Bulgarian surnames list alphabetically male. Male Bulgarian names and meanings - choosing the best name for a boy. Male Bulgarian names

The centuries-old traditions of any country are largely reflected in the names given by parents to children at birth. For example, many Bulgarian names have a special meaning and show certain features of the child. In addition, they may contain a wish for success, health or wealth for a person. Some of them have Slavic roots others are Muslim. As in other countries, children in our time are called international names.

Origin and traditions

The most common names in Bulgaria are those of Slavic origin. They became most popular when the Orthodox faith. Except them, names of other origins also became widespread:

• Turkish
• Greek
• latin;
• Jewish.

Around the middle of the 20th century, Western European and American names, often children began to be named after famous performers, actors or heroes of films and books.

However, compared to many other countries, many, especially Bulgarian, male names have been preserved unchanged. This is because the tradition of naming children after their ancestors is still alive in Bulgaria, and often a child could be named after a grandmother or grandfather, regardless of their gender. Names in the country are unique in that many of them have both male forms, as well as female. Among them:

• Zhivka-Zhivko;
• Kalin-Kalina;
• Todor-Todorka;
• Spaska.

Often, names are chosen according to the church calendar. Then the child is called by the name of the saint on whose day he was born. And the name can mean one or another property. This is explained by the belief of the Bulgarians in the power of the word. In the names one can feel the influence of other cultures, in particular Turkish. Turkish origin have such names, how:

• Demir and Demira;
• Emine;
• Mustafa and others muslim names.

In addition, there are a lot of gypsies in the country. For this reason, there are people here whose names are Gojo, Evsenia, Bakhtalo and not only. Some of them are really of gypsy origin, in other cases, parents named their children that way due to influence.

Features of female and male names

The country is unique in that people are named following centuries-old traditions, and yet there a large number of original traditional names. The variety of Bulgarian names for girls is amazing. Many of them have special meanings, such as this:

There are women's traditional names of this country, which in Russia are considered male, and in short form. For example, Petya or Vanya. In Bulgaria, you can often meet girls whose names are Tsvetans, Ivanks, Tsvetkov, Yordanki, Zornitsy and not only.

Men's names also have their own characteristics. In particular, there are a large number of them that end in "glory" or "peace":

• Zlatoslav;
• Radimir;
• Lubomir;
• Zlatoslav.

No less popular are the more familiar names for Russians - Vladimir or Yaroslav. The original Bulgarian names can be called short forms, which are often considered official. For example, Tosho (from the full Todor), Gogo (George), as well as Zhivko, Zlatko and not only.

Like female, Bulgarian boy names have their own meaning. In addition, often by the name of the boy it was possible to determine what his family was doing.

For example, the children of peasant farmers were most often called Dimitar or Georgie. But Philippi most often appeared in the families of riders or horse breeders. This name translates as "loving horses." It is possible that the ancestors of the singer Kirkorov were engaged in horses.

Among other meanings of male names:

In addition, common male names in Bulgaria are Angel or Apostle. It is worth noting that there are the most men in the world who have “Angel” written in their passports in Bulgaria. For this reason, many call Bulgaria "the land of angels".

Modern tendencies

According to the statistics of the Bulgarian National Institute, the number of names in the country is more than 67 thousand names. Moreover, if there are 29 thousand male names, then there are much more female names - 38 thousand, respectively.

Boys are most often called Ivans and Georges. 38 percent of the male population is called that way. And the most common woman's name in the country - Maria, if we consider such a form as Mariyka.

Other common names in the country include:

Today, one of the most popular names for newborn girls is Victoria, which can be called a trend towards globalization. But the boys are still mostly called Georges. And also in last years girls were often called double names in a foreign way, such as Anna Maria, Maria Margarita and others.

Surnames and patronymics

The concept of a surname as a family hereditary sign in Bulgaria appeared relatively recently compared to others. European countries. Their history of formation began only to late XIX century.

In spelling, they do not differ from traditional Russian surnames, but, unlike them, they have a “floating” stress that can change. Like Russians, many Bulgarian female or male surnames end in -ev (Botev or Tashev) or -ov (Todorov, Vazov). A smaller number were formed by suffixes -shki, -ski or -chka, reminiscent of Polish. Their origin is ancient, they are associated with cities or villages of human origin. For example, Lesicherski (a native of the village of Lesicharska) or Ohridski (from the city of Ohrid).

Many surnames of people in Bulgaria are derived from names - both directly Bulgarian and Christian in general. For example, Pavlov, Isaev, Ivanov and others, some do not differ in any way from Russians.

There are also special surnames that are also considered traditional Bulgarian, however, it may seem that they have Muslim background. These include the names Khadzhipopov, Khadzhigeorgiev and others with a similar prefix. The word "hajj" Muslim world interpreted as a pilgrimage to Mecca. In Bulgaria, the owners of such surnames may not be hereditary Muslims, but their ancestors during the time of Turkish oppression were called that when they traveled to Jerusalem or visited other holy places, and not necessarily Muslim ones.

There are surnames that indicate nicknames or activities. For example, the surname Kovachev comes from the word "blacksmith" and is an analogue of the Russian surname Kuznetsov or the Ukrainian surname Kovalev (or Koval).

Currently, newborns in Bulgaria are given the choice of the surname of the father or mother, or they assign a new one after the name of his grandfather, or they combine the surnames of their parents. Previously, in most cases, after the wedding, women took the surname of their husbands, but now they mainly switch to a double one.

There are also Bulgarian patronymics. They differ from Russians in the absence of the characteristic ending “vich” or “vna” and are more reminiscent of surnames. For example, if a woman's name is Ivanka Stoyanova, and her father's name is Todor, then her full name will sound like Ivanka Todorova Stoyanova. If a person has the surname Ivanov, and his father's name is Ivan, then the surname and patronymic will look the same in the letter, but differ in stress. In the patronymic it will be on the first syllable, and in the surname - on the second, respectively.

Unlike other Slavic countries, Bulgaria has preserved a large number of old Slavic names forgotten in Russia, which are distinguished by their euphony and have their own meaning. The traditions that continue to be honored in the country have largely contributed. Although, despite this, the fashion for international names is still growing. Whether they will be able to supplant traditional ones is still too early to say.

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A state in Southeastern Europe, in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The capital is Sofia. Population - 7,202,198 (2014). I will also give data on ethnic groups and languages ​​(for 2011). 84.8% are Bulgarians. The second largest group is the Turks (8.8%). 4.9% of Gypsies live, 0.15% of Russians, as well as Armenians, Circassians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Greeks, Karakachans, Jews, Gagauz. Most of the inhabitants of Bulgaria are Orthodox Christians (83.96%), 0.85% are Catholics, 1.12% are Protestants. 2.02% - Muslims, 0.012% - Jews. The official language is Bulgarian, which is native to 85.2% of the population. The Bulgarian alphabet, as you know, is Cyrillic.

Turkish is the native language for 8.8% of people. It is widely distributed in the regions of Kardzhali, Razgrad, Targovishte, Shumen, Silistra, Dobrich, Ruse and Burgas.

The Bulgarian personal name is similar to the Russian one, since the basis of both are names from the Orthodox church calendar. The Bulgarians have a lot of names of Slavic origin. There are Thracians. Turkish, despite the long Turkish rule, the Bulgarians are almost not perceived. A feature of the Bulgarian naming in comparison with Russian is the widespread use as official diminutives, short forms names (for example: Boyko, Vlado, Drago, Miro, Rado, Slavko).

The official statistics of names in Bulgaria is supplied by the National Statistical Institute. This statistic has been available on its website since 2010. It is usually published in late December or early January and does not include data for December. Therefore, the statistics on the names in the Institute's press releases are preliminary. In 2011, he published a press release containing information about the most popular names in Bulgaria in 2007–2010.

20 most common male names

Place	Name	Number of media	% carriers
1	Georgi	171356	4.9
2	Ivan	164858	4.7
3	Dimitar	126990	3.6
4	Nicholas	94637	2.7
5	Petar	76968	2.2
6	Christo	62592	1.8
7	Alexander	57313	1.6
8	Stephen	53728	1.5
9	Jordan	53352	1.5
10	Vasil	51607	1.5
11	Todor	50090	1.4
12	Stoyan	49667	1.4
13	Atanas	47109	1.3
14	Angel	46513	1.3
15	Krasimir	44984	1.3
16	flames	41282	1.2
17	Nikola	39178	1.1
18	Ivaylo	35771	1.0
19	Valentine	33740	1.0
20	Emil	32330	0.9

Of the Muslim male names in modern Bulgaria, the most common are Mehmed(16 thousand), Ahmed(14 thousand), Mustafa(12 thousand).

20 most common female names

Place	Name	Number of media	% carriers
1	Maria	120049	3.2
2	Ivanka	63675	1.7
3	Elena	54778	1.5
4	Jordanian	40497	1.1
5	Penka	33228	0.9
6	Daniela	30451	0.8
7	Rositsa	30143	0.8
8	Mariyka	30052	0.8
9	Petya	29485	0.8
10	Desislava	29468	0.8
11	Gergana	27894	0.8
12	Violeta	27102	0.7
13	margarita	26978	0.7
14	Hope	26350	0.7
15	Radka	26002	0.7
16	Silvia	24786	0.7
17	Emilia	24729	0.7
18	Blush	24694	0.7
19	Victoria	23640	0.6
20	Parking	23567	0.6

Of the female Muslim names in modern Bulgaria, the most common are Fatme(17 thousand), Aisha(15 thousand), Emine(10 thousand).

20 most common male newborn names

Place	Name	Number of named	% named
1	Georgi	1249	3.5
2	Alexander	1222	3.5
3	Martin	1024	2.9
4	Ivan	821	2.3
5	Dimitar	775	2.2
6	Nikola	750	2.1
7	Daniel	701	2.0
8	Nicholas	696	2.0
9	Victor	693	2.0
10	Kaloyan	628	1.8
11	Christian	550	1.6
12	Boris	513	1.5
13	Theodore	503	1.4
14	Bozidar	477	1.4
15	Stephen	406	1.2
16	Petar	379	1.1
17	Alex	376	1.1
18	Michael	349	1.0
19	Christo	348	1.0
20	Ivaylo	348	1.0

Most frequent male names newborns from Muslim families: Emir(202) and Mert (133).

20 most common female baby names

Place	Name	Number of named	% named
1	Victoria	931	2.8
2	Nicol	883	2.6
3	Maria	862	2.6
4	Alexandra	592	1.8
5	Gabriela	494	1.5
6	Darius	448	1.3
7	Yoana	412	1.2
8	Raya	408	1.2
9	Sofia	377	1.1
10	Simone	355	1.1
11	Elena	339	1.0
12	Theodora	313	0.9
13	Siyana	307	0.9
14	Gergana	296	0.9
15	Michaela	265	0.8
16	Ivayla	248	0.7
17	Magdalena	244	0.7
18	Bozhidara	240	0.7
19	ema	219	0.7
20	stephanie	211	0.6

The most common female names of newborns from Muslim families: Elif(136) and Melek (98).

One publication has the top 20 names of newborns in Bulgaria in 1980. Here are the first 10 names from that list.

Men's: Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Petar, Christo, Nikolai, Todor, Jordan, Stoyan, Vasil
Women's: Maria, Ivanka, Elena, Mariyka, Jordanka, Ana, Penka, Hope, Radka, Anka

You can clearly see how much the top 10 female names have been updated. Of the former composition, after 30 years, only the name remained. Maria. The male part of the name changed more slowly. In the modern top 10 we find 4 names from the top 10 of 1980: Ivan, Georgi, Dimitar, Nikolay.

Many of the above names of Bulgarians among Russians meet correspondences that are traditional and familiar to Russians. There are few unusual names for Russians in the top 20. I will give some of them with etymological explanations.

Bozidar- translation (tracing paper) Greek name Theodore i.e. "god" + "gift". The feminine form of the name is Bozhidar.

Desislava- feminine to Desislav(fam. from decity"find, comprehend" + glory).

Ivaylo- the name of the Bulgarian king in 1277-1280. It can also be a variant of the name Ivan and type of name Vjlo(translated as "wolf"). The feminine form of the name is Evayla.

Kaloyan- male name of several historical figures. Among them are the Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143 and the king of Bulgaria from 1197 to 1207. The name comes from the Greek Kaloiōannēs, which means "good John" or "beautiful John". The feminine form of the name is Kaloyan.

Penka – female form name Penko. Last thing - folk form name Petar(Russian Peter). According to another etymology, an abbreviation for Petkana(from the name of the day of the week "Friday").

Radka(female) - from glad("joyful").

Rositsa(feminine) - either associated with the word dew, or feminine to Rosen(flower name rosen, in Russian dittany).

Blush- feminine form of the name Rumen("ruddy", that is, having healthy red cheeks).

Siyana(female) - "bright, light." Although it may well be a derivative of such female names as Vasiyana, Kasiyan, Rusiyana etc., or name Siya("bright" or from the name Anastasia).

Bulgaria is a generous country. There's a lot here. Lots of sun and sea, smiles and Have a good mood, greens, fruits and vegetables.

Here's what else turned out to be a lot, so these are the names involved in Bulgarian passports. There are probably no such number of them in any other country, in Europe for sure. Full review I won't even try to make Bulgarian names. For this, it seems necessary Faculty of Philology finish university.

First of all, in Bulgaria there are all the famous Slavic names and various diminutive derivatives formed from them, which are also used as independent names. Ivan - Ivanka, Dimitar - Dimitrinka, Todor - Todorka, Stoyan - Stoyanka, Zdravko - Zdravka, Tsvetan - Tsvetanka, Milen - Milena, etc. etc.

Bulgarian female names are full of variety: Shchilyanka, Zhivka, Siyana, Tsvetka, Khristinka, Ivanka, Petya (namely Petya, in Bulgaria there is also a female name Vanya), Petka, Penka, Yordanka, Mariyka (the name Maria is present in itself and is one of the most common). Belotsveta, Beads, Berislav, Desislav, Bozhana, Chrysantha, Gisela, Jasmine, Rusana, Svetlena, Svetla, Zornitsa, Zaryana, Svetozar, Tsvetomir - an incredible number of beautiful and, most importantly, rare names. The name of the Bulgarian princess is Kalina. This is Lyubka in Russia - not the most respectful nickname, and even the nickname of a goat. And in Bulgaria it can be written in the passport of the owner of this name.

In male names in Bulgaria, there are all conceivable Glories (Zlatoslav, Miroslav, Radoslav, Vladislav, Svetoslav, Berislav, Borislav, Dezislav) as well as Miras (Radomir, Lubomir, Zlatomir, Stanimir, Krasimir, Vladimir). Mitko, Mirko, Tudko, Venko, Nedko, Zhivko, Radko, Zlatko, Batko are popular. And then there are such names as Galin, Lyudmil, Dobrin, Ognyan and Svetlin.

Turkish times left the names Demir and Demir in Bulgarian passports, but they are not so popular today, although some Muslim names are present - Mehmed, Mustafa, Emine. The names left from the nomadic Turkic tribes, such as Asparukh and Krum, are almost never found.

Bulgaria is the land of Angels. There are about 50,000 men bearing this name. Surely, in no country in the world there are so many Angels, and even with passports where this is written. Well, exactly, a paradise country - Bulgaria.

There are many Apostles in Bulgaria. And the most unusual male name, perhaps, Mr. When I first heard such a name, I thought that the man who introduced himself to them was joking.

In Bulgaria, as in neighboring Romania, there are many gypsies. Therefore, among the Bulgarians there are many people with gypsy names- Shukar, Evseniya, Gozho, Godyavir, Bakhtalo. Of the pan-European names, the first place in Bulgaria is firmly held by the names Alexander and Victoria. There are many names in Bulgaria “according to mood”: Veselin and Veselin, Radostin, Zdravka, Svetlina.

Even at the border I noticed that the name in Bulgaria is much more important than the surname. Border guards identify people primarily by name and date of birth. Later, when buying a TV in the warranty card, in the column “buyer (buyer)”, only my name was also written down. Officially, the Bulgarians also have a patronymic, but in real life completely unused.

With so many names in Bulgaria, they have long been confused about who should celebrate the name day, and they introduced a wonderful holiday - the Day of All Bulgarian Saints.

In January 2010, the Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics published the latest official statistics on proper names in Bulgaria.

According to these data, the number of names is more than 67 thousand (29 thousand for men and 38 thousand for women). The most common male names in Bulgaria are George and Ivan. Almost 1,372,000 men in Bulgaria (38%) are bearers of these names. Ivans celebrate their Ivanovden holiday on January 7th.

The variety of names among women is much greater. Most often there are Mary - more than 125 thousand women have this name, and if we take into account its derivative Mariyka (35 thousand women), then leadership is obvious.

According to the Institute, significant changes are taking place in the structure of Bulgarian names. Newborn boys today are most often called Georges, and girls Victoria. In recent years, there has been a noticeable tendency in Bulgaria to give girls double names. Today, Anna-Maria, Marie-Magdalena, Marie-Antoinette are growing up in the country. So far, the trend of double names has not spread to boys.

Source of statistics:
//www.omda.bg/engl/narod/BULG_IME_en.htm

**** HOLY TRINITY CHURCH - We believe that our joint desire and indifference will help restore the Holy Trinity Church and the ringing of its bells will become a symbol of faith, hope and love for all the descendants of Bulgarian settlers in Tavria. - Ukraine. The village of Radolovka, Primorsky district, Zaporozhye region. - History reference. - ... "Holy Trinity" church was built in 1907 at the expense of the founders of the village - Bulgarian settlers who refused to accept Islam from the Turks in Bulgaria, and remained faithful to Orthodoxy. The construction of the church lasted about five years using local building materials. The church was one of the most beautiful examples of Bulgarian church architecture on the territory of the Bulgarian colonies in the Sea of ​​Azov (Tavria). After October revolution 1917 and graduation civil war in 1929, the church was closed by the communist activists of the village, the copper bells and the cross from the church were sent for melting down, and a folk theater was opened in the church building. With the help of Bulgarian political emigrants in 1930, the church was electrified and painted with scenes from the collectivization of the village, as a result of which all the internal paintings of the temple of religious content were destroyed. In the temple building in parallel with folk theater The village library was opened. From September 17, 1943 to March 1944, there was a military field hospital in the church building, in the fall of 1943 the church building was bombed by the Nazis, as a result, the central dome and the bell tower were destroyed, some of the wounded soldiers of the Red Army who were in it at that time died. From 1944 to 2000, the church building was used as a granary and building materials warehouse. In 1977, taking into account the architectural value of the church building, the leadership of the Leningrad workshop for the restoration of architectural monuments proposed to the local collective farm to free the church from grain for its restoration, but this proposal was rejected. In 1994, a community of parishioners was formed in the village, which held several subbotniks to clean the church building from debris. Since 2000, the church has been on the balance sheet of the Gyunov village council. In the same year, with the support of Father Dmitry from the city of Primorsk, the church was surveyed by specialists who compiled design estimates for the restoration of the church. During the entire existence of the "Holy Trinity" temple, he, like his creators and their descendants, had to go through a lot: the greatness and prosperity of the Bulgarian colonies in Tavria, revolutionary oblivion and the fire of intolerance, the death and destruction of war, economic difficulties and instability of our time. ****

In Bulgaria, there are many names that often carry a special meaning. By this, parents try to show the character traits of the child or give him some features. Often Bulgarian names are a kind of wish for a born person prosperity, success or health. Today we will try to consider not only their meanings, but also to understand which names are the most popular in this state, how they are formed and what Bulgarian traditions are observed when naming children.

Origin of Bulgarian names

The most common and popular Bulgarian names have Slavic origin. They firmly entered into use after the adoption of Christianity as the main faith. Greek, Latin and Old Hebrew gained considerable popularity. Turkish rule in Bulgaria, oddly enough, had little effect on the diversity of names, since states rarely called their children in Muslim. For a long time parents named their sons in honor of the Slavic princes Alexander and Vladimir.

Since the middle of the 20th century, names of Western European and American origin have gained popularity. Bulgarian names(female and male) during this period were enriched with new forms due to popular movie characters, singers and actors.

Be that as it may, Bulgarian men and women are called in a special way, even if the names are formed from words often used in other countries. Agree, rarely in any country in Europe, America or Asia you can hear a girl called Miliana or Luchezara, and men Tsvetan or Yasen.

Traditions: how in Bulgaria they give a name

Bulgarian names, especially male ones, have been preserved unchanged due to the naming of descendants in honor of their grandfathers or great-grandfathers. There was no special system, which consists in the sequence of inheritance. An older child could be named like a grandmother or grandfather, regardless of what gender the baby was. Bulgarian names are unique in this regard: boys and girls are often called the same. An example of this is the male name Zhivko and the female Zhivka, Spaska and Spas, Kalin and Kalina.

In addition, the Bulgarian names of girls and boys are chosen according to church calendar. In this case, the children are named after the saints on whose day they were born. Also in Bulgaria they still believe in the power of the word as such, so often the names for young Bulgarians are the names of plants or the properties of a human character.

Female names in Bulgaria and their meaning

So we're already in in general terms learned what Bulgarian names are. Feminine and masculine, as mentioned above, are often consonant or have the same meaning. But there are those whose sound is unique not only for a particular country, but for the whole world. These include such names as Gisela ("beauty"), Smaragda ("jewel"), Salvina (healthy), Babylia ("God's gate") and so on.

Many female names in Bulgaria are given to girls as a talisman. For example, Blessed, according to the Bulgarians, should give the girl happiness, and Iskra - sincerity. A radiant girl is called if they want to give her strength, Demira - when a girl needs strength of mind. Several names for little Bulgarians originate in myths and legends. So, Veda means "mermaid" or "forest fairy", Xantha - "golden-haired", Luchesara - "heavenly star".

Male Bulgarian names

The meaning of Bulgarian is as diverse as that of girls. There is a whole list. At the same time, some of the names are able to endow the boy certain qualities: Blagomir ("bringing good to the world"), Boyan (" strong-willed fighter"), Branimir ("protecting the world"), Nikolaa ("conquering peoples"), Peter or Penko ("strong as a stone, rock").

Bulgarian names (male) are often associated with the character of a person or the main one in the family. For example, Georgie and Dimitar are the two most popular name the peasants working on the land. They translate as "farmer". The name Philip ("loving horses") was more often given to children in the families of grooms, riders or horse breeders.

Love for children, the desire to endow them with beauty in appearance and character was also reflected in male names in Bulgaria. For example, Luben (love), Lyudmil (dear to people) and Tsvetan (flower) are still often found in this country. Also in Bulgaria they believe that luck and respect in the future will be with those who were named Slavya Zvezdelin ("starry") or Yan ("worshiping God").

Popular boy and girl names in Bulgaria

Per recent decades at Bulgarian girls became Elijah, Rositsa, Rada (Radka) and Mariyka. They are called about 20% of all newborn girls. Slightly less popular are Stoyanka, Vasilka, Stefka and Yordanka. Bulgarian names for boys, which have gained popularity in recent years, do not sound very exotic. Most often, boys are called Petr, Rumen, Todor and Ivan. Slightly less popular were Nikola, Atanas, Marin and Angel.

"Tiny" names

In addition to the official ones, in Bulgaria it is customary to use the so-called "tiny" names, which are an abbreviated version of the name given at birth. In relation to women, this tradition is rarely used, but male names are often abbreviated beyond recognition. An example of this is George: in Bulgaria, men with this name are often called Gosho, Gezha, Gogo or Zhoro. But Todor can be pronounced as Tosho, Totio or Toshko. In rare cases, a “tiny” name can become independent and official, after which it can be entered into documents.