Zlata

Zlata is a Slavic female name meaning “gold; golden” via Proto-Slavic *zȏlto (gold) derived from PIE root word *ǵʰelh₃- (to shine, gleam; yellow, green). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “gold; golden” Usage: Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Ukrainian Nicknames: Zlatica (Croatian, Serbian) Variants: Male forms:

Iraida

Iraida is a Russian and Spanish female name which comes from Ancient Greek Herais meaning “of Hera”, referring to the Greek goddess of marriage, women, birth, and family, and the wife of Zeus. Although the etymology behind the name Hera is uncertain, it’s often been associated with Ancient Greek hora ὥρᾱ (time, season) derived from PIE *yóh₁r̥ (year, season); or heros ἥρως (hero,…

Filaret

Filaret is a Russian male name which comes from Late Greek Philaretos, made up of Ancient Greek philos φιλος (friend; love, like) and arete ἀρετὴ (virtue; goodness, excellence), so the name essentially means “love of virtue” or “friend of excellence/goodness”. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “love of virtue” or “friend of excellence/goodness” Usage: Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian,…

Rurik

Rurik is a Russian male name, the Russian form of Old Norse Hrœrekr, made up of Germanic elements hrod (fame, glory) and ric (ruler, king), so the name would essentially mean “famous king”. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “famous king” Usage: Russian Variants:

Bogdan

Bogdan is a Slavic male name derived from Slavic elements bogu (god) and dan (given) essentially meaning “given by God”, which seems to have been used as a calque of Theodore (“gift of god”). Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “given by God” Usage: Bulgarian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Romanian, Slovene, Russian Variants: Female forms:

Timur

Timur is a Turkish, Russian, and Kazakh name which derives from Proto-Turkic temür meaning “iron”. Timur was a Turkic-Mongol emperor who was known as Timur the Lame by Europeans (anglicized as Tamerlane), the founder of the Timurid Empire in Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. Origin: Proto-Turkic Meaning: “iron” Usage: Turkish, Russian, Kazakh, Tatar, Chechen, Uzbek Variants: Timour…

Raisa

Raisa is a female given name with a variety of meanings depending on its etymology: it’s an Arabic female name, the feminine form of Rais meaning “chief, leader” (رئيسة); it’s also a Yiddish female name meaning “rose” (רייזאַ); Raisa is also a Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian name of uncertain origin. It could possibly be related…

Aytalina

Aytalina Айталина is a beautiful, fascinating name I came across by chance a while ago and I’ve been trying like crazy to figure out its etymology. I know it’s a Russian and Kazakh(?) name and I’m almost positive that the first part of the name, ay ай comes from the Kazah word “moon”, which ultimately…

Yermolay

Yermolay is a Russian male name, the Russian form of Ancient Greek Hermolaos meaning “people of Hermes”, Hermes being the Greek god of commerce and trade, protector of thieves, and the messenger of the gods (ultimately the name derives from an uncertain origin) combined with laos “people”. Origin: uncertain; Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “people of Hermes” Usage:…

Nadezhda

Nadezhda is a Russian female name meaning “hope” via Russian nadéžda наде́жда (hope, expectation)< Proto-Slavic *nadeďa (hope) which ultimately derives from a PIE origin. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “hope” Usage: Russian, Bulgarian Nicknames: Nadia, Nadya (Russian and Bulgarian diminutive) Pronunciation: nu-DYEZH-də (Forvo) Variants: Nadejda (Russian, Bulgarian) Nadzeya (Belarusian) Naděžda (Czech) Nadège (French) Nadine (French, German, English)…

Illarion

Illarion is a Russian male name, the Russian form of Ancient Roman Hilarius meaning “cheerful happy” via Ancient Greek hilaros ἱλᾰρός (cheerful, merry, glad)< hilaos (gracious; kind) which ultimately derives from a PIE root word. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “cheerful, glad” Usage: Russian Nicknames: Larya (Russian) Variants: Ilariy (Russian) Ilarion (Macedonian, Bulgarian) Hilarius (Ancient Roman) Hilarion…

Robert

Robert is the Anglicized form of Old High German Hrodebert meaning “bright fame”, composed of Germanic elements hrod (fame) and beraht (bright). Robert is also a surname originating from the given name. Origin: Proto-Indo-European Meaning: “bright fame” Usage: English, French, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, German, Dutch, Finnish, Estonian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovene, Croatian, Romanian, Catalan Nicknames: Bob, Bobby/Bobbie, Bert,…

Adrian

Adrian is the anglicized spelling of Latin Hadrian, a Roman cognomen meaning “from Hadria”, referring to someone who came from the town of Hadria, a Roman settlement found in northern Italy. Though the origin of the name is uncertain it could be derived from Illyrian adur meaning “water, sea”; it’s also been linked to Latin atra, a…

Natasha

Natasha originated as a Russian diminutive of Natalya, the Russian form of Natalia, a Late Roman name meaning “birth” or “birthday”, derived from the Latin phrase natale domini “birth of the lord”, associated with the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas time, December 25, which is why the name is often associated with Christmas Day. However, it seems Natalia…