Slave names

Slavic names are very popular in Central and Eastern Europe. In the same way as Asian names, Slavic names will determine the child's personality and future. These names often have a peaceful or warlike character and have a strong Christian influence.

Slavic male first names have not been very successful in France, mainly because of their very different spelling from French names. However, first names such as Sacha, Alexis or Dimitri have made their way into French culture.

Concerning female first names, the vast majority of Slavic girls names end in "a", which has enabled them to integrate better in France. We find very popular first names such as Anna, Nadia or Sonia.

To help you make your choice, you will find below a list of Slavic names as well as their meaning and etymology.

Slavic first names have been strongly influenced by religion over time. In the Christian tradition, children under 10 years of age had a surrogate name. The purpose of this tradition was to keep the evil powers away from the child and thus protect him from death. This superstition has spread as a result of the high infant death rate of Slavic children. If the child was healthy and over 10 years old, he would receive an adult name during a ritual called "the first haircut".

Slavic first names were very successful until the 1560s when the Catholic Church abolished so-called indigenous first names. Each child had to be named after one of the first names in the Christian calendar. There were few names of saints of Slavic origin at that time, which led to the near extinction of first names of Slavic origin. Only Protestants have tried to preserve traditional Slavic names. This lasted until the 19th and 20th centuries, when Slavic first names regained popularity.