Bulgarian name - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Compared to other systems, the Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...

name system can be said to be rather simple. As a whole, it has considerable similarities with most other European name systems, and with those of other Slavic peoples

Slavic peoples

The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

in particular.

Bulgarian names usually consist of a given name

Given name

A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...

, which comes first, a patronymic

Patronymic

A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...

, which is second (and is usually omitted when referring to the person), and a family name

Family name

A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...

, which comes last.

Bulgarian given names

Traditionally, the Bulgarian given names are either of Slavic origin or when reflecting Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

faith (e.g. Petar, Maria

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...

, Ivan

John (name)

John is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Latin Ioannes, Iohannes, which is in turn a form of the Greek , Iōánnēs. This Greek name is a form of the Hebrew name , , which means "God is generous"...

, Teodora

Theodora (given name)

Theodora is a feminine given name, the feminine version of Theodore, which derives from the Greek words θέος or theos, meaning "god" and δώρον or doron, meaning "gift." The name Dorothy contains the same word elements in reverse order...

, Georgi

George (given name)

George, from the Greek word γεωργός , "farmer" or "earth-worker", which became a name in Greek: Γεώργιος , and Latin: Georgius. The word γεωργός is a compound word, formed by the words ge , "earth", "soil" and ergon , "work"...

, Nikolay

Nicholas

Nicholas or Nikolas is a male given name, derived from the Greek name Νικόλαος , a combination of the words for "victory" and "people" . The name can be understood to mean victory of the people or "power of the people"...

, Mihail

Michael

Michael is a given name that comes from the , derived from the Hebrew question מי כמו אלוהים? meaning "Who is like God?" In English, it is sometimes shortened to Mike, Mikey, or, especially in Ireland, Mick...

, Paraskeva

Paraskevi

Paraskevi is a female name. Variations include Petka, Paraskeva, Praskovia, Praskovie, Pyatnitsa, Pyetka, Paraskevoula, Paraschiva and Voula.Notable people with the name include:*Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler and long jumper*Paraskevi...

, Dimitar), often from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

, Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

or Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

.

The Slavic names may describe the appearance or character of the person, may constitute a wish or even stem from pre-Christian conjuring rituals and meant not to attract the evil spirits

Slavic mythology

Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....

. Below are listed examples of Slavic names:

Feminine names:

Bilyana, Bisera, Blagorodna, Blaguna, Bogdana

Bogdan

Bogdan or Bohdan - is a Slavic masculine name. It is derived from the Slavic words Bog/Boh , meaning "god", and dan , meaning "given". Other names with similar meaning include South Slavic Božidar, Polish Bożydar, Greek Theodore, Hebrew Nathanael and Jonathan, Latin Deodatus and French Dieudonné...

, Borislava, Boyana

Boyan (given name)

Boyan is a Bulgarian and Slavic male given name. The short form of the name Boyan used in Bulgaria is Bobi or Bobby...

, Boyka, Bozhidara

Božidar

Božidar , Polish: "Bożydar" is a Slavic given name used by e.g. Croatian and Serbian meaning "God's gift". It is a translation of the Greek name Theodore, itself derived from the Greek word "Theodoros". Boža is a nickname form of Božidar...

, Branimira

Branimir

Branimir is a South Slavic male given name. It is a combination of the verb braniti and the noun mir , and hence means "the one who defends the world/peace". It is especially common among Croats and Serbs. The female version is Branimira and Branimirka...

, Darina, Desislava, Gergana, Grozda, Grozdana, Kalina, Krasimira, Lyudmila, Lyubov, Mila, Milena

Milena (name)

Milena is a popular female given name of Slavic origin derived from word "mil" meaning "gracious", or, alternatively, "dear". It is the feminine form of the male name Milan. It is currently the most popular name for baby girls born in Armenia...

, Mira, Nadeja, Nadezhda, Nedelya, Nevena, Ognyana, Rada, Radka, Radoslava, Snezhana, Stanislava

Stanislava

Stanislava is the female form of the very old Slavic given name Stanislav, meaning someone who achieves glory or fame. It is most often given in the Slavic countries of Central and South Eastern Europe.-People with this name:...

, Stanka, Stoyanka, Svetlana

Svetlana

Svetlana is a common Slavic female name, deriving from the Russian word свет svet, which translates into English as "light", "shining", "pure", or "holy", depending upon context. The name was coined by Alexander Vostokov and popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky in his eponymous ballade, first published...

, Tsveta, Tsvetanka, Vladimira, Vyara, Zhivka, Zora

Zora (given name)

Zora is a female name of Slavic origin that means dawn.It is very old, traditional Slavic name that directly translated to English means sunrise, dawn.- Famous bearers :* Zora Neale Hurston - American folklorist and author...

...

Masculine names:

Blagun, Bogdan

Bogdan

, Bogomil

Bogomil (name)

Bogomil Bogomil Bogomil (Cyrillic: Богомил, also Bogumił in Polish, Bohumil in Czech and Slovak - is a given name of Slavic origin. It is composed of the Slavic words 'bog' (god, rich, fate) and 'mil' (dear) and literally may mean e.g. 'Dear to God'. Its feminine equivalent are: Bogomila,...

, Bojidar

Božidar

, Boris

Boris (first name)

Boris, Borys or Barys is a male name, with Bulgarian roots. It is common in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and other countries...

, Borislav, Boyko, Branimir

Branimir

, Desislav, Dragan

Drăgan

Drăgan can be:* Drăgan River , tributary of the Crişul Repede River in Romania* Drăgan River , tributary of the Florei River in RomaniaFamily name:* Iosif Constantin Drăgan, Romanian and Italian businessman, writer and historian...

, Dragomir

Dragomir

Dragomir is a name of Slavic origin, typical for Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as Romania. It is composed of the Slavic words drag and mir . It can be translated as To whom peace is precious, i.e...

, Grozdan, Krasimir, Lyuben, Lyubomir

Lubomir (given name)

Lubomir, Ljubomir or Lyubomir - is a Slavic given name meaning love and peace, prestige. Feminine forms are: Lubomira and Ljubica.- Nicknames :Lubor, Luboš, Luborek, Lubošek, Borek, Lubo, Ljubo, Ljuba, Ljuban, Ljubiša, Ljupko, Ljupče......

, Milan

Milan (given name)

Milan is a common Slavic male name derived from the Slavic element mil, with meanings kind, loving, and gracious. Milan was originally a diminutive or nickname for those whose Slavic names began with "Mil-". It is used predominantly by Czechs and Serbs but also frequently in Macedonia, Croatia,...

, Milen, Miroslav

Miroslav (given name)

Miroslav is a Slavic name meaning "peace and glory".-List of people with the given name Miroslav:*Miroslav of Croatia, king of Croatia*Miroslav of Hum, Serbian king of Zahumlje*Miroslav of Podgoria, Serbian Zupan of Podgorica...

, Mladen

Mladen

Mladen is a common name of Slavic origin used in South Slavic languages. The names stems from the Slavic root mlad, meaning "young".Mladen may refer to:-People:* Mladen I Šubić Bribirski, a Croatian member of the Šubić noble family...

, Momchil, Nayden, Nedelcho, Ognian, Ognyan, Plamen, Radko, Radomir

Radomir (given name)

Radomir is a Slavic origin given name derived from elements: rad "care, joy" and mir "peace, world, fame". Feminine form: Radomira. Nicknames: Radek, Radko, Mirek, Mirko, Radka , Mirka...

, Radoslav, Rayko, Spas, Stanimir, Stanislav

Stanislav (given name)

Stanislav or Stanislaus is a very old Slavic origin given name, meaning someone who achieves glory or fame. It is most often given in the Slavic countries of Central and South Eastern Europe. The name has spread to many non-Slavic languages as well, such as French , German and others...

, Stanko, Stoyan, Tihomir, Tsvetan, Valko, Ventseslav, Veselin, Vladimir

Vladimir (name)

Vladimir is a male Slavic given name of Church Slavonic and Old Slavic origin, now widespread throughout all Slavic nations...

, Vladislav

Vladislav

Vladislav is a Slavic male given name, sometimes confused with/treated as the same as Ladislav...

, Yasen, Zdravko, Zhelyazko, Zhivko, Zlatan

Zlatan

Zlatan is a male given name of South-Slavic origin meaning Golden. It is common amongst all South Slavic countries in the Balkans, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia...

, Zlatko…

In addition, some Bulgarian names are theorized to be of Thracian

Thracians

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...

(e.g. Neno, Dako, Boto, Geto) or Bulgar

Bulgars

The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....

(Boris, Boyan

Boyan (given name)

Boyan is a Bulgarian and Slavic male given name. The short form of the name Boyan used in Bulgaria is Bobi or Bobby...

, Biser) origin.

Since the Bulgarian National Revival

Bulgarian National Revival

The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...

and the Liberation of Bulgaria

Liberation of Bulgaria

In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...

in 1878 names of successful medieval Bulgarian rulers, like Asen

Asen dynasty

The Asen dynasty ruled a medieval Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1187 and 1280.The Asen dynasty and the Second Bulgarian Empire rose as the leaders of a rebellion against the Byzantine Empire at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the...

, Asparuh

Asparukh of Bulgaria

Asparuh was ruler of a Bulgar tribe in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 680/681...

, Ivaylo, Samuil

Samuil of Bulgaria

Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...

, Simeon

Simeon I of Bulgaria

Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...

or Krum

Krum of Bulgaria

Krum the Horrible was Khan of Bulgaria, from after 796, but before 803, to 814 AD. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains. His able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and...

, have also gained a lot of popularity.

Traditionally, the parents would often name their child after an older relative, so that his/her name would live on in the family. Today, however, these are not binding conditions and are often ignored: parents often pick a name without conforming with these traditions, however it is really up to the parents as still many of them continue to observe these traditions.

Many Bulgarian given names have a diminutive and shorter version, which is almost always used in an informal context. For example, the diminutive of Nadezhda is Nadya, of Todor — Toshko, of Nikolay — Niki or Kolyo, of Georgi — Gosho, Zhoro or Gogo, of Hristo — Itso, of Ivayla — Iva, of Lyubomir — Lyubo, of Ivan — Vanka, etc. Often these diminutive names become independent and "official" given names.

Usage

Typically, a Bulgarian person would inherit the last name of his father's family (family name), as well as a patronymic based on his father's given name, with a gender-agreeing

Agreement (linguistics)

In languages, agreement or concord is a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase. Agreement happens when a word changes form depending on the other words to which it relates....

suffix

Suffix

In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...

usually added. For example, Stoyan Georgiev Draganov would be the son of Georgi Petkov Draganov. The same person's daughter would bear the names Georgieva Draganova.

Until recently, if the father's name was not a specific family name, the child would take his patronymic as a family name. So names in a chain of generations would shift. For example, the son of Petar Stoyanov Ivanov would be Georgi Petrov Stoyanov, his son would be Ivaylo Georgiev Petrov, his son would be Marin Ivaylov Georgiev. This practice often caused confusion in the past, especially when dealing for foreign institutions, since a child did not bear his father's family name. However, the recent generation has all but abandoned this practice.

When marrying, today a woman may often choose either to adopt her husband's family name, retain her maiden name or combine the two using a hyphen. For instance, when marrying Nikolay Petrov, Maria Bogdanova could become Petrova, remain Bogdanova or adopt Petrova-Bogdanova or Bogdanova-Petrova. Historically, she would adopt her husband's name. In any case, a woman retains her patronymic, which she has inherited from her father.

Sometimes a person becomes well known with his patronymic, e.g. sci-fi writer Lyuben Dilov

Lyuben Dilov

Lyuben Dilov , also known as Luben Dilov and Ljuben Dilov was a Bulgarian science-fiction writer.He graduated from Sofia University, specializing Bulgarian language and literature...

's full name is Lyuben Dilov Ivanov.

Etymology

In most cases (though by no means always), the etymology of Bulgarian patronymics and family names closely corresponds to that of given names. Many families bear the name of the family's founder, adding the patronymic Slavic suffix "–ov/–ev" (men) or "–ova/–eva" (women) (e.g. Ivanov, Radeva, Parvanov, Petrova, Asenov, Tsvetanova). Family names may indicate the occupation of the founder, his nickname or origin, in which case names of Ottoman Turkish

Ottoman Turkish language

The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...

or Greek etymology can be found in addition to those of Slavic origin (e.g. Kolarov, Kalaydzhieva, Popova, Cholakov, Kovacheva, Daskalov, Uzunova).

Suffixes

Although most popular, "–ov/–ev" and respectively "–ova/–eva" are not the only patronymic and given name suffixes. The second most popular suffix is "–ski/–ska" (sometimes "–ki/–ka") (e.g. Zelenogorski, Stoykovska, Petrinska), which, besides often being merely a version of an "–ov/–ev" or "-–ova/–eva" name, may also often indicate origin (e.g. Sofianski — "from Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

", Stamboliyski — "from Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

").

Another suffix is "–in/–ina" (e.g. Kunin, Ganina, Radin). Unlike all other Bulgarian patronymics and family names, these stem from a female name (e.g. "of Kuna", "of Gana", "of Rada"). They are most common in the region of Razlog and Bansko.

For these three most popular suffixes, there is also a plural form used when referring to the family as a whole or several members of it (as opposed to a single member). For "–ov/–ova" and "–ev/–eva" it is "–ovi/–evi", for "–ski/–ska" it is "–ski" and for "–in/–ina" the form is "–ini".

Historically, the universal suffix "–ich" was quite popular in some regions (bearers of such names include Gavril Krastevich

Gavril Krastevich

Gavril Krastevich was a Bulgarian politician. He was born in Kotel in 1813. He was a general governor of Eastern Rumelia between 1884 and 1885 when it was part of the Ottoman Empire. Krastevich died in Istanbul on 16 November 1898....

, Hristofor Zhefarovich

Hristofor Zhefarovich

Hristofor Zhefarovich was an 18th-century painter, engraver, writer and poet and a notable proponent of Pan-Slavism.- Biography :Born at the end of the 17th century,...

, Petar Parchevich

Petar Parchevich

Petar Parchevich or Petar Mihaylov Parchev was a Bulgarian Roman Catholic archbishop, diplomat, scholar, baron of Austria and one of the architects behind the anti-Ottoman Chiprovtsi Uprising....

, Kiril Peychinovich

Kiril Peychinovich

Kiril Peychinovich or Kiril Pejčinoviḱ was a cleric, writer and enlightener, one of the first supporters of the use of modern Bulgarian in literature , and one of the early figures of the Bulgarian National Revival...

, etc.), particularly among the Roman Catholic Bulgarians

Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria

Roman Catholicism is the third largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam. It has roots in the country since the Middle Ages and is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.As an entity, the Catholic...

, but has today largely fallen out of use and is more typical for the Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian or Serbo-Croat, less commonly Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian , is a South Slavic language with multiple standards and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro...

name system.

In addition, other suffixes also existed: for instance, names like Tihanek, Kozlek, Lomek (suffixed "–ek") were historically dominant in the town of Koprivshtitsa

Koprivshtitsa

Koprivshtitsa is a historic town in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria, lying on the Topolnitsa River among the Sredna Gora mountains. It was one of the centres of the April Uprising in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and for its folk music festivals, making it a very...

.^{http://web.archive.org/web/20070827060123/www.koprivshtitza.com/index_eng.html (Internet Archive link)}

Names lacking a suffix, though often foreign-sounding, have been more popular in the past, but still exist today (e.g. Beron, Tomash), despite being quite uncommon.

Most popular names

According to one study using telephone directory

Telephone directory

A telephone directory is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory...

data, the ten most popular given names are Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Petar, Maria, Hristo, Todor, Nikolay, Vasil and Stefan

Stephen

Stephen or Steven is a masculine first name, derived from the Greek name Στέφανος meaning "crown, garland", in turn from the Greek word "στέφανος", meaning "wreath, crown, honour, reward", literally "that which surrounds or encompasses". In ancient Greece a wreath was given to the winner of a...

. The top ten family names are Ivanov/a, Georgiev/a, Dimitrov/a, Petrov/a, Nikolov/a, Hristov/a, Stoyanov/a, Todorov/a, Iliev/a and Vasilev/a.^{http://georgi.unixsol.org/diary/archive.php/2006-01-19}

According to a different study, the most popular names given to babies born in the first half of 2006 were:^{http://www.beberon.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=57}

Male: Georgi (674 babies), Aleksandar (616), Martin (577), Ivan (551), Dimitar (433)
Female: Viktoria (510), Maria (474), Aleksandra (347)

External links

Traditional and modern names among the Bulgarian Christian population
List of Slavic Bulgarian names
Name and Destiny, article about Bulgarian names and an alphabetical database
FAQ about Bulgarian names — meaning, origin, name days, popularity, statistics, etc.
Bulgarian names, 400 most popular names, origin, meaning and name days calendar
http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/bul.php Bulgarian given names

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