How to name a child - choosing the best name for a child

Usually, at the birth of a child, parents are faced with the question: what to name the child ? For some reason, the range of names at this moment is very scarce, so they name the first-born in honor of their grandfather or grandmother, their friends, etc., while the arsenal of names is quite diverse. Usually they try to make the name and patronymic of the future person sound harmonious, which, in general, is also not bad. Below are the names (male and female) to make the task somewhat easier for you, and in passing we note that in this sentence the names that existed in the distant past are omitted, for example, such as Auxentius - “growing”; Evgraf - “good writer”; Eutychius - “happy”; Lucina - “luminous”; Thekla - “Orthodox”; Philareta - “loving virtue.”

How to name a child

The name is connected with fate

Each of us has had the opportunity to judge a person in advance, by his name alone. Having learned the name of someone, we, willy-nilly, immediately begin to imagine his image: nationality, possible personality traits, character traits, temperament, even religion. Such is the power of a name.

In addition to this powerful information charge, the name also carries sound associations - caressing the ear or alarming, tuning us to resonate with the person or, conversely, to close ourselves off.

Since ancient times, people have paid special attention to names. The children were called the same as God, on whose favor and protection the parents counted. By the name one could judge the destiny that the mother and father promised their child. In ancient society, a name gave a person significance: if it did not carry the idea of patronage, its owner could not have the status of a noble and respected person. A particularly important person was given several names, and that person was called upon to perform a corresponding number of noble deeds. The Catholic Church still preserves this tradition: a person has three names - given at birth, at baptism and at confirmation.

Before Christianity in Rus', people were called by nicknames, named according to their type of activity, called by special words in order to protect them from troubles and illnesses. The Christian names known to us today came along with Orthodoxy in the 10th century from Byzantium and make up the so-called month book (saints) - a list of saints revered by the Russian Orthodox Church.

A child born on a certain day received the name of the saint and with it his patronage and protection. If a child was named in the same way as a righteous person, this was considered a blessing, sanctifying the path of life: the name itself gave him an example to follow. The name given at baptism was often kept secret from strangers. It was believed that in this way the child was protected from the action of evil spirits.

After the revolutionary events of the early twentieth century, parents received complete freedom in choosing a name for their children. Names appeared that reflected the political, cultural and historical changes that took place in our country: Oktyabrina, Vladlen, Traktorina, Markslen. European names began to come: German, Marat, Zhanna - and eastern ones: Zemfira, Timur, Ruslan. At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, the fashion for European, Old Russian and Slavic names revived: Philip, Stefan, Adrian, Maya, Eva, Sandra, Igor, Olga, Vladimir, Lyudmila. Most of the names commonly used today are of ancient Greek and Hebrew origin, with Latin, Scandinavian, German and Oriental ones being slightly less common.

No matter what eras succeed each other, no matter how the “onomastic fashion” changes, the name itself continues to carry information and influence the fate of a person. Therefore, when deciding what to name your child, think about what message you want to convey to him, what you expect from him, how you see him. Your answer will become a guide to action for you; you will know exactly what to rely on when making a choice, what is more important to you: respect for the traditions of the country or clan, the euphony of the name, including in combination with the patronymic, meaning, etc.

Do names influence fate?

They say that a person's destiny, character and name are connected to each other by strong and indestructible bonds. Our great-grandfathers also knew about this and, naming the baby, tried to influence his fate and life in a certain way.

Different strategies for choosing a name

Some parents choose a name when they find out the gender of the unborn child, others - when they see the baby born, and others wait for the child himself to suggest it during pregnancy or when he is born.

Sometimes the child’s name seems to “come” on its own. After such a “meeting” a person may experience an inner feeling of peace, satisfaction and joy. If this fateful meeting with a name did not take place (which happens in most cases), what should parents do? What guides their choice?

Usually they take the choice of a name quite seriously, it’s not for nothing that they say: a name is destiny, whatever you name a boat, that’s how it will float. Parents pay attention to euphony, combination with patronymic and surname, and family or national traditions. The meaning of the name also plays an important role.

Let's see what modern parents use when looking for the best name for their child:

Euphony. It happens that parents pay attention only to the euphony and combination with the patronymic and surname, which will be recorded in the birth certificate and all further documents. For those who do not attach importance to subtle matters, this may be quite enough. Although to some, the method of random selection based on the “like or dislike” principle may not seem entirely thought out;
Saints (months of words). During the almost thousand-year history of Orthodoxy in Rus', there was a tradition of naming a newborn according to the Orthodox calendar. This made it much easier for parents to choose the name of their child: the number of saints revered on a given day is usually small. Nowadays, the tradition of naming a baby according to the calendar is supported only in families of deeply religious people. Parents who adhere to this tradition look at the child’s date of birth and at the same time have some freedom of choice: on any day of the year, as a rule, several saints are revered. If the choice does not fall on any of these names, you can turn to the eighth day after birth: it was on this day that the name was given in ancient times. If in this case the soul does not respond to any of the options, they look at the fortieth day after birth. Finally, an option for the most intractable: church rules allow you to name a baby any name you like from the month book, regardless of the birthday;
Traditions. In families that honor traditions, the child is named after his closest relatives: often these are the names of grandparents or the most significant people of the family with a good destiny. This gives a person a sense of belonging to the clan, an understanding of his roots, and perhaps some predictability of the future;
Esoterics (astrology and numerology). Representatives of these belief systems have proven that the name and date of birth contain deep meaning and information that speaks about a person’s natural inclinations, his character, appearance, development potential, and destiny. In astrology, for a confident and correct choice, an analysis of the name and its connection with the date of birth is done. Numerology, as a part of astrology, tries to substantiate and reveal the magical power of numbers, their ability to predetermine the fate and inclinations of a person. The number of a name is obtained by translating its constituent letters into numbers and is considered an expression of a developed human personality and the key to its aspirations;
The secret of the name (meaning). Nowadays, there are a huge number of reference books on the etymology of the name, describing its influence on a person’s fate. In them you can find answers to almost all questions about the origin and meaning of the name. It is a rare parent today who does not resort to the help of such dictionaries when making the final choice. However, psychologists recommend not relying entirely solely on the interpretation of names in order to avoid possible disappointment if the offspring does not live up to the expectations placed on him;
Season. Sometimes parents start from the principle of matching the time of year in which the baby was born with his intended name. It is expected that the name will balance the personality and add qualities to the child that he lacked by nature. For example, it is believed that strong-willed individuals are born in winter, so such children are advised to give “softening” and melodic names that can somewhat smooth out the “winter character.” In the summer, emotional, impressionable people are born - “solid” names that strengthen their influenced spirit are more suitable for them. Autumn children are “universal”, regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, they can be called by any simple names. Spring babies, like summer babies, are advised to give “solid” and “stable” names;
Fashion. Instead of European names, the fashion for which has taken place over the past two decades, now parents are increasingly choosing Old Slavonic and original ones. Psychologists question the correctness of such approaches. In their opinion, children with strange, very outdated or unusual names for the region of residence may develop an unusual way of thinking, which will make it difficult for them to communicate with peers and, as a result, hinder the child’s full development in society. In addition, the desire of the child’s parents to somehow distinguish him from the general mass of children can become a double-edged sword: an unusual name will indeed attract attention, but not only positive, but also negative.

Children with original names often face a negative attitude towards themselves in general: they may be teased and excluded from games. These kinds of childhood memories are carried into adulthood, and the bearer of a rare name continues to experience unpleasant emotions: according to some surveys, more than half of those named “in a special way” suffered from this in childhood. Some children, when they grow up, change their name to another.

How to choose a name for a child

You can name your child according to the calendar, according to the horoscope, or simply choose your favorite from the list of names at the family council.

Each specific family has its own approach. Grandparents sometimes take this task entirely upon themselves. And their opinion has to be taken into account, because for them this child is a long-awaited grandson or granddaughter.

If parents cannot agree among themselves, then the help of relatives, even the closest ones, can only do harm and cause even more disputes on this issue. But you need to listen to the advice of your elders.

Many names for boys and girls exist in different countries and in different regions of our country. And those that are appropriate in the south may seem ridiculous in the north. If the marriage is international, then the issue is complicated by the need to write and pronounce the name in two languages.

Rare names

According to the Moscow Civil Registry Office, over the past more than 15 years, Muscovites have given the following unusual names to their newborn children:

1998 - Uslada;

1999 - Polina-Polina;

2000 - Dmitry-Amethyst, Matvey-Rainbow, Nikolai-Nikita-Nil;

2002 - Count, Gift;

2003 - Ivan-Kolovrat;

2004 - Golub;

2005 - Mercury, April, Cherry, India;

2006 - Kantogor-Egor, Mart, Christamrirados, Princess Daniellao, Rosiyana;

2007 - Prince, Prince, Space, Russia;

2008 - Angel, Wind, Will, Dolphin, Yaroslav-Lyutobor, Zarya-Zaryanitsa, Moon, Lyalya;

2009 - Ilya Bogodar, Kasper Beloved, Angel Maria, Lunalika, Princess, Angelina;

2010 - Arkhip-Ural, Eremey Pokrovitel, Keith, Luka-Happiness, Summerset Ocean, Monono Nikita, Ogneslav, Alyosha-Kaprina, Oceana, Joy;

2012 - Angel, Buddha-Alexander, Mister, Peace, Prince, Sasha-Alexander, Alena-Tsvetochek, Delphine, Fox, Radostina, Russia, Sofia-Solnyshko;

2013 - Angel, Cosmos, Maxim-Moscow, World, Ogneslav, Ocean, Sky, Alice-Nefertiti, Legend, Lelya, Lyalya, Joy, Chelsea;

2014 - Jazz, Dawn, Sevastopol, Strength, Byzantium, Moon;

2015 - Mercury, Joy.

According to the value

Each name, translated from various ancient languages, has a special characteristic and meaning. When choosing a name for a boy, parents often want to invest certain qualities in the future heir:

Victor is the winner. A good name for a future leader.
Alexey is an assistant. Future hope and support for parents.

Andrey is courageous.
Boris is a struggling man.
Leo – intelligence and foresight.
Nikita is a victor. An excellent choice for the future athlete.
Roman is a favorite of women.
Peter – independence, conviction.
Sergei is an ideal father and husband.
Tikhon is a lucky man.
Konstantin – constancy.

Valery, Vitaly are those names that personify health and fortitude. Anton is a competitive person who struggles with difficulties. This is what they advise to call weak or premature children, so that the magic of the name gives the boys vitality and improves health.

What is important to consider when choosing a name

We offer you a selection of recommendations on tactics for choosing your baby’s name:

Make a decision together with your partner, agree on a name before going to the registry office;
Choose a name that is easy to pronounce, spell, and inflect;
Avoid long and difficult to pronounce names, those that may put others in a difficult position when addressing their bearers;
Do not forget that the name should easily form a patronymic;
Refrain from rare, pretentious names: they undoubtedly attract attention, but the owner of such a name may either begin to show excessive pride and arrogance, or, on the contrary, develop an inferiority complex;
Pay attention to the combination of a first name with a patronymic and a surname: the more harmonious and harmonious this combination is, the greater the chance that a person’s character will be just as harmonious and integral;
Avoid piling up vowels and consonants at the junction of first and last names, as well as confusing the rhythm of stress in them; use this recommendation: the emphasis in the name and patronymic falls on the same ordinal syllable - Natalya Mikhailovna, Fedor Igorevich;
Find out what others associate with the name you like: if it does not evoke the best emotions, perhaps you should consider another option.

It is better to avoid fashionable names: after a few years you may wonder how it could come to your mind, so great is the power of influence of mass consciousness on the individual. It is also worth taking into account the national factor: names borrowed from other languages are becoming increasingly popular, but most often their combination with characteristic Russian surnames, to put it mildly, raises questions (“Jessica Ivanova” or “George Kopeikin”).

Do not forget that the name must form a diminutive form (Elena - Lenochka, Anna - Anyuta);
Avoid the influence of representatives of the older generation (especially grandmothers): they will be guided by their own ideas about the beauty of the sound of the name and the success in life that it promises; often they unconsciously choose names that are consonant with their own;
It’s good when some sounds of the child’s name are repeated in the parent’s names: Denis - Savely, Lyudmila - Yulia; some observations have shown that in this case the parent is even more disposed towards his son or daughter;
Pay attention to the combination of initials - it may be unexpected;
Ask relatives of the older generation if there was a person in the family with a name that was a contender, if he had a bad reputation, if his fate was too hard, because along with the name, the child will also learn the qualities of that very representative of the family.

You don’t need to rely only on your taste - consider the opinions of others. You can turn to good friends and “test” the chosen name on them: ask them to say it several times, watch your own reactions and the reactions of your friend, especially non-verbal ones - body language, facial expressions can say a lot about how people really actually react to this name.

Methods of naming

In the old days, babies were named after animals or plants whose qualities parents wanted to be passed on to their babies. So, the most popular names among the ancient Slavs were Wolf, Falcon, Fox, Linden, and so on.

With the spread of Christianity from Byzantium, the Orthodox name book came to us. Since then, the custom of naming children according to the calendar has spread. But the parents also focused on the time of year when the baby was born. A suitable name was chosen as the closest in the church calendar to the date of birth or baptism, but taking into account the natural circumstances of birth.

So, if a baby was born in a harsh winter, they tried to give him a soft, melodic, melodious name. By naming the child, the parents wanted to soften the harsh qualities given to him by nature.

Spring children are very delicate and shy, unable to stand up for themselves. They were given names that were supposed to add self-confidence and protect them from various vicissitudes of fate.

Summer kids are active and purposeful, but they lack patience and endurance. The parents wanted to add these qualities to the baby with the help of a name.

Autumn children are very stubborn and willful. They chose a name that could add gentleness in relationships with people and determination.

Our ancestors sometimes gave the baby the opportunity to choose his own name. They read various options out loud and watched the baby's reaction. If he reacted excitedly, turned away, or cried, then the name was discarded and continued to be listed further. If the child smiled, it was considered a good sign and was named as such.

Children were also named after the first person they met. According to the legends of our ancestors, it is believed that a child who is named after a stranger will be happy and successful in everything.

Modern scientists believe that you can choose any way to name a child, the main thing is to take into account the consonance of the names. That is, at least one letter of the baby’s name must be repeated in the parents’ names. For example, Olga - Olesya - Oleg, Tatyana - Ulyana - Nazar and so on.

How to overcome disagreements when choosing a name

According to some surveys, up to half of parents disagree with the child’s name chosen by their partner. After some time, however, they note that they really like the name. And the vast majority of parents would name their child the same if they had a second chance.

What does this mean? First of all, it’s about the fact that in the heat of an argument we can’t always see the positive side of a particular phenomenon.

In order to avoid conflicts when choosing a name and come to an agreement, psychologists recommend:

Listen carefully to each other. Usually in a dispute, people focus on their own statements, spending energy on selecting the right arguments and formulations to convince their interlocutor. While in any conversation the most important thing is to maintain the ability to hear. Listen carefully to your partner. Don't immediately reject his suggestions, take them into account, let him know that you heard him and respect his point of view. This tactic relieves tension in the conversation, and in return there is a willingness to compromise;
Control your emotions. Each of those participating in the conversation defends their position; when choosing a name, the parents do not have the goal of offending each other, they are just driven by the desire to realize their dream - to name the child a name that they may have dreamed of since childhood. By not entering into confrontation with your partner, you confirm his right to a personal opinion and even identity (as psychologists say, the question of a name is a question of one’s own identity);
Remember that you are a family, not warring parties. Your task is to take a position of cooperation and find a solution that suits all parties to the agreement;
Wait without trying to force things. If you were unable to reach an agreement during pregnancy, after determining the sex of the unborn child, and even on the way to the maternity hospital, you have enough time left. Perhaps a name that suits both of you will come by itself when the baby looks at you both with his serious and attentive gaze, or maybe only a month later, when he gives you his first smile.

Short name

There are many very beautiful names for adults. But there are either no abbreviations for them, or they are very unsound. Many people briefly call the child by a different name. For example, Vasilisa is called Asya. My friend named her daughter Constance. This is a very beautiful name; I immediately remember the beauty from the movie about the Musketeers. But they couldn’t find a good multiple name; they call it full. Other friends wanted to name their daughter Agnia, but were afraid that other children would call her “Gnyusha” and “Nit.” They did not want to cause additional stress to the child on their own behalf. As a result, they abandoned this name. When thinking about the list of names for your future baby, imagine how you will affectionately call him, what friends will call him in the yard and at school, how he will meet and introduce himself.

If no compromise is found

There are also cases when one of the parties cannot agree with the proposal of the other and a compromise cannot be found. There are several options for getting out of this situation:

Give names in turns: the spouses agree that one of the parents gives the name to the first child, the other - to the second. For example, a mother calls her daughter by her name, and a father calls his son by his;
Everyone gives a name: one of the parents - secular, the other - baptismal;
Conduct a mass survey among friends, acquaintances, relatives, colleagues, on a social network;
Consult a professional name consultant (for example, a psychologist).

Together with your partner, make lists of names you like in descending order of attractiveness. Exchange them and cross out unwanted options. Note the matches: these are names that you two already agree on. All that remains is to choose the only one.

Having come to a mutual agreement, armed with knowledge about the meaning of the chosen name, its secret, mission, making sure of its euphony when used in combination with the patronymic and surname, parents can begin the procedure of documenting the chosen name.

Seasons

The time of year when the birth of a child is planned affects the fate and character of the newborn.

Let's look at the names of boys born in different seasons:

Winter. Arseny, Mikhail, Pavel, Alexey, Semyon, Valentin. Soft and calm names are necessary to compensate for the stubborn, strong, strong-willed nature of winter men.
Spring. More solid-sounding ones are suitable here, because spring children rarely have a lively character. So that the future child is always confident in himself, he can be called Oscar, Boris, Timur, Victor, Gleb.
Summer. Active, proud, summer men love risk and freedom. Short, courageous ones are suitable for these people: Gleb, Roman, Denis, Anton, Mark.
Autumn. Balanced realists born in autumn trust few people. Smart and calm boys of this time of year need sonorous names that compete for attention: Nikolai, Sergei, Peter, Felix, German, Kirill.