On January 4, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Euphrosyne and Algirdas were born in Vitebsk in 2011. Children named with well-known but rare names can boast of their uniqueness: they are the only ones who received the names of these historical figures, known to every Belarusian, in the regional center last year, as reported to BELTA correspondent by the Civil Registry Office of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee. Little Algirdas joined the family of actors of the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theatre, and Euphrosyne, whose name means "joy" and "merriment," now delights with her first successes the union of trade workers and the Vitebsk Meat Processing Plant. Last year, many new parents in Vitebsk tried to give their children rare, memorable names. Thus, in the regional center, Arkhip, Elizarr, Ostap, Valentin, Stefan, Nikifor, Klimentiy, Svetogor, Demyan, Savva, Mitrofan, Yaromir, Daniel, Vsevolod, Lev, Emil, Miron, Semen, Anzhelika, Yanina, Yaroslava, Taisiya, Nina, Raisa, Marika, Inessa, Irmina, Inga, Dina, Agata, Iya, Marta, Yaseniya, Ustina, Albina, Lila, Emilia, Agripina, Amelia, Rada, Mira, Erika, Ilyana, Darianna, Vitalina, Alivia, Nicole, Dana, Eleonora, Arianna are growing up. It is unlikely that these children will meet peers with similar names in the future. The most popular female names in Vitebsk last year were Daria, Maria, Sofia, Ksenia, and Anastasia. Among male names, Artem, Ivan, Maxim, Nikita, and Daniil were in vogue. Parents in Vitebsk did not take the opportunity to give their children double names in 2011. In January-November of the current year, 11,295 children were born in the Vitebsk region, which is 55 fewer babies than in the same period last year. -0-

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