In ancient times, the name of the child was chosen by parents,but in the period of the Synod this right was transferred to the clergyman. Now the newly-born parents of the baby addressed him with a question, and he, in turn, read the list of the saints and called the girls and boys. How did the names get into the saints, how are they distributed according to the dates?
The matter is that to each day there corresponds a namethat saint who died on this day, that is, left the world and passed into eternal life. On the same date there is a certain church holiday. To choose an Orthodox name for the girl according to the saints, on the one hand, is simpler: he opened and read what is on that day or one or two days later. But on the other hand, these parents may not sound modern-sounding to modern parents, few will want to name the girl Glyceria or Vekla, and they will worry about the child who will have to be called and presented in society all his life.
The calendar lists all Orthodox namesgirls. By months and dates, you can find what you need. There is a sufficient number of sources in which a transcript or even a brief history of the life of a saint is given. There are also collections of the most common names. Here are the most popular ones that are included in the saints, women: Anna (meets 30 times), Maria (29), Matrona (12), Anastasia and Elizabeth (11), Alexandra (10). The most numerous names in the month is November (271 names), and the least number of saints is mentioned in June (187 names).
Often babies are baptized in the church already whenhe is given a name that is registered in the registry office. Then the priest can offer to name the child not by the date of birth or baptism, but by a name close to his own. So, for example, Alena and Alina get a church Elena or Olga on a passport, Xenia and Oksana get the name Aksinya, Elizabeth is called Elisaveta, Irina - Arin, Veronica - Faith and so on. This is done to make it easier for loved ones to remember the name of a child for mentioning it in their prayers. It is curious that in the old Rus was celebrated not the birthday of man, but the day of the Angel, or the name day, the day that was listed according to the saints. After all, the saint is the Guardian Angel of each of us, which is why the Orthodox name for the girl is chosen (as for the boy, however, too).
