In the treasury of names, with full confidence, we can include female Georgian names, many of which have a long history, but still have not lost their relevance ...

By Masterweb

The history of names is interesting and instructive, each nation has its own traditions of naming children. And Georgia is no exception. In the pre-Christian period, the most ancient of the female Georgian names arose, having natural roots or denoting some quality inherent in a girl.

The second category of names has Christian background that is associated with the religion of the state. Finally, another group has oriental roots, this is easily explained geographic location Georgia. Let's take a closer look at these options below.

The most beautiful and musical

Among the female Georgian names there are many very smooth, sonorous and therefore especially attractive. Their list with meaning is shown below:

• Aliko - "possessing omniscience."
• Ana - "desirable", "reliable".
• Daria - "mistress".
• Dzhemal, Jamaliya - "perfect", "ideal".
• Kekela - "beauty".
• Keti - "purity and innocence."
• Maya is the patroness of fertility.
• Mtsyre, Tsiru, Tsiri - "girl".
• Nani, Nanuli, Naniya - "baby".
• Rusiko - " long years life."
• Saba - "born in the rays of sunset."
• Saquarela - "beloved".
• Salome - "peaceful."
• Sofiko - "wise".
• Suliko - "endowed with a soul."
• Tamina - "living in peace and prosperity."
• Khatia - "impeccable as a picture."
• Eteri - "special".

Many of these options sound somewhat unusual for European ears, but are quite common in Georgia.

with natural roots

The list of Georgian female names has a large number of variants whose name comes from the names of objects natural world in particular flowers. Yes, beautiful and sonorous names for girls, Gika and Giuli came from the name of the rose flower. And Gela, Helia and Gelika, Mgelia, Mgela - from a severe predator - a wolf. Marina, Marine, Marianna mean "marine". Natella - "firefly", Tamar - "date palm". Endzela means "snowflake", Dzaglika means "little dog"

The "stone" theme is represented by a whole group of similar options that have the meaning of "ruby". This is Lali, Lale, Lala. The names Mzevinar, Mzekala and Mzia come from the name of the most important luminary - the Sun.

Christian stories

Speaking about female Georgian names, it should be noted that one of their sources is christian religion, that's why you can meet a Georgian woman with one of these options:

• Christina is a "Christian".
• Mariam, Maro, Mariko - "beloved of God."
• Natalie - "born on Christmas".
• Tamta - "dedicated to God."
• Theon - "divine mind".
• Eliso - "prayer".

These beautiful female Georgian names are very in demand and popular, they are still used, but they are not among the leaders in terms of frequency.

Modern borrowings

The list of Georgian female names includes those with European or Russian roots. They are used in modern world: Diana, Inga, Janet, Mary, there are also options familiar to Russian ears: Ekaterina (you can also find the spelling of Ekaterina, Katevani), Ilona, ​​Lika, Nelly, Nonna, Polina, Nina, Liana. They are gradually replacing folk anthroponyms, becoming more and more in demand.

Most often national Georgian female names are used in villages and villages, giving way to more modern options in cities. Couples are also acceptable: for example, there is Sofia and Sofiko, both names can be used by Georgians. Eastern Irine is very similar to the Russian Irina, this name means “carrying the world”, and Marine resembles Marina, both stand for “sea”.

Georgian names interesting in themselves, especially if they are ancient, coming from a distant past. Modern options they have lost their romance, they do not sound so smooth and melodious, they do not carry a deep meaning. However, it is they who displace the ancient anthroponyms, leading to their exit from everyday life and complete loss. But many Georgians honor the traditions of the past and continue to use their own old vocabulary.

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The history of names is interesting and instructive, each nation has its own traditions of naming children. And Georgia is no exception. In the pre-Christian period, the most ancient of the female Georgian names arose, having natural roots or denoting some quality inherent in a girl.

The second category of names is of Christian origin, which is associated with the religion of the state. Finally, another group has eastern roots, this is easily explained by the geographical position of Georgia. Let's take a closer look at these options below.

The most beautiful and musical

Among the female Georgian names there are many very smooth, sonorous and therefore especially attractive. Their list with meaning is shown below:

• Aliko - "possessing omniscience."
• Ana - "desirable", "reliable".
• Daria - "mistress".
• Dzhemal, Jamaliya - "perfect", "ideal".
• Kekela - "beauty".
• Keti - "purity and innocence."
• Maya is the patroness of fertility.
• Mtsyre, Tsiru, Tsiri - "girl".
• Nani, Nanuli, Naniya - "baby".
• Rusiko - "long years of life."
• Saba - "born in the rays of sunset."
• Saquarela - "beloved".
• Salome - "pacified."
• Sofiko - "wise".
• Suliko - "endowed with a soul."
• Tamina - "living in peace and prosperity."
• Khatia - "impeccable as a picture."
• Eteri - "special".

Many of these options sound somewhat unusual for European ears, but are quite common in Georgia.

with natural roots

The list of Georgian female names has a large number of options, the name of which comes from the names of objects in the natural world, in particular, flowers. So, the beautiful and sonorous names for girls Gika and Giuli originated from the name of the rose flower. And Gela, Helia and Gelika, Mgelia, Mgela - from a severe predator - a wolf. Marina, Marine, Marianna mean "marine". Natella - "firefly", Tamar - "date palm". Endzela means "snowflake", Dzaglika means "little dog"

The "stone" theme is represented by a whole group of similar options that have the meaning of "ruby". This is Lali, Lale, Lala. The names Mzevinar, Mzekala and Mzia originate from the name of the most important luminary - the Sun.

Christian stories

Speaking of female Georgian names, it should be noted that one of their sources is the Christian religion, which is why you can meet a Georgian woman with one of these options:

• Christina - "Christian".
• Mariam, Maro, Mariko - "beloved of God."
• Natalie - "who was born on Christmas."
• Tamta - "dedicated to God."
• Theon - "divine mind."
• Eliso - "prayer".

These beautiful female Georgian names are very in demand and popular, they are still used, but they are not among the leaders in terms of frequency.

Modern borrowings

The list of Georgian female names includes those with European or Russian roots. They are used in the modern world: Diana, Inga, Janet, Mary, there are also options familiar to Russian ears: Ekaterina (you can also find the spelling Ekaterina, Katevani), Ilona, ​​Lika, Nelly, Nonna, Polina, Nina, Liana. They are gradually replacing folk anthroponyms, becoming more and more in demand.

Most often, national Georgian female names are used in villages and villages, giving way to more modern options in cities. Couples are also acceptable: for example, there is Sofia and Sofiko, both names can be used by Georgians. Eastern Irine is very similar to the Russian Irina, this name means “carrying the world”, and Marine resembles Marina, both stand for “sea”.

Georgian names are interesting in themselves, especially if they are ancient, coming from the distant past. Modern versions have lost their romance, they do not sound so smooth and melodious, they do not carry a deep meaning. However, it is they who displace the ancient anthroponyms, leading to their exit from everyday life and complete loss. But many Georgians honor the traditions of the past and continue to use their own old vocabulary.

Georgians in national clothes

In 1996, a book by Avtandil Sigaladze and Anzor Totadze “Personal and family names in Georgia". It presents data on the degree of distribution of personal names in the regions of Georgia. The appendix lists the 300 most common names. They are given in Georgian spelling. I turned to the Georgian Embassy in Kazakhstan with a request to help me write down these names in Russian. I had an appointment. I arrived at the embassy mansion and, under the dictation of the cultural attache, wrote down all these 300 names in Russian graphics. Here are the names:

It is easy to see that the above list, compiled most likely on the basis of data from address bureaus, ignores the linguistic links between individual forms of names. As a result, how different names are represented, such as, for example, Nina and Nino, Elene, Elena and Lena, Kakhaberi and Kakha, Irina, Irina and Ira etc. In other words, phonetic-spelling variations of the same names, full and abbreviated forms are given separately. That is, there are fewer really different names in this list than the given forms.

The very presentation of the material departs from the tradition accepted in scientific anthroponymy to present male and female names in separate lists (in the book, male and female names are given in one list - hence the difference in their number). But if I did not combine different forms and variants of names, then I separated the male names from the female ones and give them separately for greater user convenience.

At the same time, a number of names had to be separated into a separate subgroup. Among Georgians, they exist both as male and female. Perhaps this third group of names can be supplemented from the remaining two groups of names. Total in the list 131 male name, 162 female and 7, which are both male and female. As noted in the book, the list does not include residents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia (obviously, data for these two regions were not available to the author).

Georgian woman in national clothes

Of course, the given names do not exhaust all the richness of the system of personal names of the indigenous population of Georgia. But it allows you to see the main stages in the formation of a national name-list. The names from the list can be combined into several historical and cultural layers, the penetration of each of which to the Georgians is associated with the historical stages of the people, the country.

The most ancient layer is the names associated with the living languages ​​of Georgia, formed from common nouns understandable to the masses. For example: male Bichiko'boy', Mghelika‘wolf cub’, Dzaglika‘puppy, doggy’, chichico‘little man’, female Gogol'young woman', Mzekala‘sun-maiden’, cira‘red girl’.

Some of the names of primordial origin arose at a relatively late time. For example, male importance‘manly, man’ appeared as part of a pseudonym ( Vazha Pshelava) known Georgian poet Luka Razikashvili (1861–1915). The grandfather of this poet was the first bearer of the name Imedi‘hope’, which has become popular among Georgians.

Some of the original names have been preserved for centuries and are still popular today (for example, male Badri, Mindia, female Dali, Tsiala). The names of this group arose in separate ethnographic groups of Georgians (Khevsurs, Pshavs, Imeretins, Gurians, Mingrelians, Svans, etc.). Over time, some of them have gained nationwide distribution.

Throughout their history, the indigenous peoples of Georgia have closely communicated with the peoples of neighboring regions, states - the North Caucasus, Armenia, Iran, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphate, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, etc. And all these contacts have left an anthroponymic "trace" in the names of Georgians.

A significant contribution to the system of personal names of Georgians was made by Iran and the Arab Caliphate. Names were borrowed with the penetration of Perso-Arabic literature. Yes, male Rostom, Bejan, Givi– Georgian forms of Iranian names Rustam, Bizhan, Giv worn by the heroes of the Iranian epic Shahnameh. That part of the epic, in which these heroes act, has become especially popular among Georgians. Of the other names of this cultural and historical layer, one can also name male Vakhtang, Zurabi, Muradi, Ramazi, female Leila, Rusudani, Turpa. At the same time, the name Vakhtang, known since the 5th century, is unknown to the Iranians themselves.

Many names appeared among Georgians in connection with the spread of Christianity (Georgians adopted Christianity already in the 5th century). These are biblical (mostly Hebrew) names, Greek and Latin in their linguistic origin. Here are some of them: Giorgi, Grigoli, David, Ioane(from John), Isak, Mose(from Moses). The names of this group were especially active among Georgians after the annexation of Georgia to Russia (1801 - the East Georgian kingdom, 1804 - Imretia, Megrelia, Guria, 1810 - Abkhazia, 1858 - Svanetia).

After reunification with Russia, the Georgian Church lost its autocephaly (independence) for a century. Georgian Church became part of the Russian Orthodox Church at the beginning of the exarchate. However, soon there was either nothing left of autonomous rights, or only one form remained. From 1817 bishops of Russian nationality were appointed exarchs to Georgia; the church property of Georgia was also transferred to the disposal of the Russian authorities (on March 12, 1917, after the overthrow of tsarism in Russia, the Georgians themselves decided to restore the autocephaly of their church). Joining the Russian Orthodox Church contributed to the fact that the Georgians actively gave children names from Orthodox saints. However, anthroponymic contacts between Georgia and Russia through churches were not one-sided. The Russian Orthodox Church included in its calendar the days of memory of a number of Georgian saints:

Men's: Abo, Aviv, Anthony, Archil, Bidzin, Gabriel, Gobron, Gregory, David, Eustathius, Euthymius, Zenon, Hilarion, Isaac, Ise, Isidore, John, Constantine, Luarsab, Michael, Neophyte, Pyrrhus, Rajden, Stefan, Dry, Tarichan, Shalva, Shio, Elizbar, Thaddeus
Women's: Ketevan, Nina, Tamara, Shushanika

Among those listed there are names that were completely unknown to the Russian Orthodox before their inclusion in the calendar ( Abo, Archil, Bidzin, Gobron, Laursab, Pierre, Razhden, Dry, Tarichan, Shalva, Shio, Elizbar; Ketevan, Tamara). Some correlated with the names already available in the holy calendar: Ise and Jesse, Shushanik and Susanna. From this group of Georgian names (the names of Georgian saints, coinciding with the names of Russian Orthodox saints, I do not take into account - Anthony, David, Michael etc.) in the Russian environment, only women's Nina and Tamara. The popularity of these names in Russian families was facilitated by the works of M. Yu. Lermontov. True, the name Nina was known to Russians even without Georgians, but as an unofficial form of a number of official Orthodox names - Antonina, Domnina, Anastasia. In the poem by A. S. Pushkin "Winter Road" lyrical hero, plunging into dreams, reflects:

Boring, sad...
Tomorrow, Nina
Tomorrow, returning to my dear,
I'll forget by the fireplace...

Who is Nina, whose name is mentioned by the lyrical hero, remains unknown.

By tradition, the days of remembrance of the listed Georgian saints are still included in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Names were also borrowed Slavic origin, in particular, Vladimir. It is used by Georgians not only in full form, but in abbreviated Lado.

FROM late XIX and especially in the 20th century, among Georgians, mainly through literature, cinema, names from Western Europe: Albert, Maurice, Carlo, Edward, Diana, Inga, Irma and others. The Georgians did not stand aside from the names-Sovietisms (for example, Dictatorship, Communards).

The ending -about in a number of Georgian names (especially male ones - Andro, Dato, Lado etc.) represents a form of the vocative case developed in the Georgian language.

In Russian texts, the names of Georgians are often given in an adapted form - not Giorgi, a George, not Akaki, a Akaki, not Iuri, a Yuri, not Vasili, a Basil etc. In general, the transfer of the names of Georgians by Russian written means creates certain difficulties. Thus, the transfer of Georgian names containing the letters ა, ე is difficult. For example, in the female names ან ა and თ ე ა, the letter corresponding to the Russian “a” is at the end. But should it be transmitted in Russian in both cases through "a"? If yes, then in this case it will be Ana and Thea. But in the Russian personal name it is more common to write Thea.

Similar questions arise when transferring names containing ე. In Russian, both “e” and “e” correspond to it. That is, is it necessary to transfer the name of a Georgian woman in Russian as Ekaterine, Ekaterine, Ekaterine or stop at the adopted spelling Catherine?

Another question is whether to double consonants in names of Georgians like Ana, Natela, Neli, which correspond to Russian names Anna, Natella, Nelly? There are no doubled consonants in Georgian orthography. If we take transliteration (letter by letter transmission of names) as the basic principle, then, of course, such a question will not arise - doubling consonants is inappropriate. But what about practical transcription?

I believe that in Georgia itself, the issue of the written transmission of personal names and surnames into other languages ​​(including Russian) is the subject of research. At least in Soviet time for each of the written languages, principles of transmission were developed geographical names on the geographical maps. They could be taken as a basis for the written transmission of personal names and surnames.

Certain work is also being carried out in the direction of establishing the etymology of Georgian personal names. I can recommend the following edition:

Glonti A. A. Kartvelsky proper names. Dictionary of anthroponyms. Tbilisi, 1967 (in Georgian).

© A. I. Nazarov.

Male and female Georgian names are very diverse. They absorbed the whole history of the people and became the best illustration its long and thorny path to self-determination. Many of the beautiful Georgian names are of foreign origin and meaning. They appeared as a result of close communication between Georgians and the peoples of neighboring powers (Russia, North Caucasus, Iran, Armenia, etc.). These merged into national system naming, making it even more diverse, interesting and attractive.

Origin of Georgian girls and boys names

Given their origin, male and female Georgian names can be divided into three groups.

1. Names borrowed from other peoples. Many of them appeared as a result of cultural exchange with Eastern Slavs. Some ancient Georgian names were taken from Western languages. Not less serious imprint in modern system The naming of Georgia was left by the culture of the Persian and Arab peoples.
2. Originally Georgian names. They were drawn from pre-Christian folklore.
3. Biblical names. Their appearance is associated with the spread of Christianity on the territory of Georgia (5th century). This category includes Orthodox Georgian names of girls of Hebrew, Roman and Greek origin.

Top Popular Georgian Names for Boys

• Vakhtang. Has Persian roots. Translated into Russian means "wolf body".
• Grigol. The Georgian version of the name Gregory = "cheerful".
• David. Name of Hebrew origin. It means "beloved" in translation.
• Zurab. Georgian variant Persian name Suhrab = "ruby".
• Heraclius. From the name of Heracles = "glory to Hera".
• Kakha. Translated from Georgian = "Kakhetian".
• Nikoloz. The Georgian version of the name Nikolai = "winner of the peoples."
• Saba. Arabic name. Translated as "light breeze" / "captive old man"
• Sando. Variant of the name Alexander = "protector".

Rating of modern Georgian names for girls

• Ani. Corresponds to the first letter of the Georgian alphabet.
• Ketevan. Georgian version of the name Ekaterina = "purity".
• Leah. From the Hebrew "sad".
• Nana. Translated from Georgian = "tender" / "kind".
• Nino. Variant of the name Nina = "youth".
• Sofiko. Georgian version of the name Sophia = "wisdom".
• Suliko. Translated into Russian means "soul".
• Tamriko. Georgian version of the name Tamara.
• Tinatin. Translated from Georgian = "shine of the sun".

The meaning of the original Georgian male and female names

The original most beautiful Georgian names of boys and girls have ancient origin. Many of them are legends and fairy tales (Chichiko, Gogola, Mlegiko, Tsira, etc.). Some traditional Georgian names of girls arose as a word form from adjectives, nouns and common nouns (Mindra, Badri, etc.). Enough most of these names continue to be used today.