Popular Names

What does every person have? The answer is very simple – a name. It is needed for personal identification and distinction from others. Parents often spend a long time browsing dictionaries, saying one name and then another aloud. Elena Belskaya, Head of the Civil Registry Office, spoke about the emerging trends in naming fashion.
Svetlanas, Olgas, Lyudmilas, and Tatyans are, as they say, not in vogue nowadays. In 2012, the most popular name in the Lepel region was Polina – fourteen baby girls. Daria took second place in prevalence – eleven, ten girls became Anastasias, and nine Ksenias. There were an equal number of Elizavetas, Valerias, and Anns – eight each. Seven babies were named Sofias, the same number – Milanas, Marias, Dianas, Varvaras, and Alexanders. No one is surprised anymore by Kira, Ulyana, Darina, or Violetta. Among the names occurring once, Melania, Karolina, Zarina, Alexandrina, Amira, Adriana, and Yesenia were memorable. In male fashion, Nikita leads – nineteen boys, followed by Maksims – thirteen, Ivans and Artemys – eleven each. Ten Egorovs were born. There is one representative each for the names Stepan, Serafim, Savely, Lev, Damir, Gordey, German, Bogdan, and Arseniy. What motivates parents in their choice? Some seek rarity and unusualness, while others study the origin and meaning of the name, and its influence on the child's future destiny. Elena Belskaya, when registering newborns, is guided by the Russian-Belarusian and Belarusian-Russian Dictionary of Personal Names by Vladimir Soroka. It contains official names and patronymics derived from them, totaling over 2780. Their origin is predominantly Greek, Latin, Common Slavic, and Jewish. Curiously, the choice of male names is almost twice as large. It is quite possible to name a child not according to the dictionary – only a written application from the parents is required. Parents have the right to invent names that are the quintessence of proper names. For example, Marina and Sergey might have a son named Marsey, and Elena and Nikolay – a daughter named Elenika. Another interesting point is abbreviated names. In Soviet times, they were popular – ideological Stalins, Kims, Vladlens, Mayas, etc., were born. Now they have lost their relevance, at least in Lepel. Double names are rare.
Evgenia LYAKH.