The baptism of a child is an important event for every Orthodox family, for which parents and godparents seriously prepare. There are many signs associated with the sacrament, and relatives try to do everything in accordance with the canons and folk traditions. Often a child is given a middle name at baptism, and it may be completely different from the name written on the birth certificate. Before choosing a second name, it is advisable to find out the opinion of the Orthodox Church, as well as study popular beliefs.
Church opinion
When asked whether it is possible to baptize a child under a different name, the church answers positively. Nowadays, of course, no one will be denied baptism, but in the old days such a choice remained with the priest. As a rule, they gave the one that was worn by the saint who was revered on the baby’s birthday. Now this choice lies only with his parents, who decide whether to baptize the child with a different name, and not with what is written in the documents.
Now this decision is extremely relevant - fashion changes, and Christian names are not always chosen. So, if the baby is given a non-Orthodox name, he should be baptized under another. More often, one of those worn by saints is chosen, who are venerated on the date of the ceremony. By the way, when the question arises about the time of baptism, it is advised to select a day when the names of the child and the saint will coincide.
Priests still recommend using one name in documents, in everyday life, and during baptism. One of the reasons is that parents often forget the name under which the child was baptized. When a person grows up, he will not know his true name. It is wrong when a believer does not have such information.
It is also often forgotten that the baptismal name must be mentioned in prayers. Confession, communion, wedding and even personal prayers of loved ones - all this requires knowing and remembering him. If you are sure that you will not forget your baby’s name after baptism, you can explain the situation to the priest. Most likely, he will meet you halfway.
Folk wisdom
Ancient beliefs are not forgotten for centuries; believing mothers and fathers try to remember and observe them. There are several such wisdoms:
- The baby's clothes for baptism should be new and preferably white. It is believed that during the ritual the baby appears before God for the first time.
- A baptized baby has a Guardian Angel who protects him from all kinds of adversity.
- Before the sacrament is performed, they try not to show the baby to people, because he is not under protection.
- The most favorable time for baptism is Saturday.
- Godparents should not be in close relationships.
- The godfather must give the godson or goddaughter a silver Orthodox cross. If the cross was not purchased in a church, then it must be illuminated before baptism.
- It’s good if the godmother never terminated the pregnancy on her own initiative.
- The towel intended for wrapping the child after the bath is called kryzhma. It must be stored after the ritual; it is prohibited to wash it. It is believed that when a child is sick, he can be wrapped in a baptismal towel, then the illness will go away.
- Parents often buy a bag in advance for the baby’s hair, which is cut off at baptism. There is a belief that after performing the sacrament, a lock of hair should be placed in a clean and fast river, then the baby’s life will be happy.
What traditions do you know that need to be observed at baptism?
Father's answer
The priest replies that in Orthodoxy it is allowed to call children by two names. Secular and ecclesiastical, respectively. That is, according to the passport, the child, for example, may be Svyatoslav, but he will be christened with the name Yaroslav. With this name he will begin to take part in church life. However, this is not entirely convenient, especially for the child himself.
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As for pagan roots, most saints come from such families. They bore names that became Christian after professing this faith.
What the Orthodox Church says
The clergy have nothing against the baby receiving a different name at baptism. First of all, the priest will suggest baptizing the child with the same name that was given at birth, so as not to get confused. It often happens that they want to submit a note or pray for a person, but cannot do this because they do not know what name he was baptized with.
There is a child’s name in the calendar, but with a different sound: how to baptize Artyom, Svetlana, Denis and others
If we do not find the name of a child in the calendar, this does not always mean that he is not there. Often there are simply archaic forms that are unusual for us today. There are many examples:
- Julia - Julia.
- Ulyana - Juliana.
- Ivan, Jan - John.
- Yana, Zhanna - Joanna.
- Angela - Angelina.
- Stepan - Stefan.
- Denis - Dionysius.
- Artyom - Artemy.
- Yuri - Georgy.
- Angela - Angelina.
- Sergey - Sergey.
- Lily - Leah.
- Aksinya - Ksenia.
- Ilona, Nelly - Elena.
- Egor, Yuri - Georgy.
Some worldly names are not in the calendar, but there are names with a similar sound (archaic), an example of this is Julia and Julia
Some Slavic names have the same meaning as church names (usually Greek). An example of this is Svetlana. A girl with this name can be christened Photinia (from the Greek “light”).
Some names have their own church analogues, but not based on sound, but in meaning (for example, Svetlana - Fotinia)
A similar pair of names is Bogdan and Theodotus (Greek: “given by God”).
Names that suit children according to the calendar
January names for boys
Gregory, Ilya, Timofey, Daniel, Ivan, Ignat, Afanasy, Kirill, Nikita, Anton, Maxim, Pavel, Mikhail, Sergey, Philip, Peter, Georgy, Yuri, Egor, Nikolay, Efim, Konstantin, Stepan, Fedor, Mark, Thaddeus, Vasily, Naum, Jacob, Prokop, Theoktist, Niphont, Theodosius, Nikanor, Seraphim, Artem, Clement, Semyon, Trofim, Valentin, Savva, Veniamin, Adam, Emelyan, Prokhor, Proclus, Elizar, Sebastian (Sebastian).
January names for girls
Anastasia, Claudia, Agafya, Domna, Melania, Ulyana, Evgenia, Tatiana, Appolinaria, Maria, Leonidiya, Felitsata, Nina, Agrafena, Irina, Aglaya, Anisiya, Feodora, Polina, Vasilisa.
February names for boys
Veniamin, Fedor, Alexey, Anton, Nikolay, Kirill, Konstantin, Stepan, Peter, Gennady, Innocent, Semyon, Ivan, Dmitry, Maxim, Grigory, Efim, Timofey, Nikita, Alexander, Arseny, Victor, Leonty, Gerasim, Vitaly, Felix, Philip, Ignat, Lavrentiy, Roman, Vasily, Hippolytus, Zakhar, Pankrat, Pavel, Prokhor, Vsevolod, Evgeniy, Vlas, Makar, Efim, Valery, Georgy, Egor, Yuri, Gabriel, Clement, Arkady, David, Ephraim, Jacob, Ignatius, Julian, Herman, Nikifor, Savva, Akim, Valerian, Theoktist, Luke, Porfiry, Valentin.
February names for girls
Agnia, Rimma, Ksenia, Inna, Maria, Evdokia, Anna, Agafya, Euphrosyne, Zoya, Svetlana, Valentina, Christina (Christina), Martha, Aksinya, Pavla, Theodora, Anastasia, Veronica.
March names for boys
Daniil (Danila), Ilya, Pavel, Julian, Fedor, Kuzma, Lev, Evgeny, Makar, Maxim, Fedot, Georgy, Afanasy, Vyacheslav, Philip, Alexander, Ivan, Taras, Vasily, Gerasim, Gregory, Roman, Yakov, Konstantin , Arkady, Kirill, Anton, Leonty, Leonid, Mark, Victor, Denis, Stepan, Semyon, Alexey, Valery, Trofim, Efim, Timofey, Egor, Yuri, Peter, Sevastyan, Arseny, Savva, David, Nikifor, Venedikt , Rostislav, Mikhail, Nikandr, Irakli.
March names for girls
Marianna, Feodora, Regina, Marina, Margarita, Antonina, Evdokia, Ulyana, Anastasia, Vasilisa, Galina, Christina (Christina), Kira, Iraida, Nika.
April names for boys
Innokenty, Sergey, Ivan, Kirill, Yakov, Thomas, Vasily, Artem, Zakhar, Peter, Stepan, Mark, Veniamin, Efim, Makar, Nikita, Leonid, Georgy, Semyon, Anton, Daniil, Vadim, Alexander, Savva, Trofim, Mstislav, Gabriel, Andrey, Egor, Yuri, Plato,
Maxim, Khariton, David, Martin, Nikon, Tikhon, An-tip, Sofron, Hypatiy, Polycarp, Titus, Rodion, Nifont, Terenty, Artemon, Victor, Aristarchus, Kondrat, Samson.
April names for girls
Daria, Alexandra, Claudia, Praskovya, Svetlana, Ulyana, Feodosia, Lydia, Anna, Alla, Larisa, Maria, Irina, Feodora, Galina, Anastasia, Vasilisa, Tamara, Eva, Akulina, Marfa, Susanna (Suzanna), Nika, Sofia , Matryona.
May names for boys
Anton, Victor, Ivan, Kuzma, Georgy, Nikifor, Alexander, Gregory, Fedor, Denis, Vsevolod, Vitaly, Gabriel, Anatoly, Alexey, Leonty, Savva, Thomas, Mark, Vasily, Stepan, Semyon, Kirill, Maxim, Yakov, Nikita, Ignat, Boris, Gleb, Roman, Peter, David, Konstantin, German, Makar, Dmitry, Andrey, Irakli, Pavel, Egor, Yuri, Artem, Fedot, Clement, Arseny, Nikolay, Kondrat, Valentin, Pafnuty, Efim, Eremey, Athanasius, Timofey, Pimen, Severin, Nicodemus, Joseph, Pakhom, Modest, Lavrenty, Kasyan.
May names for girls
Alexandra, Valentina, Elizabeth, Maria, Glafira, Tamara, Zoya, Pelageya, Irina, Taisiya, Glikeria (Lukerya), Muse, Claudia, Christina, Faina, Julia, Susanna, Evdokia, Euphrosyne.
June names for boys
Ignatius, Ivan, Sergey, Alexander, Alexey, Konstantin, Mikhail, Fedor, Vladimir, Leonty, Nikita, Semyon, Stepan, Georgy, Egor, Yuri, Makar, Christian, Valery, Denis, Khariton, Pavel, Dmitry, Nazar, Igor, Leonid, Nikander, Fedot, Ephraim, Vasily, Ian, Timofey, Andrey, Gabriel, Peter, Arseny, Savva, Elisha, Gregory, Tikhon, Mstislav, Innocent, Savely, Kirill, Eremey, Nikifor, Julian, Gennady, Ignat, Roman, Sylvester, Anton, Karp.
June names for girls
Elena (Alena), Nelly, Sophia, Feodora, Euphrosyne, Feodosia, Ulyana, Claudia, Valeria, Maria, Kira, Marfa, Antonina, Anna, Christina, Akulina, Fekla, Kaleria.
July names for boys
Leonty, Ivan, Gleb, Julius, Julian, Peter, Anton, Artem, German, Svyatoslav, Alexey, Roman, Mikhail, Yakov, David, Denis, Pavel, Sergey, Andrey, Valentin, Vasily, Konstantin, Mark, Philip, Matvey, Thomas, Kuzma, Tikhon, Anatoly, Alexander, Kirill, Innokenty, Stepan, Daniil, Arseny, Vladimir, Efim, Fedor, Fedot, Leonid, Emelyan, Gury, Ipaty, Terenty, Galaktion, Evsey, Stanislav, Maxim, Samson, Demyan, Sophron, Nicodemus, Demid.
July names for girls
Inna, Ulyana, Irina, Agrippina, Zhanna, Euphrosyne, Angelina, Marfa, Anna, Yulianna, Evdokia, Elena, Olga, Maria, Sarah, Valentina, Yulia, Alevtina, Marina, Margarita, Rimma, Efimiya.
August names for boys
Roman, Seraphim, Ilya, Semyon, Savva, Trofim, Boris, Gleb, David, Makar, Christopher, German, Clement, Naum, Nikolai, Konstantin, Mikhail, Maxim, Alexander, Anton, Leonty, Vasily, Stepan, Kuzma, Denis, Grigory, Leonid, Alexey, Dmitry, Matvey, Ivan, Peter, Julian, Yakov, Miron, Fedor, Tikhon, Arkady, Pavel, Philip, Georgy, Egor, Yuri, Frol, Evdokim, Nikanor, Savva, Afanasy, Polycarp, Er- Molay, Prokhor, Valentin, Evdokim, Gury, Elizar, Markel.
August names for girls
Maria, Magdalena, Svetlana, Milena, Christina (Christina), Anna, Praskovya, Seraphima, Valentina, Evdokia, Nonna, Ulyana, Susanna (Suzanna), Concordia, Anita, Olympiad.
September names for boys
Andrey, Timofey, Fadey, Afanasy, Arseny, Gregory, Peter, Nikandr, Ivan, Savva, Alexander, Daniel, Makar, Pavel, Christopher, Yakov, Gennady, Semyon, Anton, Fedor, Julian, Maxim, Gleb, David, Zakhar, Kirill, Mikhail, Thomas, Akim, Nikita, Khariton, Clement, Dmitry, German, Sergey, Fedot, Efim, Valery, Ilya, Leonty, Nikolay, Stepan, Victor, Kondrat, Andriyan, Pimen, Veniamin, Georgy, Arkhip, Porfiry, Lukyan, Arkady.
September names for girls
Vassa, Natalia, Anna, Martha, Rufina, Vasilisa, Elizaveta, Raisa, Theodora, Anfisa, Domna, Lyudmila, Vera, Nadezhda, Lyubov, Sophia.
October names for boys
Konstantin, David, Trofim, Fedor, Mikhail, Oleg, Andrey, Dmitry, Peter, Anton, Ivan, Makar, Vladislav, Stepan, Sergey, Ignatius, Mark, Alexander, Vyacheslav, Khariton, Gregory, Roman, Denis, Vladimir, Erofey, Pavel, Alexey, Matvey, Philip, Thomas, Julian, Maxim, Kuzma, Martyn, Veniamin, Nikita, Nazar, Efim, Leonty, Luka, Igor, Trofim, Kondrat, Innocent, Nikandr, Tikhon, Aristarchus, Ignat, Rodion, Savva, Kasyan, Gury, Demyan, Valerian.
October names for girls
Irina, Sophia, Euphrosyne, Marianna, Anna, Veronica, Pelageya, Taisiya, Zinaida, Praskovya, Ariadna, Jonah, Thekla, Ustinya, Virineya, Evlampia, Zlata.
November names for boys
Ivan, Artem, Yakov, Alexander, Anton, Irakli, Denis, Konstantin, Ignatius, Afanasy, Dmitry, Andrey, Mark, Maxim, Stepan, Zinovy, Kuzma, Georgy, Egor, Yuri, Nikandr, Grigory, Arseny, German, Pavel, Valery, Evgeny, Kirill, Fedor, Fedot, Mikhail, Orest, Vikenty, Victor, Nikifor, Matvey, Illarion, Osip, Maximilian, Ignat, Nestor, Taras, Terenty, Demyan, Evgeny, Rodion, Julian, Philip, Nikon.
November names for girls
Anna, Glikeria (Lukerya), Elizaveta, Capitolina, Praskovya, Anastasia, Elena (Alena), Maria, Nellie, Ulyana, Euphrosyne, Claudia, Theodora, Matryona, Neonila, Zinovia, Natalya, Cleopatra.
December names for boys
Roman, Plato, Anatoly, Grigory, Ivan, Valery, Mikhail, Maxim, Alexander, Alexey, Makar, Fedor, Peter, Christopher, Yakov, Georgy, Egor, Yuri, Innocent, Vsevolod, Gabriel, Vasily, Stepan, Andrey, Naum, Athanasius, Savva, Gennady, Zakhar, Nikolai, Anton, Leo, Pavel, Cyril, Thomas, Daniel, Arkady, Arseny, Orestes, Mark, Adrian, Arkhip, Valerian, Procopius, Yaroslav, Mitrofan, Clement, Vsevolod, Paramon, Filaret, Gury, Modest.
December names for girls
Augusta, Ekaterina, Varvara, Ulyana, Anfisa, Anna, Angelina, Marina, Zoya, Cecilia, Olga.
