "Oh Britney Tiffany Amber, it's time for your medication" by some 20 something year old aide.

My kids all have classic English names.  Some are Biblical, and it turns out that some are quite Greek without me knowing it originally! Somehow it ended up that all of them (except one) have a name that a king or queen has had.  Some have family names.  I have never specifically looked for biblical names or picked anything that was popular at a time knowingly.

Sara Elizabeth (Sara not Sarah because it looked better written out with our last name)
Katherine Helena (her middle name came from a movie, Boxing Helena. Not in tribute, but because I just could not think of a middle name and that one sounded good)
Diana Rose.  (People think I named her after Princess Diana, but in fact I had picked Diana before she was killed, and Rose is what my Oldest said we should use after we saw Titanic.)
James Robert
William Nelson

ok, on the boys: Originally I was going to name the kid William James if it was a boy, and Tessa Grace if it was a girl.   Then I found out it was twins, and boys, so I split the names.  Nelson is my mother's maiden name, and Robert is my hub's grandfather's name.  I wanted it to be James Nelson and William Robert, but Hub said no it had to be the other way.  He didnt think about Willie Nelson until it was too late. I like to say I told you so a lot.  I could have named one Lafayette after my Great Great grandfather, so they still got off light.

[Fr. David]

Her name is Hope Elizabeth.

My wife and I had been having trouble getting pregnant for a while and we were starting to worry, so we had Fr. bless us w/holy water.  Around the time of conception was the commemoration of St. John the Forerunner and that of his mother Elizabeth, as well.  So this family, apparently, was looking out for the little one.  If she were a boy, we would have named her John Davis (Davis being Audra's mom's maiden name), but the "Hope" part for Hope Elizabeth was literally the only name we could come up with that we both agreed on.

Now I kind of wish she'd been baptized Hope, as then she'd be called by her saint's name.  Well, maybe next kid.   

[TomS]

My wife and I had been having trouble getting pregnant for a while and we were starting to worry...

This stuff drives me crazy. How can the BOTH of you get pregnant? The both of you can own a house, a car, a TV, but the BOTH of you CANNOT get pregnant.

You are a TEACHER. Use the language correctly. 

[Landon77]

Originally I was going to name the kid William James if it was a boy, and Tessa Grace if it was a girl.  ÃƒÆ’‚ Then I found out it was twins, and boys, so I split the names.  Nelson is my mother's maiden name, and Robert is my hub's grandfather's name.  I wanted it to be James Nelson and William Robert, but Hub said no it had to be the other way.  He didnt think about Willie Nelson until it was too late. I like to say I told you so a lot.  I could have named one Lafayette after my Great Great grandfather, so they still got off light.

  William Robert can be shortened to Billy Bob; maybe William Nelson isn't so bad.

[Fr. David]

This stuff drives me crazy. How can the BOTH of you get pregnant? The both of you can own a house, a car, a TV, but the BOTH of you CANNOT get pregnant.

You are a TEACHER. Use the language correctly.ÂÂ  

Yes, sir.  ÃƒÆ’‚ Â  How's this: My wife and I were having trouble getting her pregnant?

(Edited, ironically enough, to correct a grammar error!)

[Tsarina]

All of these names are unique and beautiful. It's fun to see how you guys have picked them.

James, Sabina is a pretty name. I have a cousin named Sabina, but she is not Orthodox. Is there an icon for St. Sabina? I would like to see it.

[SouthSerb99]

Serbians don't necesarrily give Orthodox names (that being after a particular Saint) rather we often give traditional Serbian names.

My son is named Dejan.  Not sure what the English translation would be, but I suppose Daniel.  I have also read the following definition

"Possibly derived from Slavic deja meaning "to do something, to act". Otherwise it may be related to Latin deus "god"."

We named him "Dejan" because of two soccer players I like (Dejan Savicevic & Dejan Stankovic).

As for any that follow, if #2 is a boy (like Sloga), I will probably name him Mateja, after a Serbian soccer player (Mateja Kezman).

If #2 is a girl, my wife like Maja. Which is said to be a cognate of "Maia".  In Greek and Roman mythology she was the eldest of the Pleiades, the group of seven stars in the constellation Taurus, who were the daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Her son by Zeus was Hermes.

Other names we would consider:

1.  Lazar

2.  Dusan

3.  Dragan (no, not Dragon - lol)

4.  Simo (my grandfather)

5.  Darko

6.  Svetlana

7.  Natasha

Hey Sloga, you forgot Uros from your list!

[TomS]

Dang! Don't you people believe in assimilation! You are in America now!ÂÂ  

In the words of Randy Newman - "If you don't like it, go back to your own miserable country".

[SouthSerb99]

Ah ha... but I'm from Canada.

Haven't you heard of Melting pot vs. Mixing bowl?  Multiculturalism not assimilation.

[Sloga]

Hey Sloga, you forgot Uros from your list!

But I can only have so many sons, I'm not trying to repopulate Kosovo or something

[Tsarina]

But I can only have so many sons, I'm not trying to repopulate Kosovo or something

You're trying to create an army or somthing?  I would like to have many many sons, but a girl, i wouldn't mind. Whatever God grants.

[Sloga]

You're trying to create an army or somthing?ÂÂ   I would like to have many many sons, but a girl, i wouldn't mind. Whatever God grants.

I dont have anything against a girl, aslong as I can teach her to play sports

[Timos]

If I ever get married and have children which I can maybe see laaaater on...their names would be one of these:

Males: Spiros, Michali, Yiorgo, Jimmy
Females: Irene, Martina, Ula, Stavroula, Lavrentia (my sister's name)

[Zoe]

I suppose Greeks have it easy?ÂÂ  Just name the kids after the grandparents.


edit: and if there's more then four, well, THEN you can start getting creative! 

[jmbejdl]

All of these names are unique and beautiful. It's fun to see how you guys have picked them.

James, Sabina is a pretty name. I have a cousin named Sabina, but she is not Orthodox. Is there an icon for St. Sabina? I would like to see it.

I've never seen an icon of St. Sabina. I've seen Roman Catholic artwork (there's a famous church dedicated to her in Rome) but no icon. My wife's grandmother (the other Sabina in the family) has likewise never seen an icon of her so if one does exist it must be unusual (just like it's unusual for a Romanian to be called Sabina). I've spoken to an iconographer on another forum about having icons of Sts. Sabina and William of Penacorada written when I can afford to do so. St. Sabina would be the first one I would choose as it would be nice to show it to my wife's grandmother while she's still with us. The iconographer I spoke to has likewise never seen an icon of either saint but says it will be possible for him to design some especially for me. If I ever get the icon, and if I remember, I'll post the picture on here for you to see.

James

[aurelia]

ÂÂ  William Robert can be shortened to Billy Bob; maybe William Nelson isn't so bad.

Believe me, I know.  DH likes to call the other one Jim Bob. He thinks he's funny.

[Tsarina]

I dont have anything against a girl, aslong as I can teach her to play sports

Haha. Of course you can teach her how to play sports. I'm a big fan of Volleyball and Soccer and i play both... well i did last year, this year i've gotten lazy.

Btw, i have to say that your avatar is really cool. 

[Tsarina]

I've never seen an icon of St. Sabina. I've seen Roman Catholic artwork (there's a famous church dedicated to her in Rome) but no icon. My wife's grandmother (the other Sabina in the family) has likewise never seen an icon of her so if one does exist it must be unusual (just like it's unusual for a Romanian to be called Sabina). I've spoken to an iconographer on another forum about having icons of Sts. Sabina and William of Penacorada written when I can afford to do so. St. Sabina would be the first one I would choose as it would be nice to show it to my wife's grandmother while she's still with us. The iconographer I spoke to has likewise never seen an icon of either saint but says it will be possible for him to design some especially for me. If I ever get the icon, and if I remember, I'll post the picture on here for you to see.

James

Thank you, James. I hope you do get that icon one day, you would probably be the first to have an icon of St. Sabina. 

[Sloga]

Haha. Of course you can teach her how to play sports. I'm a big fan of Volleyball and Soccer and i play both... well i did last year, this year i've gotten lazy.

Btw, i have to say that your avatar is really cool.ÂÂ  

Thank you, thats probably the 15th compliment I've gotten for my avatar 

Yea, I know if I have a daugheter I can make her an athlete, but at the same time I'd worry more about a girl in todays world than a son. Know what I mean?

[Ebor]

We chose names that were both saints *and* had family connections.  That last part was a bit tricky as many of the old family names are not ones that we were willing to use (and they didn't fit the "Saint" requirement, some of them.)  Wilmer, Leota and Loeta (twins), Murzell (from a french novel according to family legend) Willard (not after the "Rat" movie), and others were all given the go-by. 

Ebor

[Tsarina]

Thank you, thats probably the 15th compliment I've gotten for my avatar 

Yea, I know if I have a daughter I can make her an athlete, but at the same time I'd worry more about a girl in todays world than a son. Know what I mean?

Yes, i do know what you mean! I myself would worry more about having a girl in the society we have today than a boy. The girls easily become influenced or become victims of some sort.

My Hubby and i talk about this all the time. But we also thought that we should be happy to have boy AND girl if God grants it, because they're cases were some can conceive at all... and that's really depressing and such a struggle for those couples.

[OrthodoxAndrew]

Here is the list of names I like...

Boy

Moses (St. Moses the Ethiopian)
Isaac (St. Isaac of Syria)
Elijah (Prophet Elijah)
Ambrose (St. Ambrose of Optina)
Solomon (Holy King Solomon)
Isaiah (Prophet Isaiah)
Vladimir (St. Vladimir, Baptizer of the Rus)


Girl

Theodora (St. Theodora the Empress)
Anastasia (St. Anastasia the Royal-Martyr)
Solomonia (St. Solomonia of the OT)

[Ebor]

I should have added

Ours are: James, Catherine and Thomas

Ebor

[Αριστοκλής]

I suppose Greeks have it easy?ÂÂ  Just name the kids after the grandparents.


edit: and if there's more then four, well, THEN you can start getting creative!ÂÂ  

I am not sure if this applies to all areas of Greece, but I surely recall multple children from different male siblings (brothers) all receiving the same grandparents names - especailly the firstborn of each. This is parodied well in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". How many Anitas and how many Nicks?

[Psalti Boy]

This stuff drives me crazy. How can the BOTH of you get pregnant? The both of you can own a house, a car, a TV, but the BOTH of you CANNOT get pregnant.

You are a TEACHER. Use the language correctly.ÂÂ  

So how did I get pregnant??

[aurelia]

How many Anitas and how many Nicks?

That's exactly what happened at camp last year, we were picking our kids up and some little boy ran shouting to his mom "MOM! I have new friends! Nick, Nick, Nick and Nicholas!!!!" I about died trying not to laugh. 

[Zoe]

[quote author=Αριστοκλής link=topic=9157.msg123423#msg123423 date=1149721302]
I am not sure if this applies to all areas of Greece, but I surely recall multple children from different male siblings (brothers) all receiving the same grandparents names - especailly the firstborn of each. This is parodied well in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". How many Anitas and how many Nicks?
[/quote]

Haha...yeah.  I didn't even notice it was weird until that movie - is that bad? 

There's two Zoe's and two Nikitas' on my mom's side.  Which required the need for nicknames such as "big" and "little" and other variations with the endings of names, like Zoitsa or Zoakie.  I suppose you end up getting creative regardless, lol.

[Tsarina]

Here is the list of names I like...

Boy

Moses (St. Moses the Ethiopian)
Isaac (St. Isaac of Syria)
Elijah (Prophet Elijah)
Ambrose (St. Ambrose of Optina)
Solomon (Holy King Solomon)
Isaiah (Prophet Isaiah)
Vladimir (St. Vladimir, Baptizer of the Rus)


Girl

Theodora (St. Theodora the Empress)
Anastasia (St. Anastasia the Royal-Martyr)
Solomonia (St. Solomonia of the OT)

I LOVE your list. 

[Colum597]

After one miscarriage and years of being unable to conceive, by God's grace, we were able to adopt a newborn girl.  Her birth parents were not married and were unable to support her.

We named her Brigid Grace.  Grace, in thanksgiving to God for His grace shown to us in giving us this child.  Brigid after St. Brigid of Ireland.  I did not know it at the time but St. Brigid is patron of children born to parents who are not married.

[Jennifer]

Hi everyone,

Long time, no see. 

Anyone have any advice for an Orthodox name with Spanish 'connections?' 

I'm adopting a baby from Guatemala and while it's a little early for me to be picking out names (still waiting for approval from INS), I can't help thinking about this.  Right now I'm thinking:

Leah Ann
Ruth Elena
Elena Ann
Sofia Ann

Leah's from the Bible so I assume she's a saint.  According to Behind the Name, Elena is a variation of Helena.  Sofia's a little too trendy for me. 

If I was having a biological child, I'd give her a name that is more Russian, e.g. Natalia or Tatyanna, but I want to honor her heritage. 

[Αριστοκλής]

I don't know about a Spanish connection but Elena is my daughter's name; so I'm a bit biased 

[FrChris]

Well, one of my daughters is named Sophia, but you earlier mentioned it was too 'trendy'.

Another daughter is named 'Marisa', which is a permutation of Maria, and also has some Spanish connections...

Both girls are very happy, cheerful, and my joys!

[sdcheung]

Boys..
Photios, Konstantinos, Savvas, Sabbas, Mark (Ephesus), Gregory (Palamas)

Girls..
Kassiani

[aserb]

Tsarina:

We named our lovely daughter Diana after Princess Diana. Her baptism name is Nicole after St. Nicholas her patron, and mine too. If she were a boy our pick was Aleksander.

Dan

[strebekah]

Our first three children were pre-Orthodox: Jeffrey (named after Daddy); Amanda Lynn (when dh was in a blue grass gospel group) and Moriah Faith (because Abraham showed his faith on Mt. Moriah).

When we were chrismated/baptised our priest at the time gave us the lives of three Saints which he thought appropriate for them. So they became: Herman (Father HErman of Alaska); Irene (Great martyr Irene) and Anna (Mother of the Theotokos).

Our fourth child came pre-conversion but when we figured we would not be reformed Baptist much longer. Mid-pregnancy he went from being called "Calvin Wesley" to Timothy Augustine. His patron is Holy Apostle Timothy.

Our next three have all been born post-conversion and so all have "Orthodox" names:
Alexander Raphael=St Alexander Hotovitsky and St Raphael, Bishop of Brooklyn
Andrew Silouan=St Andrew, the first called and St Silouan the Athonite
Symeon John=St Symeon the New Theologian and St John of Kronstast

Our names are usually picked by my husband mainly with me giving my OK. LOL And the trend has been that whomever he is reading at the time comes into play at some point. LOL

Future names I would like:
Anastasia
Tatiana
Seraphim or Seraphima
Adrian

PEople of our parish are really wonderful about offering names such as Barsinouphios and the like. LOL

 

[Fr. George]

While I don't have kids...

The three of us ended up being named after grandparents: George, Priscilla, and Yiannis (John).
But we do have cousins who ended up breaking that mould: Andrew (only 2 people - father and son - in the whole family),  Jennifer Susan (St. Sussana, one of the Myhrr-bearing women), Alexander and Jason (we also have a Sophia, and multiple Georges...).

My favorite pain-in-the-rear suggestion to make to expectant mothers: Pahpnoutios.

[Ebor]

My favorite pain-in-the-rear suggestion to make to expectant mothers: Pahpnoutios.

    And have any of the ladies bitten you yet?  A LOOK from an expectant mother can maim you know.
 

Ebor

[Tsarina]

After one miscarriage and years of being unable to conceive, by God's grace, we were able to adopt a newborn girl.  Her birth parents were not married and were unable to support her.

We named her Brigid Grace.  Grace, in thanksgiving to God for His grace shown to us in giving us this child.  Brigid after St. Brigid of Ireland.  I did not know it at the time but St. Brigid is patron of children born to parents who are not married.

It's always so sad to hear about a miscarriage, i'm so sorry to hear that.

What a beautiful name you have given your adopted newborn girl. May God bless her and keep her healthy.

[Fr. George]

  And have any of the ladies bitten you yet?  A LOOK from an expectant mother can maim you know.
 

Ebor

I live dangerously... or stupidly; one or the other.

[Ebor]

I live dangerously... or stupidly; one or the other.

Maybe that's why your location flag at the moment is Mongolia?  You had to flee the wrath of a Mother, expectant or otherwise? 

j/k

Ebor

[Zoe]

Actually, if you didn't know, cleveland is Mongolian...at heart.

[Fr. George]

Mongolia: where Boston really belongs.

[Ebor]

Actually, if you didn't know, cleveland is Mongolian...at heart.

He's good on horseback and lives in a yurt? ÂÂ  

Mongolia: where Boston really belongs.

It gets hot in the summer in Mongolia too, you know.   Have you checked this idea out with other Boston inhabitants? 

Ebor

[Zoe]

Uhhmm, DUH!

Cleveland rides his horse everywhere - why do you think he's got that poopie smell about him all the time??

 

[Fr. George]

It gets hot in the summer in Mongolia too, you know.   Have you checked this idea out with other Boston inhabitants? 

Ebor

The Boston Inhabitants are a big reason why I want Boston moved to Mongolia.  (jk - they're not all bad!)

[Αριστοκλής]

Uhhmm, DUH!

Cleveland rides his horse everywhere - why do you think he's got that poopie smell about him all the time??

 

Fermented mare's milk?

[Ebor]

[quote author=Αριστοκλής link=topic=9157.msg128205#msg128205 date=1153342783]
Fermented mare's milk?
[/quote]

I've had Kumiss made from cow's milk.  Fizzy.

Ebor

[Ebor]

Uhhmm, DUH!

Cleveland rides his horse everywhere - why do you think he's got that poopie smell about him all the time??

 

Darn, my computer isn't equiped with a scent chip.   

Otoh, being from Montana, I can tell you that horses and their riders are not going about in a cloud of  odor. 

Ebor

[Zoe]

Well, I was just trying to stress that his horse is always with him, and so then would poop near him and everyone else.

Quit bursting my bubble here - I'M TRYING TO PICK ON CLEVELAND.

[Ebor]

Well, I was just trying to stress that his horse is always with him, and so then would poop near him and everyone else.

Quit bursting my bubble here - I'M TRYING TO PICK ON CLEVELAND.

Now what did Cleveland ever do to get that? 

Ebor

[Zoe]

lol, well, he was online as the same time as me...


(always have a good reason!)

[Fr. George]

I don't mind... we snub our noses at you!

To quote Lewis Black: If it wasn't for my horse...

[Ebor]

But have you been through the desert on a horse with no name? ..

Ebor

[Zoe]

To also quote Lewis Black, "Next time you have a thought...let it go."

 

[Ebor]

To also quote Lewis Black, "Next time you have a thought...let it go."

 

If it comes back to you, it really is yours?   

Ebor

[Fr. George]

Let's not hijack the thread...

[calligraphqueen]

I have 3 boys and 4 girls.
There are lots of cultures, Greek being one of them, that ONLY want boys and nearly discard baby girls as irrelevant. One need only look at China's example of their million man army with no one left for the next generation of men to repopulate with.  They either aborted, abandoned, or left in orphanages the baby girls.  That issue gets me a bit peeved, as I came from a protestant view that women were the root of all evil.  I caringly reminded the men that held that view that Eve didn't have to go on a mission to find Adam and force him at gunpoint to eat the fruit.  And why wasn't he protecting her from the serpent????HMMM?

Okay, nuf of that.
My children's names are:
DÉanna Laurin (pronounced "day-on'uh)
Alexander Christian
Jesse Tyler ( we had used up the names we had always figured on using at this point, and could not agree on a thing!)
Christopher Ryan
Heather Ann Michaela
Emily Marie (who finally got mom's middle name)
Hannah Elizabeth

Run of the mill American names to some, but dh would not agree on any Irish names or Irish spellings.  The hardest part isn't making the baby usually, it's getting mom and dad to agree on a name!  The kids were all shooting for Fiona for Emily and Hannah, but Dad thought it was from Shrek.

[Tsarina]

I have 3 boys and 4 girls.
There are lots of cultures, Greek being one of them, that ONLY want boys and nearly discard baby girls as irrelevant. One need only look at China's example of their million man army with no one left for the next generation of men to repopulate with.  They either aborted, abandoned, or left in orphanages the baby girls.  That issue gets me a bit peeved, as I came from a protestant view that women were the root of all evil.  I caringly reminded the men that held that view that Eve didn't have to go on a mission to find Adam and force him at gunpoint to eat the fruit.  And why wasn't he protecting her from the serpent????HMMM?

Okay, nuf of that.
My children's names are:
DÉanna Laurin (pronounced "day-on'uh)
Alexander Christian
Jesse Tyler ( we had used up the names we had always figured on using at this point, and could not agree on a thing!)
Christopher Ryan
Heather Ann Michaela
Emily Marie (who finally got mom's middle name)
Hannah Elizabeth

Run of the mill American names to some, but dh would not agree on any Irish names or Irish spellings.  The hardest part isn't making the baby usually, it's getting mom and dad to agree on a name!  The kids were all shooting for Fiona for Emily and Hannah, but Dad thought it was from Shrek.

Wow, awesome names! 

Btw, Dad is funny!

[Asteriktos]

When my (second) daughter is born in December, her name is going to be Sahara Rylee.

[GiC]

When my (second) daughter is born in December, her name is going to be Sahara Rylee.

That's a nice name...does it have any significance or simply a name you and your wife like?

[Asteriktos]

I wish I could say that it had some special meaning, but it was just a name that we liked.

[choirfiend]

Hi everyone,

Long time, no see. 

Anyone have any advice for an Orthodox name with Spanish 'connections?' 

I'm adopting a baby from Guatemala and while it's a little early for me to be picking out names (still waiting for approval from INS), I can't help thinking about this.  Right now I'm thinking:

Leah Ann
Ruth Elena
Elena Ann
Sofia Ann

Leah's from the Bible so I assume she's a saint.  According to Behind the Name, Elena is a variation of Helena.  Sofia's a little too trendy for me. 

Do you have a problem with Ana or Anita? That would be much more Hispanic...
I love the name Elena. It's also a russianization of Helen/a.

Eva?
Juanita (my grandmother's name)?
Felicia?
Luz?
Sara?
Paula?
Camila?
Monica?
Cecilia?
Marcela?
Mercedes?
Margarita?
Piedad?
Virginia?
Lucia?
Gabriela?
Monica?
Silvia(mother of Gregory the Great)?
Emilia (one of my favorite names)?
Amora? (variation on love)?
Cristina?
Tatiana?
Esperanza?
Maria (the ever-classic)?
Julia?
Lidia/Lydia?
Rafaela?
Sonia/Sonya (good russian crossover here)?

[barb-02]

Daughters name is Casey- it was the ONLY name we could agree on. when we baptised her we picked Cassiani- so it would be close sounding.

Sons name is Noah, just cause we both agreed. When he was baptised we just kept Noah.

If we have another (maybe soon we'll see.....) if it's a girl we like Halina (polish form of Helen) or Helena, my mother in law is Helen. If it's a boy we like Elijah- no family significane- just like it and it's already a chrisitan name.

[Panagiotis]

This is my newest edition: Mishka Tatjanna


This is my now middle child (with a pair of pants on her head!): Rivkah Miryam (baptized Tamara Irene)


And this is my oldest (with my youngest): Annakah Michelle (baptized Theodora Ionna)


And here's the psychotically proud and poor pops who has to pay for all their feminine needs when they reach puberty!: Panagiotis

_________________________________________________________________________
Blessings,
Panagiotis

[Tsarina]

Panagiotis! What beautiful pictures!

Thank you for sharing them with us. How adorable! 

[Asteriktos]

Panagiotis

Hey, speaking of teenage daughters, that's a pretty good expression for when the boys come over! I'll have to try that one when mine get older! 

[Panagiotis]

LOL
Thank you both. My daughters are very precious and I love them all dearly. I was wondering if our Lord would grant me a boy but no. Instead I got three challenges ahead for which i may buy lots of ammunition when they reach their teens.

Kyrie Eleison,
Panagiotis

[Pavlos]

After 5+ years of trying to have our own children and then nearly 3 years of trying to adopt with one crushing disrupted adoption tossed in for good measure, we were richly blessed when we adopted a new born on December 22nd, 2005.

After nearly a decade of trying to have a child, we named her Theodora in deep gratitude to God for bringing her to us.

We call her Dora to which everyone responds...OH! Dora the Explora!....little did we know haha

-Pavlos

[ania]

If I ever get married and have children which I can maybe see laaaater on...their names would be one of these:

Males: Spiros, Michali, Yiorgo, Jimmy
Females: Irene, Martina, Ula, Stavroula, Lavrentia (my sister's name)

A bit late, but just wanted to comment that this is the first time I've seen the name Lavrentia other than my cousin, who's parents call her Laurie, but was baptised Lavrentia, and who's saint is St. Lawrence.

[ania]

If I ever have kids, which I hope I do, it'll be (and what my in-theory-so-far-non-existant-husband thinks, he'll just have to shut up, after all, I'll have to go through the labor)...

Boys: (all family names) Diador, Roma (baptised, Roman), Crisanf, Nafanail, Alexandr
Girls: Nebesna (translated into English, Celeste)

In my family, the traditional name (on both sides) is Nicholas, we have at least one in each generation going back at least 150 years.  It was never much of a problem though, because at the moment, there are only my brother Kolya, and my Uncle Nick.  Dedushka Kolya passed on 12 years ago. 

[erracht]

My first consideration would always be that the name not be likely to cause the child any problems in their life. Therefore, anything utterly unusual would be out of the question. Similarly, I would name my child in such a way that the name not be strange in the local culture. Thus, although my favorites are anglo-saxon names, I would not give them to any child of mine in Czechia, where I now live.

In Canada, if I had a daughter, I'd like to name her Leslie. Other names I like are: Lindsay, Laura/Laurie/Lori, Rose, and classic, simple Christian names like Mary and Jane. For a boy, I might pick Michael, Dylan, Sean, Steven, Evan, Calvin, Eric, or Jack. As you can see, my choices are very anglo, though I was born in Serbia.

In Czechia, I might name my daughter Ruzhena (means Rosie), or some other name that's not too unusual, but not too common (many names repeat themselves in this country, there are tons of Janas, Marketas and Martinas). A boy I might name Michal (Mi-hull), Vaclav (Vahts-love), or Martin. I would not name my son Jan (Yahn - means John), because I don't like the standard Czech pet form of it - Honza. And there are tons of them.

[Vasya]

Mishka is a Russo-Slavic version of Mikela, Michaela, Mikheila or however you want to feminize the name Michael. The name means "Who is like God?" We found the name Mischa and was figuring out how to feminize it. So we transliterated it somewhat, trying to retain the name in meaning. Our Priest approved of the name so she will have two wonderful intercessors watching over her: the Archangel Michael and Tatiana the Martyr of Rome.

Christ is in our midst,
Panagiotis

Hello, it's interesting, but Mishka is some diminutive variant of Misha. This name is popular in my country. But a little people know in hornour of whom concreate saint they were named.

It's my first post on this forum;-)

[Heorhij]

My only child is female, 23 at the moment, named Maryana. Her mom picked the name; she was not, as far as I know, given any other name when she was baptized Orthodox, so, probably, it's a legitimate Orthodox girl's name.

Speaking of names, it's funny to me that in the USA, only girls are named Hilary or Hillary, while in my native Ukraine, Illarion (Larion) (the name which is, apparently, the same as the Greek Hilarios) is only male.

George

[frost]

My wife is from the Republic of Georgia. We named our son Gabriel for " Mama Gabrieli " ( Father Gabriel ) of Mtskheta. Fr Gabriel is a modern day saint. My wife actually met him before he died in 1995.

Fr Gabriel was a fearless confessor of the Orthodox faith during the communist times. In 1969, he climbed into the tower where the banner portraits of Marx and Lenin were hanging. He soaked them with kerosene and lit them on fire while the May Day parade passed by ! He leaned out of a window and cried: "Stop worshipping these dogs of Satan. Let's worship Jesus Christ !  "  The communists dragged him out to the street and beat him to death, or so they thought. His skull was fracured in 4 places; but he survived.

Fr Gabriel was a prophet and he knew the hearts of those who came to him. He also had a great sense of humor. If people were too reverent around him, he would tell a joke or a funny story. One day, he held a plate behind his head and told the people - see this, this is the only halo here !

Fr Gabriel is buried in the Mstkheta convent cemetary, and numerous miracles have occured as a result of his intercession. In fact, we had one of our own. My wife's godson was diagosed with a brain tumor the size of a fist. There was no way to even do a biopsy in Georgia. We were at a loss. How could we bring Gurami to the US? How could we pay for treatment ? We prayed to the Theotokos and Fr Gabriel for help. When we related the situation to my spiritual father, two days later one of his parishioners, a physician called. Brian told me that everything would be provided by St Francis Hospital in Tulsa, without charge. All the doctors would donate their services. Then we had trouble getting a visa, and a lady at church called a friend. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe personally interceded to get visas for Gurami and his mother. They came, he had a biopsy, and he had an intracranial germ cell tumor, a curable cancer ! Gurami had six weeks of radiation treatment and went home cured ! Two years later , he is a healhy teenager, and won second place in a national math and science competion.

Glory to God who is glorified in his saints !  We didn't get just one miracle,; but a dozen miracles !

Fr Gabriel is a great hero to all Georgians; but especially to us ! What better name for our first son. The doctor who arranged Gurami's treatment, and his wife are our son's god-parents.

If God grants us a daughter, we will call her Mariami, Mariko for short, in honor of the Holy Theotokos.

Best wishes,
Francis Frost

Francis Frost

[Tabitha]

My husband and I love some of the stranger names.  Being born with a strange name myself (my birth name is Stormy Dawn, from the 1980's but in a hippy minded town!) I am actually a fan of the benefits of a unique name and will most likely be able to help them with any of the jokes that may come from their names.  We like the names Zosimas and Cyril for boys.  As he and I are learning Russian and I have an enjoyment of many languages, we thought St. Cyril would be appropriate since he is one of the people who helped form the Russian Alphabet (aka Cyrillic )  I however, would like to give them the middle names Calvin and Hobbes, one of our favorite comic strip characters.  It may not be the most properly Orthodox thing to do, Zosimas Calvin and Cyril Hobbes do have a distinct ring to them 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

When I was growing up, one of my best friends was named Zebulon (one of the sons of Israel and father of one of the Twelve Tribes), and he had a sister named Keturah (Abraham's second wife). I've had a fondness myself for older names in Christian tradition, even if they've fallen out of use. Who knows, maybe Zosimos will catch on and your son won't be the only one?

[Quinault]

We give our children american indian first names and hebrew middle names. My first name is Shalome, and my husband is part Jewish. And we are both "mutt" american indians. Intermarried/intermingled tribal background. I am Nez Perce, Yakima and Quinault. My husband is Iroquoi and several other tribes.

Oheo (Iroquoi: beautiful) Tivonah (Hebrew: lover of nature)
Witalu (Yakima: mourning dove) Evelina (Hebrew: lifegiving)
Ollokot (Nez Perce: little frog, named after an ancestor of mine, a great warrior) Moshe (should be obvious)

Naming Oheo was really hard. It took a great deal of going back and forth. We were convinced she was a boy up until the first ultrasound. We picked a name with meaning that we wanted her to embody in the future.

Witalu was concieved after we lost 3 babies at various stages of pregnancy (11 weeks twins and 6 weeks singleton). My husband was in training with the Army most of the year. We seemed to see each other just long enough to get pregnant each time :-\My husband was leaving for war when we found out about her. There were numerous deaths in the family, it was a hard time. Her conception and birth came during a time of mourning and she brought us a great deal life.

We literally had our son Ollokot's name picked for years. Ollokot was a Nex Perce Christian, the brother of Cheif Joseph. And Moshe is after the Biblical Moses and the great Isreali leader.


And we have the next boy and gilr name picked already; Tamootsen (Nez perce: Timothy, my husbands name is Timothy, it means honoring God and a way to have a Jr, without naming him Jr.) Zadok (Hebrew: rightous).

Next girl will be Stiqayu (Lushootseed: wolf) Abria (Hebrew: strong)

[Nyssa The Hobbit]

LOL
Thank you both. My daughters are very precious and I love them all dearly. I was wondering if our Lord would grant me a boy but no. Instead I got three challenges ahead for which i may buy lots of ammunition when they reach their teens.

Kyrie Eleison,
Panagiotis

That's certainly true.  Those little girls are going to be heartbreakers.  I can see it now.

My little boy is named Alexander Stefan.  I always liked those names.  I don't like "Steven," but I've always liked the "Steffen" pronunciation.  In fact, I named a character in one of my "juvenilia" novels "Stefan."

As for "Alexander," I first realized in my teens that I liked that name while watching one of the old Blondie & Dagwood movies from the 1930s.  Little Alexander was originally named Baby Dumpling.  As he got older, this became less appropriate.  So in one movie he said, "Don't call me Baby Dumpling anymore.  I want to be called Alexander."  So in a sense my boy is named after little Baby Dumpling. 

[JHP17]

just a quick post for southserb - Dejan = Dean.

when i have kids (da Bog da - God willing) i have a list of names all set to go;
boys - Ilija (Elija), Savo (Sabbas), Jovan (John)
girls - Ksenija (Xenia), Dejana (Deana), Teodora (Theodora), Filipa (Philipa)

An interesting point - all serbain girls names end in A. my friends and i have gone through all names that we know and can't come up with a single serbain female name that ends in any other letter.

[Tabitha]

Who knows, maybe Zosimos will catch on and your son won't be the only one?

I actually had a little argument with a friend of mine at church and finally resolved it by calling "Dibs" on Zosimos and allowing her to have Bridget as a fair trade.  Yes, we are total nerds.... it's okay.  Interestingly enough, she is due in about two weeks and her son will be named Liam Jacob Glenn.  His patron saint will be Saint William.  His name simply screams Irish, it's fantastic.

[Nemo]

We have eleven children (five by birth, four by adoption, one foster, and one in utero).  I figured we would have run out of good names by now, but there seem to be some good ones left.  Early on, since we unable to conceive, we figured we would only have one or two, so it would be unfair to use family names and leave someone slighted.  It turns out that would have worked out great, but now it's too late to reverse course....

Here are the names, in order of arrival:

Joel Timothy  (Joel is my first name)
Benjamin Luke  (My wife liked this one)
Philip Jude (He is from Korea, and his middle name was Joo)
Miriam Genevieve  (The paperwork we got from her British orphanage called her Jenny, so we picked out Genevieve, then we found out that she was never called Jenny -- the orphanage workers just couldn't pronounce her Chinese name.  She chose to go by Miriam.)
Mary Elizabeth (Betsy)
Ruth Clare
John Michael  (He was very active in utero, so we named him after another famous womb-leaper)
David Joseph
Nathan Lee (Every David needs a Nathan to keep him straight.  Lee is my father-in-law's name.  It's also in the Book of Acts, where Paul's ship sheltered from the wind...)
Noah James (His real name is Douglas, but his grandmother named him this before entrusting him to our care)

...and we just peeked at the most recent member.  It's a girl!  We had been calling her Pickles (we pick a gender neutral "work-in-progress" name for all the preborn until we find out the gender), but I want to name her Talitha Hope.  This isn't really a saint's name -- will this cause problems if/when the family ever gets Chrismated?

[Heorhij]

My daughter, who is planning to get married in this coming May, just told me that if her first child is a girl, she will be Sophia (Ukr. diminutive "Sofijka"), and if a boy - Severin (Ukr. diminutive Severynko).

[sdcheung]

I'm beginning to like Ss. Nikon (Metanoeite) and Sabbas (The Sanctified)

[Fr. David]

Her name is Hope Elizabeth.

And her sister (wow; a two-year old thread!) is Katherine Ruth.  Saints and family names, nothin' new.  Kati is seven months today. http://www.photobucket.com/albums/a389/Bryan_Peter

[Despina]

In my family we name the first child from the paternal grandfather, then paternal grandmother, then maternal grandfather, then maternal grandmother, and the father, mother, etc. If the child is of opposite gender, we find a [fe]male equivalent to the name.

[Αριστοκλής]

In my family we name the first child from the paternal grandfather, then paternal grandmother, then maternal grandfather, then maternal grandmother, and the father, mother, etc. If the child is of opposite gender, we find a [fe]male equivalent to the name.

Sounds "Greek" to me!

[Despina]

Very! George is the most popular in my family on BOTH sides!

[sdcheung]

Sounds "Greek" to me!

what happens if you have extra kids? Then you take other names? maybe I can adopt that tradition, starting from me, the first Chinese Orthodox Family to adopt Greek naming procedures.

[Αριστοκλής]

How many kids do you want, Foti?

[sdcheung]

How many kids do you want, Foti?

3 maybe 4

Obviously if I marry a Greek Girl, 2 of them will have to named after her parents. I just can't name the kids aftermy parents , Franklin and Fei (Faye)

[Αριστοκλής]

Unless someone here can rationalize a 'Franklin' or a 'Faye' (who knows, it's possible) then you might work on any aunts and uncles names. That's what my family did.

[FrChris]

Well, in my parish I have a Fani, who goes by Faye.

Franklin...well, maybe Photios!

[Αριστοκλής]

Well, in my parish I have a Fani, who goes by Faye.

Franklin...well, maybe Photios!

EXCELLENT! Foti will love that!

[sdcheung]

Well, in my parish I have a Fani, who goes by Faye.

Franklin...well, maybe Photios!

Yeah, Il earned about that tonite when I went to Bible study at the 74th Street Cathedral. Father Frank Marangos had alot of calls today who mistakenly thought that he was Photios.

[sdcheung]

EXCELLENT! Foti will love that!

I do.

[Quinault]

And her sister (wow; a two-year old thread!) is Katherine Ruth.  Saints and family names, nothin' new.  Kati is seven months today. http://www.photobucket.com/albums/a389/Bryan_Peter

Very beautiful little girl!

[Myrrh23]

Hey Guys!!


I'm not married and have no kids, but I want the whole package!
I so want a baby girl, and I plan to name her Sophia, after the Hagia Sophia. For baby names, that's as far as I've gotten..though I definitely want more than one kid! One of my kids will probably join all the millions of Michaels out there.
(sighs) Can't wait, can't wait!!
Can anyone here tell my biological clock urges are ticking like earthquakes? Heeheehee!

Myrrh23

[prayingserb]

My first son will be named after my father, Milan. I also like the name Mateja, and Mateja Kezman is an excellent soccer player and devout orthoodox christian. I also like Marija, obviously that answers itself. 3 M's hehe.. Dimitrije is also a nice name, and it is our family saint. Nikola is nice too. Svetlana is also a nice girls name, or Kristina. so basically all serbian names here lol.

[Galina-Volga]

My daughter's name is Ekaterina Sophia.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ I really like that name. My daughter is named Caitlin, which is the same name as Ekaterina.

[Myrrh23]

Ytter, can I ask how long you've been married and how many kiddies you have?

[paradoxy]

A baby name has to fulfill many requirements in order to be even considered by this mother:

1) it has to be both international 2) AND traditionally 'Serbian' (as in, used in Serbia - like Marija, Katarina, Nikola, Ana, Marina)

3) It has to have a nice sound to it 4) AND a meaning I like 5) It has to be a saint's name

5) The meaning must be reconcilable with Christianity (e.g. Isidora is a nice-sounding, international, Serbian name, and the name of St. Isidore, BUT it means 'the gift of Isis'. No pagan deities, thank you. )

My only child so far is called Ana - it may sound simple enough, but a lot of thought went into it

Other girls' names I'd consider are Marija, Marina, Katarina, Hristina, Irina, Ksenija, Teodora, Dorotea

Boys' names I could live with: Nikola, Damjan (and my husband doesn't like Damjan. Hopefully we won't have too many boys )

And I find it heart to reconcile the meaning of 'Nikola' (the victory of the people) with Christianity. It sounds almost Communist to my Communism-oversensitized ears. Help?

[EofK]

Ytter, can I ask how long you've been married and how many kiddies you have?

Since he's otherwise occupied with dinner, I'll answer for him.     We've been married nearly a year and have one daughter, Caitlin.

[Órëlaurëa]

I have all sorts of plans for names of children, but with no boyfriend at the moment, I think it's all just wishful thinking. However, I think I'd lean toward having the middle name as the saint name. That way, if my husband and I should choose something that the child does not like, he or she doesn't have to have it as a first name. And since a lot of names I have liked in the past were chosen by friends after we talked about the name, I think I will keep my counsel on this subject.

As I said, it's all just wishful thinking anyhow. I guess I'll just concentrate on spoiling my goddaughter Caitlin, and the newest baby girl at St. Thomas (just 2 weeks old now!).

[Andrea]

Since he's otherwise occupied with dinner, I'll answer for him.     We've been married nearly a year and have one daughter, Caitlin.

Great name! Our daughter (13 mo) is Caitlin too!   

[GabrieltheCelt]

If I can bribe my gf into marrying me, I'd like Sean Michael for a boy, and maybe Fiona Maria for a girl.  I got the "You must be joking" look when I suggested Séamus for a boy and Siobhan (Sha-vahn) for a girl.  I had a few other Gaelic names but I got the same look with those as well.  Oh well, "If mamma ain't happy..."

[EofK]

^Lol!  I had a friend in college named Shavonne.  I bet she had no idea her name had Celtic roots. 

Andrea, welcome to the forum!  Have you found that everyone spells Caitlin differently?  I don't think I've seen the same spelling twice.

[Andrea]

Andrea, welcome to the forum!  Have you found that everyone spells Caitlin differently?  I don't think I've seen the same spelling twice.

Thank you!

Yes, I have found that...it seems like everyone wants to use a y or two when spelling her name! It's interesting how many different spellings there are.

Andrea

[EofK]

K and Y are the popular letters these days, I guess.

[Galina-Volga]

Less common variants in English include Katheryn, Kathryn, Katharyn, Katherin, Catharine, and Cathryn. The form Karen, of Danish origin, is now often considered an English name in its own right. Diminutives include Kate, Kath, Cath, Cate, Kathy, Kathie, Kathi, Katey, Katy, Kay, Kat, Katya, Katyusha, Katie, Kati, Kaki, Kit, Kitty, Katheryne, Kaitie, Kady, Kaity and Cathy.


[edit] Cognates in other languages
Arabic: كاترين‎ (Katrīn)
Bulgarian: Екатерина, Катерина (Ekaterina, Katerina)
Catalan: Caterina
Croatian: Katarina
Czech: Kateřina
Danish: Katarina
Dutch: Katrien, Katrijn
Finnish: Kaarina
French: Catherine
German: Katarine, Katharine, Katrine, Katrin, Katharina
Greek: Αικατερίνη (ancient: Aikaterine, modern: Ekaterini)
Hungarian: Katalin
Irish: Caitríona, Caitrín, Catraoine, Caitlín
Italian: Caterina
Norwegian: Katarina
Polish: Katarzyna
Portuguese: Catarina
Russian: Екатерина, Катерина (Ekaterina, Katerina)
Scottish Gaelic: Catriona, Caitrìona, Catrìona
Serbian: Katarina
Slovak: Katarína
Slovene: Katarina
Spanish: Catalina
Swahili: Katarina
Welsh: Catrin
Hawaiian: Kakalin
Turkish: Katerin

[Heorhij]

^ Ukrainian "Kateryna." We pronounce this "y" like the English-speaking people pronounce "i" in such English words as "ship" or "hip," while Russians pronounce their "i" in "Yekaterina" as "ee," like in "sheep" or "heap."

[Órëlaurëa]

A friend of mine from high school named her second daughter Kady. Back then it was different and original. Her first daughter was named Kris.

[Simayan]

I still think 'William' is the best name for a boy. Heh. 

[EofK]

I like Aidan and Cameron for boys.  I'm afraid all my kids will end with the "in" sound so I'm doomed to be one of those parents who calls the kiddos by all their siblings names before I remember the right one.

[Andrea]

I like Aidan and Cameron for boys.  I'm afraid all my kids will end with the "in" sound so I'm doomed to be one of those parents who calls the kiddos by all their siblings names before I remember the right one.

LOL, we have this problem in our family. Along with Caitlin, one of my boys is Ian, and then my nephews are Austin and Ryan.  They stayed with us for a while and with all the N endings in one house it got so confusing! And should we have another boy, I love the name Brendan. 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Ah, yes. Ss. Aidan and Brendan are two of the most spiritual men to come out of the British Isles. Worthy patrons indeed. Aidan especially seems to be popular these days; it was our daughter's alternate name. We'll probably use it later if we have a boy.

[Fr. George]

Since we've had another good set of names, I thought I'd inject a few more Greek ones that I'm sure would make the average expectant mother cringe:

Agathonikos
Agathanggelos
Persephone (ok, that one is a joke - many old Greeks use it as a filler name if they don't know the name of a girl - I can't tell you how many times I've been asked "so, how's Persephone?")

And, of course, my favorite suggestion, as mentioned earlier in this thread:

My favorite pain-in-the-rear suggestion to make to expectant mothers: Pahpnoutios. 

[EofK]

I like the name Persephone but I don't think I would name one that.  I just know every kid until college would call her "Purse-a-fone."

[RLNM]

Our kids names are

Joseph Rush: called by Joe. At the time, I was hung up on reusing a parent name. (got over that). So, Rush is a traditional family name for my husband. At this point, a girl would have been Juliet Rebecca. Walter was rooting for Fiona. (pre-shrek)

Nathaniel Alasdair: called by Nathan. This is where Walter really started to express his fondness for Gaelic names. I still would have gone with Juliet though. Interestingly, I was told that the Apostle Nathaniel is also sometimes refered to as Bartholomew. Never checked on that, but always meant to sometime.

Mary Colleen: Called by Mary. This year was tough. I was tired of Juliet, and just didn't like Fiona. (all I could think of is her getting stuck with "Fifi" as a nickname) So, Colleen is what we both liked. Actually, we got the idea from a song called "Colleen Malone"  that he likes. I was REALLY hoping for a girl this time because I just couldn't come up with a boy's name that we both liked.

Duncan James: Called by Duncan. This just popped in my head one night. I offered a bargin with this one. This for a boy, and a girl would of been Anastasia Rose, (which he wasn't crazy about).

Mostly though, they all had to have at least one good, solid, common name from the bible. Keep the picking of a patron saint simple.

[Galina-Volga]

Cleveland wrote Greek names Agathonikos and Agathanggelos. Russians renamed  them like  Agafoniy and Agafangel but in modern days Russia those names aren't popular 

[Galina-Volga]

Can somebody tell me about the name Fiona. Is it Orthodox name? Because for me it's kind of in association with Shrek. 

[Heorhij]

Can somebody tell me about the name Fiona. Is it Orthodox name? Because for me it's kind of in association with Shrek. 

I don't know whether it's Orthodox, but I believe it's Celtic. Other female Celtic names, common in the US, are Jennifer ("white"), Brenda, Megan (Magan, Meagan, Meghan), Brigit (Brighit, Brigitte), Sabrina, etc.

[Heorhij]

Cleveland wrote greek names Agathonikos and Agathanggelos. Russians renamed  them like  Agafoniy and Agafangel but in modern days Russia those names aren't popular 

Right. In Ukraine, they are almost never used any more, although there was one outstanding scientist (historian and linguist) named Agafanhel Kryms'ky (died in the 1920's).

[Galina-Volga]

Georgich, spasibo! 

[TinaG]

2 sons:

Eric Anthony 8 yo - I wanted our first son to be named after my parish's patron saint - St. Anthony the Great.  I couldn't get my husband to agree.  He wanted Eric.  Our priest did all the checking and could only find a post-schism Norwegian prince saint.  He had to get the ok of the Archbishop, but he was baptised Anthony and communed as Anthony.  When our new priest arrived he didn't know know his middle name was his baptismal name, has been communing him as Eric.  However, I know my former priest said that we should have a saint's name, but there isn't any rule that says we can't make our given name holy, just like the early Christians did.

Michael Alexander 6 yo - He was named after the Archangel Michael.  When I was 6 months pregnant, I went to vespers for the Feast of the Archangels.  I was feeling sick, tired and very pregnant, and we had not decided on a name yet.  While singing the troparia and kontakia for the feast, I can only say it was God who suddenly put the name Michael into my head.  It just felt like the name I had to have.  Luckily my husband agreed.   Alexander - who knows.  It just sounds good.

[Heorhij]

Georgich, spasibo! 

C нашим удовольствиeм!

Я вообшe-то Вадимыч. Но и на Гeоргича нe обижусь.

[Órëlaurëa]

I like Aidan and Cameron for boys.  I'm afraid all my kids will end with the "in" sound so I'm doomed to be one of those parents who calls the kiddos by all their siblings names before I remember the right one.

I like the name Aidan, but I think it's been spoiled since my ex's sister named her firstborn that. I do like Cameron, and the Brendan that was mentioned by another poster. If my opinion matters, that is.

[EofK]

We'll make Aidan a good name again.    I guess we better ready the baby name book as we've found out we're having our second born a little earlier than planned!  He/she is due around the middle of December. 

[Ebor]

Congratulations!  and all good wishes for you and the New Person and all of your family.

Ebor

[EofK]

Thanks!  We're getting over the shock now.   

[Andrea]

We'll make Aidan a good name again.    I guess we better ready the baby name book as we've found out we're having our second born a little earlier than planned!  He/she is due around the middle of December. 

Congratulations and prayers for you and your family!
  Andrea

[EofK]

Thanks!

[Quinault]

Congratulations!

[Órëlaurëa]

Congratulations, again. 

[Rosehip]

Oh congratulations, EofK! That's wonderful news! And Aidan is a beautiful name, although it has very non-Orthodox connotations for me!

[prodromas]

Oh congratulations, EofK! That's wonderful news! And Aidan is a beautiful name, although it has very non-Orthodox connotations for me!

That means that EofK needs to make sure that aidan becomes a Saint so it will have Orthodox connotations!

[Órëlaurëa]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that Aidan would be named after St. Aidan of Lindesfarne. He is commemorated on August 31st.

St. Aidan was born in Ireland in the latter part of the 6th Century. He was tonsured a monk at Iona (Scotland) in the community that St. Columba had founded earlier as a holy isle and staging ground for the evangelization of Britain. St. Aidan was chosen to evangelize Northumbria, because of his skilful and gentle manner of teaching. He was consecrated bishop and sent to Northumbria. He arrived at Lindesfarne in 635, establishing it as a second holy isle on the opposite coast of Britain, which became his see. He evangelized the native pagans. At times, he encountered rival gangs of young men, ready to do battle. He instructed them in the Gospel of Peace and they laid down their weapons, were baptized, and became monastics. St. Aidan held to the eastern traditions, which were the norm in Ireland. He taught and practiced the stricter fasting rules, the eastern date for Pascha and the collegial nature of church rule, giving preference to abbots over bishops. Many times, King Oswald would accompany St. Aidan on his missionary trips through the countryside, acting as an interpreter. St. Aidan was always teaching, preaching and encouraging, but he led by example. He was known by his asceticism and his almsgiving. King Oswin gave him a fine horse to use in his ministry. Aidan gave it with all of its fancy gear, to a beggar who asked for alms. He used some of what was given him to redeem slaves out of their slavery. Some of these became his disciples. St. Aidan sent missionaries out across England and as far as the Netherlands, establishing monasteries. He also tonsured the first nun in Northumbria, Hieu. He also persuaded Hilda to stay in England and supported her work of establishing monasteries for women throughout England. The godly bishop accomplished all of this and more in just sixteen years. He reposed in the Lord on August 31, 651. He was immediately acclaimed as "the Apostle to Northumbria." He was buried at Lindesfarne. In 664, when the Lindesfarne monastery succumbed to the pressure from Rome and accepted the Synod of Whitby, St. Colman took St. Aidan's relics and retired to Iona, which remained a stronghold of Celtic Christianity.

[Heorhij]

Congratulations, EofK and Ytterbiumanalyst! Many Years! Glory to God!

[EofK]

Thanks, everyone!  Yeah, Aidan would be named after St. Aidan.  I think if we're having another girl we might name her Bridget.

[jayjay]

Caleb Andrew Peter:

Caleb from the OT
Andrew my first name
Peter in memory of my Uncle Peter who died when the little fella was still in the womb.

[Veronica]

All of our children were born before we converted, but we were adamant that they be Biblical names and they couldn't be anything that was too weird because we have an odd last name, and they had to have good qualities that our children could emulate... so we have...

Timothy Daniel (after St. Timothy the apostle and Daniel is my husband's middle name and his father's middle name)

Abigail Marie (After King David's wife, she was wise and beautiful and Marie is my middle name, my aunt's, my grandma's, my great-grand's and so on)

Hannah Ruth ( Hosnestly we had what we came down to 3 names that we might actually use Hannah, Ruth and Elizabeth  and I thought Ruth as a first name was just a little too old fashioned, I am not fond of all of the nicknames that go along with Elizabeth and we had a girl in our youth group that my husband worked with named Hannah and so we had extra good connotation there and Ruth is actually one of my other Great-grand's names.)

We have found a picture of an Abigail icon that someone commissioned, but have not run across one for sale.

I want to thank the person who pointed out Dejan can become Deana, My name is Deanna and I was going to be chrismated Veronica and then Father chrismated me Deanna so I receive blessings and the Eucharist as Deanna. Father does have a mindset though that if no new names ever come into the fold, the Saint names will just be repeated over and over. I do however have a special place in my heart for St. Veronica, I connect with her. I had already picked my forum name here and a few other places before our chrismation, but that's ok.

[Galina-Volga]

Veronica, I like the tradition to have the same middle name for generations.

[Órëlaurëa]

I share my mother's middle name, but I am not sure that I would pass it on to any daughter of mine. 

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ Knowing your middle name, I don't blame you.

[Órëlaurëa]

It isn't a horrible name, or anything. . . it just doesn't fit me well (in my opinion), and I think there are other names I like better.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ No, it's not bad, it's just been overused recently.

[Myrrh23]

I might make use of the name 'Olivia', after Mariska Hargitay's Law and Order: SVU Detective character....

[Lauren_Elisse]

I don't have kids,  but my favorite names are Constantine, Demetrious, and Anastasia

[Quinault]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Noah (son, age 12)
Zion (son, age 9)
Adayah (daughter, age 5)

The first two need no explanation, but Adayah is Hebrew for "JAH has adorned."

My wife and I have another on the way! Won't reveal the name just yet.


Selam

[Asteriktos]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

Congratulations! But... people thought we were wrong for naming our daughter the "difficult" Athanasia! I can only imagine the grief you'll get from people, lol

Noah (son, age 12)
Zion (son, age 9)
Adayah (daughter, age 5)

The first two need no explanation, but Adayah is Hebrew for "JAH has adorned."

My wife and I have another on the way! Won't reveal the name just yet.

Congratulations!

[Heorhij]

My older niece gave birth to a baby daughter last month. She and her husband named the daughter Alexandra. Traditional Ukrainian families usually call girls with this name "Lesya." (My wife is one of these girls. My niece and her husband, however, went "Westernized" and are calling their little one "Sandra."

[HandmaidenofGod]

My older niece gave birth to a baby daughter last month. She and her husband named the daughter Alexandra. Traditional Ukrainian families usually call girls with this name "Lesya." (My wife is one of these girls. My niece and her husband, however, went "Westernized" and are calling their little one "Sandra."

Congratulations!

I know "Sandra" isn't traditional, but at least it's still feminine.  I hate when girls in the States shorten their name from "Alexandra" to "Alex." It takes a pretty girls name and turns it into a boys name.   

[ytterbiumanalyst]

My older niece gave birth to a baby daughter last month. She and her husband named the daughter Alexandra. Traditional Ukrainian families usually call girls with this name "Lesya." (My wife is one of these girls. My niece and her husband, however, went "Westernized" and are calling their little one "Sandra."

Congratulations!

I know "Sandra" isn't traditional, but at least it's still feminine.  I hate when girls in the States shorten their name from "Alexandra" to "Alex." It takes a pretty girls name and turns it into a boys name.   

Actually, not until I started teaching did I ever meet a boy named Alex. All through my life I've known several Alexes, and they have all been girls/women. So to me Alex is a very feminine name.

[Quinault]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

Congratulations! But... people thought we were wrong for naming our daughter the "difficult" Athanasia! I can only imagine the grief you'll get from people, lol

I pull the ethnic card, and since we are in Seattle people just nod and smile (and occasionally cry) when I tell them it is an american indian name. Her name basically means "God is my abundant strength." But we call her Ari for short. I hope to have another boy so we can pull out the REALLY strange name- Tamootsen Zadok. But at present my husband doesn't want to have anymore biological children.

[choirfiend]

Elena Serafina

Elena, after Ellen her grandmother, St. Helen.
Serafina, after Seraphim.

[HandmaidenofGod]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

Congratulations! But... people thought we were wrong for naming our daughter the "difficult" Athanasia! I can only imagine the grief you'll get from people, lol

I pull the ethnic card, and since we are in Seattle people just nod and smile (and occasionally cry) when I tell them it is an american indian name. Her name basically means "God is my abundant strength." But we call her Ari for short. I hope to have another boy so we can pull out the REALLY strange name- Tamootsen Zadok. But at present my husband doesn't want to have anymore biological children.

That's really cool. Mind if I ask what tribe/language that is?

Also, what was your priest's reaction when you had her baptised? (If I'm being too nosey just tell me to shut-up!)

[HandmaidenofGod]

My older niece gave birth to a baby daughter last month. She and her husband named the daughter Alexandra. Traditional Ukrainian families usually call girls with this name "Lesya." (My wife is one of these girls. My niece and her husband, however, went "Westernized" and are calling their little one "Sandra."

Congratulations!

I know "Sandra" isn't traditional, but at least it's still feminine.  I hate when girls in the States shorten their name from "Alexandra" to "Alex." It takes a pretty girls name and turns it into a boys name.   

Actually, not until I started teaching did I ever meet a boy named Alex. All through my life I've known several Alexes, and they have all been girls/women. So to me Alex is a very feminine name.

But what about the infamous Alex P. Keaton???

[Fr. George]

Our baby (nearly 10 months old) is Eleni Dianthe - We picked St. Eleni/Helen because we love her example, and like the sound of the name, without regard to the fact that we have many Elenis in our family trees (her favorite cousin, a close 2nd cousin, and her grandmother; my aunt & great-grandmother; and Sts. Constantine & Helen was my home parish for 25 years).  Dianthe (old Greek for "flower of Zeus/god") is my mother-in-law's name (she celebrates March 25th for the "Unfading Flower" - the Theotokos).

Thankfully, we have 3 names (2 female, 1 male) leftover from the selection process for "future expansion," so we don't have to do a name search any time soon.

[genesisone]

My maternal grandmother, from a VERY Protestant family, was named Asenath (emphasis on the second syllable). I've never heard or seen that name elsewhere, other than in Genesis. Interestingly, and unlike her siblings, she had no other given name.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

My older niece gave birth to a baby daughter last month. She and her husband named the daughter Alexandra. Traditional Ukrainian families usually call girls with this name "Lesya." (My wife is one of these girls. My niece and her husband, however, went "Westernized" and are calling their little one "Sandra."

Congratulations!

I know "Sandra" isn't traditional, but at least it's still feminine.  I hate when girls in the States shorten their name from "Alexandra" to "Alex." It takes a pretty girls name and turns it into a boys name.   

Actually, not until I started teaching did I ever meet a boy named Alex. All through my life I've known several Alexes, and they have all been girls/women. So to me Alex is a very feminine name.

But what about the infamous Alex P. Keaton???

To be honest, I've never been a fan of Michael J. Fox. I never watched that show, or Spin City for that matter. I just really didn't care about it.

[choirfiend]

Our baby (nearly 10 months old) is Eleni Dianthe - We picked St. Eleni/Helen because we love her example, and like the sound of the name

It IS a nice sounding name, isn't it?
I like girls' names with vowels and feminine flow. Elena seemed to do that

[franthonyc]

My maternal grandmother, from a VERY Protestant family, was named Asenath (emphasis on the second syllable). I've never heard or seen that name elsewhere, other than in Genesis. Interestingly, and unlike her siblings, she had no other given name.

It's a legitimate Orthodox name, though. Asenath is mentioned with Joseph in the wedding service (though the accent is placed elsewhere).

[Alveus Lacuna]

My wife and I have another on the way! Won't reveal the name just yet.

I didn't know! Congratulations!

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

My wife and I have another on the way! Won't reveal the name just yet.

I didn't know! Congratulations!

Thank you my brother! But please don't tell anyone. It's a secret.


Selam

[Quinault]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

Congratulations! But... people thought we were wrong for naming our daughter the "difficult" Athanasia! I can only imagine the grief you'll get from people, lol

I pull the ethnic card, and since we are in Seattle people just nod and smile (and occasionally cry) when I tell them it is an american indian name. Her name basically means "God is my abundant strength." But we call her Ari for short. I hope to have another boy so we can pull out the REALLY strange name- Tamootsen Zadok. But at present my husband doesn't want to have anymore biological children.

That's really cool. Mind if I ask what tribe/language that is?

Also, what was your priest's reaction when you had her baptised? (If I'm being too nosey just tell me to shut-up!)

Our priest can't say any of our children's names. He calls them by their saint/baptismal names; Paraskeve, Anna, Seraphim and Kassiane. Arihsakwar is Mohawk, Abria is Hebrew.

[Liz]

Oh! I had another kid recently! She is Arihsakwar Abria Kassiane.

Congratulations! But... people thought we were wrong for naming our daughter the "difficult" Athanasia! I can only imagine the grief you'll get from people, lol

I pull the ethnic card, and since we are in Seattle people just nod and smile (and occasionally cry) when I tell them it is an american indian name. Her name basically means "God is my abundant strength." But we call her Ari for short. I hope to have another boy so we can pull out the REALLY strange name- Tamootsen Zadok. But at present my husband doesn't want to have anymore biological children.

That's really cool. Mind if I ask what tribe/language that is?

Also, what was your priest's reaction when you had her baptised? (If I'm being too nosey just tell me to shut-up!)

Our priest can't say any of our children's names. He calls them by their saint/baptismal names; Paraskeve, Anna, Seraphim and Kassiane. Arihsakwar is Mohawk, Abria is Hebrew.

You have some beautiful names there! Abria is lovely; so is Kassiane.

In response to an earlier point - I'm used to Alex for girls, but 'Alexandra' has so many variations - we had Alexy, Alexie, Alexa, Lexie and Alexia, all in my yeargroup at school! Although 'Alexy' is not so feminine in other languages!

Isn't it odd how names are gendered differently in different languages?

[Michał Kalina]

Muslim response to this was moved to Religious Topics.

[Tikhon.of.Colorado]

hm...if I were to have Children, I'd be paranoid of picking the best patron saint for my Child.  eventually I'd get a migrane and tell my future child's spiritual father to pick a name. 

I would probably name them after a Slavic saint or a biblical one (I'm fond of the myrrh baring women, so I'd probaly pick a name from them) or one of the Holy Archangels for my son.

[Entscheidungsproblem]

Zenith and Quasar

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Zenith and Quasar

Very cool. 


Selam

[Michał Kalina]

Patrick and Nina - my favourite names.

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