Lithuanian Name - Vardas (given Name)

Vardas (given Name)

A child in Lithuania is usually given one or two given names. Nowadays the second given name is rarely used in everyday situations, the use of a middle name being considered pretentious. In additions to modern names, parents normally choose a name or names for their child from a long list of traditional names which may be:

• a Lithuanian name of pre-Christian origin.

It is the most ancient layer of Lithuanian personal names; a majority of them are dual-stemmed personal names, of Indo-European origin. These ancient Lithuanian names are constructed from two interconnected stems, the combination of which has been used to denote certain beneficial personal qualities, for example Jo-gaila mean "a strong rider". Although virtually extinct following the Christianization of Lithuania, they continued to exist as surnames, such as Goštautas, Kęsgaila, Radvila or in their Slavicised versions, as well as in toponyms. The existing surnames and written sources have allowed the reconstruction of names by linguists, such as Kazimieras Būga. During the Interbellum these names returned to popular use after a long period of neglect. Children are often named in honor of most revered historical Lithuanian rulers, making their names one of the most popular. They include Vytautas, Gediminas, Algirdas, Žygimantas. In line with the double-stemmed names, shorter variants containing only one stem were also used, such as Vytenis and Kęstutis. Since there are few pre-Christian female names attested in written sources, they are often reconstructed from male variants, in addition to the historical Birutė, Aldona, Rimgailė etc.

• a Christian name, i.e., a Biblical name or a saint's name.

The use of Christian names in the Lithuanian language long predates the adoption of Christianity by Lithuanians. The linguistic data attest that first Biblical names were started to be used in Aukštaitija as early as in the 11th century. The earliest strata of such names originates from Old Church Slavonic; they were borrowed by Eastern Orthodoxy in their Byzantine versions. The examples of such names are Antanas (St. Anthony), Povilas or Paulius (St. Paul), Andrius (St. Andrew) and Jurgis (St. George). The later influx of Christian names came after the adoption of Christianity in 1387. They are mostly borrowed in their Polish versions: Jonas (St. John), Vladislovas/Vladas (St. Ladislaus), Kazimieras/Kazys (St. Casimir), etc.

• a Lithuanian common noun or hydronym used as a name.

There are popular names constructed from the words for celestial bodies (Saulė for the Sun, Aušrinė for Venus), events of nature (Audra for the storm, Aušra for the dawn, Rasa for the dew, Vėjas for the wind, Aidas for the echo), plants (Linas/Lina for flax, Eglė for spruce), river names (Ūla, Vilija for River Neris).

• an invented name from literature.

Some names were created by the authors of literal works and spread in public use through them. Such names were invented following the rules of the Lithuanian language, therefore it is sometimes difficult to tell whether the name is fictitious and had never existed before. Notably, Gražina, Živilė by Adam Mickiewicz, Daiva by Vydūnas, Šarūnas by Vincas Krėvė and others.

• names of Lithuanian pagan deities and mythological figures.

There are some popular names of gods and goddesses from Lithuanian mythology that are used as personal names, such as Laima, goddess of luck, Žemyna, goddess of earth, Gabija, goddess of fire; Žilvinas, a serpent prince from the fairy tale Eglė the Queen of Serpents, Jūratė, goddess of the sea, and Kastytis, from the legend about Jūratė and Kastytis.

A distinctive practice dominated in the ethnic region of Lithuania Minor, then being a part of East Prussia, where Lithuanized German personal names were common, such as Ansas (Hans), Grėtė (Gretchen), Vilius (Wilhelm) among Prussian Lithuanians. Some of them are still in use among Lithuanians at present.

The choice of a given name is largely influenced by fashion. Many parents may name their child after a national hero or heroine, some otherwise famous person, or a character from a book, film, or TV show. In spite of this, a great number of names used in today's Lithuania have been in use since the ancient times.