How should one choose a name for a newborn? What are the traditions and rules in this regard? Please provide a reference to the source. #

In the early Christian Church, during times of persecution, people were often baptized as adults, coming from paganism or Judaism, and they retained the names they had borne previously. Over time, as Christianity became the predominant religion of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, and as the customs of venerating holy martyrs and ascetics of the faith developed, Christian families increasingly began naming their children after these saints.

St. John Chrysostom (4th century AD) greatly approved of parents who gave their children the names of God-pleasing saints, thus glorifying both the saints and God Himself. He criticized those who retained the pagan custom of naming children after their ancestors, such as grandfathers or great-grandfathers. However, it is known that in the Greek Church, naming children exclusively after saints was never made mandatory (at least, contemporary Greeks and some other nations that adopted Christianity in the first millennium, such as Bulgarians, Serbs, and Georgians, do not follow this custom strictly).

Unlike other nations, the Russian Church, from the very Baptism of Rus, adopted an unwritten rule: at baptism, only Christian names from the hagiography (names of saints) are given, as these saints are considered the heavenly patrons of those bearing their names. In the early centuries of Russian Christianity, a phenomenon known as “pagan-Christian dual naming” existed: a person in daily life might bear a “pagan” name—one historically used in Rus before its Baptism—but would be given a Christian saint’s name at baptism and in other Church sacraments. Later, this practice evolved into purely Christian “multiple naming,” where a child might receive two or three Christian names from the hagiography: one corresponding to their birth date, another to the day of their naming (the eighth day after birth), and sometimes a third in honor of a saint particularly revered in the family. In princely families, names from earlier rulers in the dynasty, such as Vladimir or Rostislav, might also be given. In addition to these Christian names, medieval Russians might have a household nickname, and upon taking monastic vows, they would receive a new name, usually beginning with the same letter as their baptismal name (for example, Tretjak Bashmakov, mentioned in the Life of Archpriest Avvakum, was baptized as Simeon, called Tretjak in daily life, and took the monastic name Savva; his father was Vasily by baptism and called Bashmak in daily life).

Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich (Ivan the Terrible) was born on the feast day of the Apostle Titus and was named Titus, baptized as Ivan (after the day of his baptism), and, before his death, he took monastic vows under the name Jonah. Tsarevich Dmitry, the Uglich martyr, was named Varus after his birthday.

Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who led the people’s militia to expel the Polish occupiers from Rus in 1612, was actually baptized as Cosmas.

Archpriest John Neronov, one of the “God-lovers” of the mid-17th century, was baptized Gabriel and took the monastic name Gregory.

The same practice occurred among Russians beyond the borders of the Moscow Tsardom. The renowned Prince Ostrozhsky, who oversaw the publication of the first printed Slavonic Bible, was baptized Vasily but was called Konstantin in daily life (notably, both names are royal, and he was the son of a Grand Hetman of Lithuania and a prominent statesman and public figure of his time).

Those who wish to learn more about ancient Russian naming traditions can find lectures and books on this topic by Dr. Philology and RAS Corresponding Member Fyodor Borisovich Uspensky, from whose works some of the examples above were drawn.

After the Schism of the 17th century, the custom of multiple names gradually disappeared, and today it is rare to find individuals whose official name differs from their baptismal name. This still occurs, however, when a person is baptized with a name that does not appear in official documents or when their existing name is absent from the hagiography.

From all of the above, it is clear that there are no strict rules for choosing a baptismal name. However, in the Old Rite, children are most often named after the saint commemorated on the eighth day after their birth. This is because the Trebnik (Book of Needs) instructs that on the eighth day, the priest should come to the home of the mother, sanctify it with prayer, sprinkling with holy water, and censing, and read cleansing prayers for the woman who has given birth and all who live in her household. The priest also performs the rite of naming the child, blessing the cradle (or crib, or stroller) with a special prayer.

Less often, the name is chosen based on the day of birth or the day of baptism. However, if the parents insist, the priest may name the child after another saint from the hagiography. It is preferable that this saint’s feast day falls within the first eight days after the child’s birth, though not before the birth. The first day is counted as the day of birth, and the eighth day is seven days later. Since there are fewer women’s names in the hagiography than men’s, girls are often given names from further ahead in the calendar, beyond the one-week timeframe.

If a person already has a name on their legal documents prior to baptism, it is reasonable to keep that name to avoid future confusion. However, if the person has a non-Christian name (e.g., Damir, Ruslan), it is customary to choose a name from the hagiography that is phonetically similar (e.g., Dimitry, Rusticus). Alternatively, if a meaningful Greek or other Christian equivalent exists in the hagiography, it can be used (e.g., Svetlana—Photinia, Victoria—Nike, Bogdan—Theodotus).

I always recommend, following the example of the old priests, choosing a name of a saint for whom a service or at least a canon has been composed, so one can pray to that saint using the appropriate books. The Orthodox Old Ritualist Church Calendar lists such saints. These names are usually printed in large type, with the rank of the service indicated in square brackets (e.g., “4a,” “4,” “6,” “Sl,” “Pl,” “Bd”); if there is no such designation, it means no service has been written for that saint.

Additionally, some sacred names are not used for baptism in Old Orthodoxy. For example, the name Jesus is not given, as “there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12), and it would be blasphemous to name a sinful person Savior (the meaning of the name “Jesus”). A phrase such as “Jesus, go to the store” is inconceivable to Christian sensibilities, let alone something more trivial.

Similarly, girls are not named Mary specifically in honor of the Mother of God. Instead, they may be named Maria, Marja, or in honor of other holy women who bore the name.

The names Adam and Eve are also not given at baptism, as there are only two true Adams—the forefather of humanity and the “Second Adam,” Christ Himself, the Savior of humankind—and two Eves: the “mother of all living” and the “Second Eve,” the Most Holy Theotokos, through whom the condemnation of the first Eve was overcome.

Some names are reserved exclusively for monastics, such as Bogolep, which are not found in the hagiography but are listed in the Trebnik (“monastic names”) or adopted by custom (often feminine forms of male names from the hagiography, or rarely, the reverse—masculine forms of feminine names). Furthermore, when taking monastic vows, a person’s name is changed. However, when entering the Great Schema, as in ancient Rus and in present-day Old Orthodoxy, it is customary not to change one’s name.

— Archpriest Vadim Korovin