Greek name

In the modern world, Greeks names are the personal names among people of Greek language and culture generally consist of a given name, a patronymic, and a family name.

History

Ancient Greeks generally had a single name, often qualified with a patronymic, a clan or tribe, or a place of origin. Married women were identified by the name of their husbands, not their fathers.

Hereditary family names or surnames began to be used by elites in the Byzantine period. Well into the 9th century, they were rare. But by the 11th and 12th centuries, elite families often used family names. Family names came from placenames, nicknames, or occupations.

During the Ottoman period, surnames with Turkish suffixes such as "Hatzi-", "Kara-", "-(i)lis", "-tzis", and "-oglou" became common, especially among Anatolian Greeks. It is not clear when stable family surnames became widely used. Though elite families often had stable family names, many of the "last names" used by Greeks into the 19th century were either patronymics or nicknames. It is also possible that family names were simply not recorded because Ottoman administrative practice preferred patronymics, and did not require surnames.

In the 19th century, patronymic surnames became common.

For personal names, from the first century CE until the nineteenth century CE, pagan names from antiquity were mostly replaced by names from Christian scriptures and tradition. With the Modern Greek Enlightenment and the development of Greek nationalism, names from antiquity became popular again.

Family names may be patronymic in origin or else based on occupation, location, or personal characteristic. These origins are often indicated by prefixes or suffixes. Traditionally a woman used a feminine version of her father's family name, replacing it with a feminine version of her husband's family name on marriage. In modern Greece, a woman keeps her father's family name for life but may use a husband's name.

In official documents in modern Greece, people are given three names: a given name, a patronymic and a family name.

Given names

Until the late 18th century, almost all Christian Greeks were named for Orthodox saints from the Old and New Testaments and early Christian tradition. Since then, names of both deities and mortals from antiquity have been popular as well.

Male names usually end in -ας, -ης, and -ος, but sometimes ancient forms are also used. Female names almost always end in -α and -η, though a few end in -ώ with -ου being possible.

Since antiquity, there has been a strong tradition of naming the first and second sons after the paternal and maternal grandfathers and the first and second daughters after the paternal and maternal grandmothers.

This results in a continuation of names in the family line, but cousins with the same official name are almost always called by different shortened forms or diminutives. The French and German Wikipedias have detailed lists of Greek given names showing the widespread use of shortened forms and diminutives and shortened forms of diminutives in addition to the rarely used formal forms of the sometimes official Demotic Greek forms. These lists are understandable even if one doesn't understand German or French. These variants make it possible to differentiate between cousins despite these traditionally having the same official names because they are traditionally named after their grandparents.

There is a strong clustering of first names by locality according to patron saints, famous churches, or monasteries. Examples include:

• Spyridon and Spyridoula in Corfu
• Gerasimos in Kefalonia
• Dionysios and Dionysia in Zakynthos,
• Andreas and Andriani or Androulla in Patras and the rest of Achaea province, as well as Cyprus
• Markos and Markella in Chios
• Savvas for those descended from Asia Minor
• Emmanuel or Manolis, Iosif (Joseph) or Sifis, Manousos, and Minas in Crete
• Tsambikos or Tsampika/Mika in Rhodes.

When Greek names are used in other languages, they are sometimes rendered phonetically, such as Eleni for Ἑλένη, and sometimes by their equivalents, like Helen in English or Hélène in French. In the United States, there are also conventional anglicizations based on phonetic similarity rather than etymology, for example James or Jimmy for Δημήτρης/Dimitris (nickname Ντίμης/Dimi, hence Jimmy), despite the English name James and its diminutive Jimmy actually coming from Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakobos, English Jacob (through Vulgar Latin Iacomus from Latin Iacobus, which is the Latinized form of Ἰάκωβος Iakobos in the Vulgar Latin and originally Greek New Testament).

Family names

Greek family names are most commonly patronymics but may also be based on occupation, personal characteristics or location. The feminine version is usually the genitive of the family name of the woman's father or husband; so, for example, Mr. Yannatos and Mrs. Yannatou.

As a result of their codification in the Modern Greek state, surnames have Katharevousa forms even though Katharevousa is no longer the official standard. Thus, the Ancient Greek name Eleutherios forms the Modern Greek proper name Lefteris. In the past, people in speaking used the family name followed by the given name, so John Eleutherios was called Leftero-giannis. In modern practice he is called Giannis Eleftheriou, where Giannis is the popular form of the formal Ioannis but Eleftheriou is an archaic genitive. For women the surname is usually a Katharevousa genitive of a male name, whereas back in Byzantine times there were separate feminine forms of male surnames, such as Palaiologína for Palaiológos which nowadays would be Palaiológou.

In the past, women would change their surname on first marrying to that of their husband in the genitive case, so marking the change of dependence to husband from father. In early Modern Greek society, women were named with -aina as a feminine suffix on the husband's given name, for example "Giorgaina" signifying "wife of George". Nowadays, a woman's surname does not change upon marriage but she can use the husband's surname socially. Children usually receive the paternal surname, though some children receive the maternal surname in addition or exclusively.

In official documents, the father's name in the genitive will be inserted between a person's first and last names. For example, if John Papadopoulos has a daughter named Mary and a son named Andrew, they will be referred to as María Ioánnou Papadopoúlou and Andréas Ioánnou Papadópoulos. If Mary then marries George Demetriádes, she may retain her original name or choose to be called María Geōrgíou Demetriádou. If she is widowed, she will revert to her father's patronymic but retain her husband's surname to become María Ioánnou Demetriádou.

Examples of given names

Ancient names

Further information: List of ancient Greeks

1. Acamas (Ἀκάμας)
2. Achaeus (Ἀχαιός)
3. Achilles (Ἀχιλλεύς)
4. Adonis (Ἄδωνις)
5. Aeneas (Αἰνείας)
6. Agamemnon (Αγαμέμνων)
7. Agathocles (Ἀγαθοκλῆς)
8. Agenor (Ἀγήνωρ)
9. Alcaeus (Ἀλκαῖος)
10. Alcibiades (Ἀλκιβιάδης)
11. Alcman (Ἀλκμάν)
12. Alcyone (Ἀλκυόνη)
13. Alexander (Ἀλέξανδρος)
14. Amyntas (Ἀμύντας)
15. Anacreon (Ἀνακρέων)
16. Anaximandros (Ἀναξίμανδρος)
17. Antenor (Ἀντήνωρ)
18. Antiochus (Ἀντίoχoς)
19. Androcles (Ἀνδροκλῆς)
20. Andromache (Ἀνδρομάχη)
21. Andronicus (Ἀνδρόνικος)
22. Andromeda (Ἀνδρομέδα)
23. Antigone (Ἀντιγόνη)
24. Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτη)
25. Apollonius (Ἀπολλώνιος)
26. Arcesilaus (Ἀρκεσίλαος)
27. Archelaus (Ἀρχέλαος)
28. Archelochus (Ἀρχέλοχος)
29. Archimedes (Ἀρχιμήδης)
30. Arete (Ἀρήτη)
31. Argus (Ἀργός)
32. Ariadne (Ἀριάδνη)
33. Aristarchus (Ἀρίσταρχος)
34. Aristides (Ἀριστείδης)
35. Aristippus (Ἀρίστιππος)
36. Aristo (Ἀρίστων)
37. Aristocles (Ἀριστοκλῆς)
38. Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης)
39. Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης)
40. Artemis (Ἄρτεμις)
41. Arion (Ἀρίων)
42. Aspasia (Ἀσπασία)
43. Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ)
44. Athenodoros (Ἀθηνόδωρος)
45. Atreus (Ἀτρεύς)
46. Berenice (Βερενίκη)
47. Calchas (Κάλχας)
48. Calliope (Καλλιόπη)
49. Callirrhoe (Καλλιρρόη)
50. Cassandra (Κασσάνδρα)
51. Cassiopeia (Κασσιόπεια)
52. Chryses (Χρύσης)
53. Cleanthes (Κλεάνθης)
54. Cleopatra (Κλεοπάτρα)
55. Clio (Κλειώ)
56. Clymenus (Κλύμενος)
57. Clytaemnestra (Κλυταιμνήστρα)
58. Coön (Κόων)
59. Creon (Κρέων)
60. Crino (Κρινώ)
61. Daedalus (Δαίδαλος)
62. Danaë (Δανάη)
63. Daphne (Δάφνη)
64. Demeter (Δημήτηρ)
65. Democritus (Δημόκριτος)
66. Demoleon (Δημολέων)
67. Demosthenes (Δημοσθένης)
68. Despina (Δέσποινα)
69. Diocles (Διοκλῆς)
70. Diodorus (Διόδωρος)
71. Diogenes (Διογένης)
72. Diomedes (Διομήδης)
73. Dionysios (Διονύσιος)
74. Dionysus (Διόνυσος)
75. Electra (Ἡλέκτρα)
76. Empedocles (Ἐμπεδοκλῆς)
77. Epictetus (Ἐπίκτητος)
78. Epicurus (Ἐπίκουρος)
79. Eratosthenes (Ἐρατοσθένης)
80. Eteocles (Ἐτεοκλῆς)
81. Euclid (Εὐκλείδης)
82. Eucratides (Εὐκρατίδης)
83. Euripides (Εὐριπίδης)
84. Europa (Εὐρώπη)
85. Eurydice (Εὐρυδίκη)
86. Eurymachus (Εὐρύμαχος)
87. Euthydemus (Εὐθύδημος)
88. Euthymia (Εὐθυμία)
89. Gaea (Γαῖα)
90. Glaucus (Γλαῦκος)
91. Gorgias (Γοργίας)
92. Harmonia (Ἁρμονία)
93. Hector (Ἕκτωρ)
94. Helen (Ἑλένη)
95. Helianthe (Ἡλιάνθη)
96. Helicaon (Ἑλικάων)
97. Heliodorus (Ἡλιόδωρος)
98. Hera (Ἥρα)
99. Heracles (Ἡρακλῆς)
100. Hermes (Ἑρμῆς)
101. Hermione (Ἑρμιόνη)
102. Herodotus (Ἡρόδοτος)
103. Hesiod (Ἡσίοδος)
104. Hippocrates (Ἱπποκράτης)
105. Hippolyta (Ἱππολύτη)
106. Hippolytus (Ἱππόλυτος)
107. Homer (Ὅμηρος)
108. Hyacinth (Ὑάκινθος)
109. Hypatia (Ὑπατία)
110. Ianthe (Ἰάνθη)
111. Icarus (Ἴκαρος)
112. Idomeneus (Ἰδομενεύς)
113. Ino (Ἰνώ)
114. Ion (Ἴων)
115. Iphidamas (Ἰφιδάμας)
116. Iphigenia (Ἰφιγένεια)
117. Irene/Irini (Εἰρήνη)
118. Ismene (Ἰσμήνη)
119. Jason (Ἰάσων)
120. Jocasta (Ἰοκάστη)
121. Laodamas (Λαοδάμας)
122. Laodice (Λαοδίκη)
123. Leonidas (Λεωνίδας)
124. Leto (Λητώ)
125. Lycurgus (Λυκοῦργος)
126. Medea (Μήδεια)
127. Melpomene (Μελπομένη)
128. Menander (Μένανδρος)
129. Menelaus (Μενέλαος)
130. Metrodorus (Μητρόδωρος)
131. Miltiades (Μιλτιάδης)
132. Myron (Μύρων)
133. Narcissus (Νάρκισσος)
134. Neoptolemus (Νεοπτόλεμος)
135. Nestor (Νέστωρ)
136. Nicander (Νίκανδρος)
137. Nicanor (Nικάνωρ)
138. Nicodemus (Νικόδημος)
139. Nike (Νίκη)
140. Nikolaos (Νικόλαος)
141. Oceanus (Ὠκεανός)
142. Odysseus (Ὀδυσσεύς)
143. Oedipus (Οἰδίπους)
144. Olympias (Ὀλυμπιάς)
145. Orestis (Ὀρέστης)
146. Orpheus (Ὀρφεύς)
147. Pandora (Πανδώρα)
148. Pantaleon (Πανταλέων)
149. Paris (Πάρις)
150. Patroclus (Πάτροκλος)
151. Pausanias (Παυσανίας)
152. Peleus (Πηλεύς)
153. Penelope (Πηνελόπη)
154. Pericles (Περικλῆς)
155. Phaethon (Φαίδων)
156. Pheidias or Phidias (Φειδίας)
157. Philippos (Φίλιππος)
158. Philoctetes (Φιλοκτήτης)
159. Philon (Φίλων)
160. Phoebe (Φοίβη)
161. Phyllis (Φυλλίς)
162. Pindar (Πίνδαρος)
163. Plato (Πλάτων)
164. Polemon (Πολέμωνος)
165. Polybus (Πόλυβος)
166. Polynices (Πολυνείκης)
167. Polybios (Πολύβιος)
168. Priam (Πρίαμος)
169. Ptolemy (Πτολεμαῖος)
170. Pythagoras (Πυθαγόρας)
171. Pyrrhus (Πύρρος)
172. Rhea (Ῥέα)
173. Selene (Σελήνη)
174. Seleucus (Σέλευκος)
175. Simonides (Σιμωνίδης)
176. Socrates (Σωκράτης)
177. Sofia (Σοφία)
178. Solon (Σόλων)
179. Sophocles (Σοφοκλῆς)
180. Strato (Στράτων)
181. Talthybius (Ταλθύβιος)
182. Telemachus (Τηλέμαχος)
183. Tethys (Τηθύς)
184. Thaleia (Θάλεια)
185. Theano (Θεανώ)
186. Thekla (Θέκλα)
187. Themistocles (Θεμιστοκλῆς)
188. Theodoros (Θεόδωρος)
189. Theophrastus (Θεόφραστος)
190. Theseus (Θησεύς)
191. Thestor (Θέστωρ)
192. Thetis (Θέτις)
193. Thraso (Θράσων)
194. Thrasybulus (Θρασύβουλος)
195. Thrasymachus (Θρασύμαχος)
196. Thucydides (Θουκυδίδης)
197. Urania (Οὐρανία)
198. Uranus (Οὐρανός)
199. Xanthippe (Ξανθίππη)
200. Xenocrates (Ξενοκράτης)
201. Xenophon (Ξενοφῶν)
202. Zeno (Ζήνων)

Biblical and Christian names

1. Aikaterine (Αἰκατερίνη)
2. Alexios (Ἀλέξιος)
3. Ananias (Ἀνανίας)
4. Anastasios (Ἀναστάσιος)
5. Andreas (Ἀνδρέας)
6. Angelos (Άγγελος)
7. Anna (Ἄννα)
8. Anthimos (Ἄνθιμος)
9. Antonios (Ἀντώνιος)
10. Athanasios (Ἀθανάσιος)
11. Barbara (Βαρβάρα)
12. Bartholomaios (Βαρθολομαῖος)
13. Vassileios/Vassilios (Βασίλειος)
14. Calliope (Καλλιόπη)
15. Charalambos (Χαράλαμπος)
16. Christianos (Χριστιανός)
17. Christina (Χριστίνα)
18. Christoforos (Χριστόφορος)
19. Christos (Χρίστος)
20. Damianos (Δαμιανός)
21. Daniel (Δανιήλ)
22. David (Δαβίδ)
23. Dimitrios (Δημήτριος)
24. Despina (Δέσποινα)
25. Dioscoros (Διόσκουρος)
26. Dorothea (Δωροθέα)
27. Eleutherius (Ελευθέριος)
28. Eleni (Ἑλένη)
29. Elias (Ἠλίας)
30. Elizabeth (Ἐλισάβετ)
31. Emmanouil (Εμμανουήλ)
32. Erastus (Ἔραστος)
33. Eudocia (Εὐδοκία)
34. Evgenia (Εὐγενία)
35. Eusebius (Εὐσέβιος)
36. Eva (Εύα)
37. Evangelos (Εὐάγγελος)
38. Gabriel (Γαβριήλ)
39. Georgios (Γεώργιος)
40. Grigorios (Γρηγόριος)
41. Irene (Εἰρήνη)
42. Isaakios (Ισαάκιος)
43. Isaias (Ἠσαΐας)
44. Iakovos (Ἰάκωβος)
45. Ieremias (Ἱερεμίας)
46. Joachim (Ἰωακείμ)
47. Ioannis (Ἰωάννης)
48. Jonah (Ἰωνᾶς)
49. Joseph (Ἰωσήφ)
50. Ioulia (Ιουλία)
51. Konstantinos (Κωνσταντῖνος)
52. Kyrillos (Κύριλλος)
53. Lavrentios (Λαυρέντιος)
54. Lazarus (Λάζαρος)
55. Leo (Λέων)
56. Loukas (Λουκᾶς)
57. Loukia (Λουκία)
58. Lydia (Λυδία)
59. Magdalene (Μαγδαληνή)
60. Margarita (Μαργαρίτα)
61. Maria (Μαρία)
62. Markos (Μάρκος)
63. Martha (Μάρθα)
64. Matthaios (Ματθαῖος)
65. Michael (Μιχαήλ/Μιχάλης)
66. Moses (Μωϋσῆς)
67. Nectarius (Νεκτάριος)
68. Nicanor (Nικάνωρ)
69. Nicodemus (Νικόδημος)
70. Nicolaos (Νικόλαος)
71. Niketas (Νικήτας)
72. Nikephoros (Νικηφόρος)
73. Panayiotis (Παναγιώτης)
74. Panteleimon/Pantelis (Παντελεήμων)
75. Pavlos (Παῦλος)
76. Petros (Πέτρος)
77. Philemon (Φιλήμων)
78. Procopios (Προκόπιος)
79. Raphael (Ραφαήλ)
80. Rovértos (Ροβέρτος)
81. Savvas (Σάββας)
82. Sakellarios (Σακελλαριος)
83. Sarah (Σάρα)
84. Sergios (Σέργιος)
85. Silas (Σίλας)
86. Simeon (Συμεών)
87. Solomon (Σολομών)
88. Sofia (Σοφία)
89. Spyridon (Σπυρίδων)
90. Staurakios (Σταυράκιος)
91. Stavros (Σταῦρος)
92. Stefanos (Στέφανος)
93. Stylianos (Στυλιανός/Στέλιος)
94. Thaddeus (Θαδδαῖος)
95. Theofilos (Θεόφιλος)
96. Thomas (Θωμάς)
97. Timotheos (Τιμόθεος)
98. Zacharias (Ζαχαρίας)
99. Zoe (Ζωή)

Examples of family names

Common prefixes

• Archi-: meaning "superior" or "boss".
• Chondro-: meaning "fat".
• Gero-: meaning "old" or "wise".
• Hadji-: the Arabic honorific for one who has made the Hadj or pilgrimage, used in the case of Christians for a voyage to Jerusalem, for example "Hatzipanagis".
• Kara-: from the Turkish word for "black", for example "Karatasos".
• Konto-: meaning "short".
• Makro-: meaning "tall" or "long".
• Mastro-: meaning "artisan" or "workman".
• Palaio-: meaning "old" or "wise".
• Papa-: indicating descent from a papas, a priest. So Papakostas is the "son of Kostas, the priest".

Common suffixes

• -akis (-άκης): associated primarily with Crete (except Anogeia) and the Aegean Islands, it is a diminutive, such as Giorgos becoming Giorgakis for the young Giorgos. Examples are: "Mitsotakis", "Theodorakis" and "Doukakis".This suffix was also very common for Cretan Turks up until they were officially changed with the Surname Law. This suffix was introduced in the 19th century.
• -akos (-ᾶκος): mainly from Laconia, particularly among Maniots from the Laconian part of the Mani peninsula.' Examples are: "Xarhakos" and "Kyrgiakos".
• -oulis (-ούλης): mainly from Thessalia, it is a diminutive, which is also used as a diminutive for place names in the region such as Giannouli and Damasouli .' Examples are: " Georgoulis" and "Giannoulis".
• -as (-ᾶς): from Macedonia and the Epirus. Examples are: "Melas", "Dimas", "Zorbas", "Lekkas", "Moustakas" and "Zappas". However, the surname Dukas or Doukas derives from the Latin title dux or duke.
• -atos (-ᾶτος): (from Cephalonia), of Venetian derivation. Examples are: "Georgatos", "Cosmatos" and "Manatos".
• -eas (-εας): mainly among Maniots from the Messenian part of the Mani peninsula. Examples are: "Koteas", "Georgeas" and "Charisteas".
• -elis (-έλης) and -ilis (-ιλής): from the Turkish suffixes for agent, possession and origin, common in western Asia Minor, Mytiline, Lemnos and Imbros. Examples are: Myrsilis, Katselis, Papadelis, Manelis.
• -allis (-άλλης) and -ellis (-έλλης): both found especially in the Dodecanese, mainly Rhodes. Examples are "Georgallis" and "Kanellis".
• -idis or -ides and -iadis or iades (-ίδης/-ιάδης): meaning 'son of' or 'descendant of'. The suffix -idis (often transliterated -ides in English and French) is the oldest in use. Zeus, for example, was also referred to as Cronides ("son of Cronus"). -idis was the most common suffix in Byzantium, Bithynia and Byzantine Thrace, being also used by Pontic Greeks and Caucasus Greeks in the Pontic Alps, northeast Anatolia, Georgia, the former Kars Oblast, and sometimes in Epirus, Corfu and some Aegean islands. Examples include: "Stavridis", "Koutoufides", "Angelidis", "Georgiadis".
• -lis (-λής). Turkish suffix for "of" a place, like the Greek suffixes -tis and -otis. Examples are: "Karamanlis" and "Kasdaglis".
• -opoulos (-όπουλος): meaning "descendant of", originated from the Peloponnese but has become very widespread. Examples are: "Stamatelopoulos", "Papadopoulos", "Gianopoulos", "Anagnostopoulos" and "Theodorakopoulos". It can also indicate ethnic origin, such as Frangopoulos (Φραγκόπουλος) meaning "son of a Frank", Persopoulos (Περσόπουλος) meaning "son of a Persian", Servopoulos (Σερβόπουλος) meaning "son of a Serb" and Voulgaropoulos (Βουλγαρόπουλος) meaning "son of a Bulgarian".
• -oglou (-όγλου): from the Turkish -oğlu meaning "son of", seen in families from Asia Minor. Examples are: "Tsolakoglou", "Ardizoglou" and "Patsatzoglou".
• -ou (-ου): a genitive mainly from Cyprus. Examples are: "Afxentiou", "Economou", "Konstantinou", "Christoforou" and "Gregoriou".
• -tis, -otis (-της, -ώτης): meaning "of" a place. Examples are "Politis" from polis (city) and "Chiotis" from Chios.
• -tzis, -tsis (-τζής, -τσής) and feminine (-τζή, -τσή): Turkish suffix to signify a profession, like the English -er in Baker or Butcher. Examples are: "Devetzi" and "Kouyioumtzis".

See also

• Onomastics

External links

• Lexicon of Greek Personal Names, a Major Research Project of the British Academy, Oxford, contains over 35,000 published Greek names up to the 6th century.

Further reading

• Matthews, Elaine; Hornblower, Simon; Fraser, Peter Marshall, Greek Personal Names: Their Value as Evidence, Proceedings of the British Academy (104), Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-19-726216-3