The meaning of the name Ruslan
There are several options for the meaning of the name Ruslan. According to the version from Scandinavia, the name means “who came from Russian lands.” According to the Turks, the name Ruslan is derived from the Turkic names Arslan or Rustam, which means “lion”. There is also a version about the Old Slavic origin of the name, which means “blond”.
In the folk epic there is a legend about Eruslan Lazarevich. He was a hero, a hero of many ancient Russian tales and legends, who accomplished numerous glorious feats. In Russia, this name gained fame when Alexandra Pushkin wrote his work “Ruslan and Lyudmila”.
After the revolution, when it became allowed to call children by any name, the name Ruslan spread first among residents of cities, and then villages. Nowadays, the name Ruslan is not common, but one or two decades ago, it was very popular among new parents.
What name to choose for Ruslana at baptism
At baptism, you cannot give a child the name Ruslan, since in Orthodoxy there are no saints who bear this name. Therefore, during the sacrament of baptism, if there is no name in the calendar, a consonant one is chosen. In the case of Ruslan, these could be the names Roman, Rustik or Rostislav. In the future, you must use the chosen name as your church name.
Among the saints whose name is close and similar to the name Ruslan is the Great Martyr Rustik (the emphasis is on the last syllable). In most cases, and at the request of parents, the clergy suggest choosing this particular name at baptism. But the main thing is to know that when saying prayers for Ruslan, you need to say the name under which he was baptized.
