Latvian name Inga. Latvians

Latvian names have a rich history and owe their origin to the languages ​​of many countries. Latvian belongs to the East Baltic group of Indo-European languages ​​and contains many borrowed words and adverbs from Lithuanian, Estonian, Swedish, Belarusian, Polish, Ukrainian, Latin and Russian.

A significant part of Latvian male names are adapted translations from the above languages, their distinctive feature is the frequent ending "-yus" or "-is", which serves as a link to Latin.

native Latvian male names are divided into two groups: national (translated from other languages) and formed from the words of the Latvian language. The latter were very popular during the Middle Ages - the Latvians sought to reflect the history of their time in the name of the boy, choosing names that mean heroism, courage, lion's courage and militancy.

The second group of names includes many European and Russian names, they began to be widely used from the middle of the 13th century, when Christianity appeared in Latvia (Kristaps, Jazeps, Petras). Since most of the population of that time adopted Lutheranism, there are no canonical names in Latvia. The name can be either traditional (Janus, Gustav, Leonis) or fictional (Maranda, Lineta, Kiris). Many of the names have changed significantly according to the taste of the parents. IN last years the popularity of national Latvian names is decreasing.

How do the Latvian people choose what to name a boy?

When choosing a Latvian name for a boy, they traditionally try to characterize the virtues that parents want to reward their son with (“Augustas” - “Dear”, “Aljis” - “Rich”, Viktoras - “Winner”). The parents of the child are free to choose a name, since the Latvians do not have canonical names, and they can register any naming they come up with. The name of the boy is given only one and immediately after birth, but if the parents wish, he can receive several names.

List of options in Russian alphabetically from A to Z, meaning and brief interpretation

At present, national Lutheran (Protestant) names in Latvia are becoming less and less common. Fictitious names, as well as borrowed and modified ones from European languages, gained particular popularity. Many of them, having an original memorable sound, are distributed far beyond the borders of Latvia.

• Aivars- Warrior Defender. He is growing up as a brave and interested boy, he thinks sensibly and objectively, he is purposeful.
• Augustinas (Augustinas)- "Venerable". Augustinas is calm and peaceful, almost never out of balance, but when angry, tends to be vindictive.
• Andrius- "Human". Courageous and courageous, has good health and a high sense of duty to his parents.
• Addresses- "Light coloured". Kind and sympathetic, may be optional, the soul of the company and a charming person.
• Antanas- "Invaluable." Antanas is brave and inventive, playful, dreamy, has his head in the clouds and lives for the future.
• Aljimantas- "Rich". Passionate and temperamental nature, quick-tempered, touchy, loyal to friends and monogamous.
• Apas- "Eagle". Contradictory character and strong intuition, understands others well from childhood.
• Algis- "Rich". Enterprising, sometimes arrogant, prone to exaggeration, kind.
• Aras- Scout. Aras is playful and unyielding, he thinks constructively and practically, sometimes he is stingy.
• Aljimas- Wealthy man. Stubborn, purposeful, sets high goals.
• Aptepas- "Legendary". Aptepas is always in sight, sociable and open, sometimes superficial and frivolous.
• Alvis- "Wise". A sympathetic and sensitive person, not prone to resentment, quick-witted.
• Azuolas- "Oak". Sensitive and attentive, not self-confident enough and can remain timid for life.
• Bronislavas- Excellent defender. He loves children, witty, caring, fully manifests itself only in adulthood.
• Wilhelmas- "Helmet". You can always rely on Vilhemas, he is reliable and does not break his promises.
• Vadimas- "Knowledge". Taciturn, prefers quiet secluded places, capable of music and literature, wise.
• Virgilius- "Bearer". He is enterprising and from childhood shows a creative approach to everything, quick-witted, easy to communicate with.
• Valdis- "Power". Active and creative, has many talents and connects his life with entrepreneurial activity.
• Vytautas- Leader of the people. Calm and wise, indulgent towards others.
• Victoras- "Winner". Persistent and resilient, rarely in a bad mood, he will achieve his goals at any cost.
• Dzintars- "Amber". Characterized by seriousness combined with daydreaming, a tendency to be content with little.
• Zhintaras- Precious. Playful, but not a hooligan, restless, often does not know where to direct his own energy, takes on a lot of things and rarely brings them to the end.
• Druvis- Niva. Characterized by softness of character, inability to refuse people, shyness.
• Juozas“God will multiply.” He stands out with a lively mind, a good sense of humor.
• Jonas- "Pigeon". Obedient, rarely expresses his opinion, shy.
• Giustinas- "Fair". Conservative and uncompromising, strict father, seeks high altitudes in life.
• Dovmont- "Edge of the sword." Dovmont has his own opinion on everything, stubborn and uncompromising, but kind.
• Ekabs- an analogue of the names "James", "Jacob", "Jacob" - "Following on the heels." Ekabs is taciturn and stubborn in work, prefers to give all his strength to work, loves children.
• Zhiedrius- "Serene". Has a creative, philosophical mindset, does not get tired of the routine, self-confident and calm.
• indulis- "Gifted". Obedient and kind, somewhat shy and indecisive, sympathetic.
• Karolis- "Human". Has a simple and open character, straightforward.
• Kristaps“He who carries Christ in his heart.” Calmness and wisdom of judgments are characteristic. It is difficult for Kristaps to prove himself.
• Kazimeras- "Hurricane". Reasonable, smart, never in a hurry.
• Lynas- "Linen". Lynas is easily embarrassed or upset, he is a deeply feeling person, prone to excessive introspection.
• Ludvikas- Famous Warrior. Ludvikas is a very capable and talented child with an overabundance of energy, growing up, he chooses creative and active professions.
• Leonas- "A lion". Brave, responsible, has great mental abilities.
• Laimonis- "Happy". Has a light and cheerful character, naive, sincere.
• Liepa- "Linden". Slow and unhurried, distrustful, does everything with caution.
• Maris- "God of War". Maris is reasonable, sociable and rarely loses his temper, but in anger he is scary.
• Marijus- "Mature". Marijus is determined and good-looking, grows up as a family man and a caring father.
• Mirdza- "Glittering". A strong and cheerful person with an active life position.
• Mykolas“He who is like God.” It has a stubborn character, strong, hardworking and executive.
• Paulus- analogue of the name "Paul" - "Younger son." Paulus is shy, obedient, jealous and touchy at heart.
• Peteris- "The Rock". A reliable friend, overly stubborn, sometimes arrogant.
• Paulis- "Little". Sociable and capricious, sometimes spoiled and selfish.
• Petras- "Stone". Has an open character, reasonable and practical.
• Prankiskus- "Free". He quickly finds friends, is inventive, constantly feels the need for novelty and new experiences.
• Raymondas- "Wise Defender". Observant and cunning, has a strong energy.
• Remunas- "Calm". Remunas is characterized by warmth, responsibility, softness of character.
• Steponas- Crowned. Optimistic, reaches great heights, does not tolerate loneliness.
• Thomas- "Twin". The owner of a secretive and controversial nature, firm in his decisions.
• Theodors- "God's gift". Strong in spirit, sociable, ready to independently cope with any of his troubles.
• Uldis- "Rich". It has dual features - openness and distrust, sociability and resentment. Jealous and smart.
• Henrikas- "Housekeeper". Differs in complaisant character, intelligence and seriousness.
• Herkus- "Owner". Economical and mobile, has many skills and knowledge, practices.
• Zentis- "Diligent." Businesslike, talented and quick-witted since childhood.
• Eleda- "From Greece". Silent, polite and courteous, he manifests himself in sports, music.
• Edgars- Lucky Warrior. Cheerful, smart, but lives in a hurry.
• Juris- "Marine". Good-natured, cheerful, artistic and ambitious.
• Janis (Jan)- "God's Mercy" He is not always initiative, sometimes he goes with the flow, he achieves his goals slowly and stubbornly.

Latvian names include a wide variety of national and borrowed names. All of them have a rich and interesting meaning, as well as a sound familiar to many, which served as their wide distribution in Europe and in Russia. Latvian male names are harmonious and pleasantly combined with many common surnames.

Latvian surnames

Latvian surnames are surnames whose carriers are Latvians. Most surnames of Latvian origin personify a particular subject.

About half of all Latvian surnames have Latvian roots: Berzins, Kalnins, Ozolins. Less common in Latvia are German, Swedish and Polish surnames, in recent years the number of Russian surnames has increased. A typical feature of Latvian surnames is the exchange of endings corresponding to the gender of the owner of the surname. Inflected masculine endings are usually -s, -š, -is, but inflected feminine endings are usually -a, -e. foreign names in the Latvian language are reproduced according to their pronunciation of the original language and include the grammatical system of the Latvian language. By origin, surnames can be divided into the following groups:

1. borrowed,
2. hybrid,
3. primordially Latvian surnames, which usually have parallel appellatives.

Most Latvian surnames differ by gender. For example: Jēkabsons, Auziņš, Alunāns, Apaļais, Neretnieks (masculine) and Jēkabsone, Auziņa, Alunāne, Apaļā, Neretniece (feminine).

History

Until the 14th century

From the documents of the Middle Ages and chronicles, the transcription of individual Old Latvian words into Latin language- Meluke, Paike, Russinus, Talibaldus, Vestardo, Utile, Dravestove, Vesdots, Waridote, Darbeslave, Kaire. The small peoples of the Old Latvians, like all other European peoples, did not use surnames or family words. Instead, nicknames were used, indicating the status of its owner and place of origin. In the Latin chronicle of Henry of Latvia, the following surnames (names) are mentioned: King Viesceķis (Rus. Vyachko ) from Koknese (rex Vetseke de Kukonoyse), king of Visvaldis (rus. Vsevolod ) from Gersika (Vissewalde rex de Gerzika), in turn, Kaupo (Russian Kaupo) is named the king and the Turaid Liv senior (Caupo quasi rex et senior Lyvonum de Thoreida). Livonian feudal lords for the names of their vassals used to attach also the nickname of their ethnic origin, for example Gerhards Līvs (Gerardus Livo), Varidots from Antin (Waridote de Antine), Ikšķiles Konrāds (Conradus de Ykescole) (Ikskile Konrads). Over time, these nicknames became the names of noble old Baltic families, such as fon Līveni (von Lieven) or fon Ikšķiļi (von Uexküll).

XIV-XIX centuries

19th century

The most common process of issuing Latvian surnames took place in 1826 in Lifland, in 1835 in Courland and in 1866 in Vitebsk province (in Latgale). In the largest part of Latvia, surnames were issued by the Germans, and the spelling of surnames corresponded to the German speech of graphics and spelling, for example - Anna Kārkliņ (Anna Kahrkling). In Latgale, Polish-oriented nobles and priests assigned Polish surnames to the peasants, and Russian-oriented nobles - Russian surnames.

The largest part of the issued surnames at that time belonged to the following main groups:

1. words that denote positions, titles, nationality, animals or objects of nature, for example: Kalējs, Mucenieks, Melderis, Dzirkalis, Arājs, Sējējs, Podnieks, Ratnieks, Deģis, Bondars, Sondors, Namiķis, Jumiķis, Ķesteris, Kantors, Muižnieks, Stārasts , Vagars, Bajārs, Ķēniņš, Ķeizars, Barons , Vaivads, Polis, Zviedrs, Vācietis , Krievs , Leitis, Kalns, Leja, Celms, Bērzs, Ozols , Vītols , Liepa , Vilks, Stutkis, Lācis, Briedis , Balodis , Vanags , Rubenis , Mednis, Avens, Sils, Apse, Alksnis, Priede, Vējš, Gulbis , Gailis;
2. words attached to diminutive form-iņš, -iņa, -ītis, -īte e.g.
3. Words to which the suffix -nieks, -ietis have been added, for example, Lejnieks, Bisenieks, Kalnenieks, Ozolnieks, Priednieks, Kurzemnieks, Ezernieks, Galenieks, Saulietis, Pakalnietis;
4. words, to which in many regions have been added endings of all kinds -āns, -ēns, -ārs, - ums, -uks, -ājs, -ējs, -užs, -avs, -ens, -ants, -ars, -arts, -āts, -ents, -onts, -uts, -ūns, -ons, -eiks, e.g. , Sukuts, Meškūns, Bļodons, Rupeiks;
5. Latvian compound words in which the second part contained -gals, -kalns, -mals, -miķelis, -jānis, -arājs, for example, Laukgals, Zeltkalns, Rožkalns, Purmals, Silamiķelis, Mazjānis, Milzarājs;
6. German words that denote positions, animals, trees, or other objects, such as Šmits (blacksmith), Meijers (steward), Millers (miller), Beķeris (baker), Vēbers or Vēvers (weaver), Bauers (peasant), Šulcs (senior village), Švēde (Swede), Sakss (Saxon), Voits (judge), Brūveris (brewer), Šlesers (locksmith), Fišers (fisherman), Krīgers (fighter), Pastors (priest), Zanders (zander), Volfs or Vulfs (wolf), Hiršs ( deer), Linde (linden), Eihe (oak), Veide (willow), Bušs (bush), Cāns (goose), Plāte (flat bowl), Švāns (dove), Šperliņš (sparrow), Birks (birch), Zonne ( sun), Šterns (star), Taube (dove), Veiss (white), Švarcs (black), Brauns (brown), Grīns (green);
7. German compound words in which the second part contained -manis (husband), -sons (son), -šteins (stone), -bahs (stream), -dorfs (village), -bergs (mountain), -tāls (bottom) , -lands (earth), -felds (field), -baums (tree), -valds (forest), -šmits (blacksmith), -meisters (master), e.g. Blaumanis, Andersons, Kirhenšteins, Švarcbahs, Bendorfs, Veinbergs , Dambergs, Olbergs, Rozentāls, Neilands, Freidenfelds, Veidenbaums, Kronvalds, Rēvalds, Siliņšmits, Būmeisters;
8. Polish and Belarusian names, to which the ownership suffix -skis, -ičs, -ics, -čiks, -ko was added, for example, Latkovskis, Lazovskis, Kovaļevskis, Dombrovskis, Jankovskis, Ratkēvičs, Jurēvics, Jankevics, Baldunčiks, Šileiko, Budreiko, Andreiko ;
9. Russian words to which the suffix -ovs, -evs, -ins has been added, for example, Tretjakovs, Ivanovs, Latiševs, Logins.

20th century

After the founding of the Republic of Latvia, Latvian surnames were discussed at the meetings of the Linguistics Commission. There were developed rules for the correct spelling of surnames in Latvian documents. In 1927, the Saeima adopted "Likumu par vārdu un uzvārdu rakstīšanu Latvijas pasēs"; where two decisions of the government Likumu un valdības rīkojumu krājums are published. Riga, 1920, Nr. 209; Likumu un Ministru kabineta noteikumu krājums. Riga, 1939, Nr. 221, after which the surnames began to be written in accordance with the grammar of the Latvian language.

In 2006, the court ruled that every resident of Latvia has the right to change his surname. Since this year, an active process of replacing surnames, including Russian ones with Latvian ones, has begun. Until that time, the law allowed the change of surnames only under a certain pretext, and non-Latvians were not allowed to change their surname to Latvian.

Latvianization of Russian surnames

The surname in the documents cannot be indicated in Russian transcription and it must be transcribed according to the rules of the Latvian language. Sometimes in this case the Russian meaning of the word is lost, such as Myshkin - Miškins. Several times, Russian Latvians filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights, arguing this with confusion in documents and humiliation dignity, but in all cases they lost. Like, for example, a family with the surname Shishkin. The indicated method of transcription (Šiškina and Šiškins) was not contested by the Shishkins. They were not satisfied with the way their names were written in the machine readable zone of the passport, located at the bottom of the same page and consisting of two continuous sequences of capital letters, numbers and symbols. There, the surnames took on the form SISKINA and SISKINS. The first and third letters S have been lost diacritic(). The Shishkins filed a lawsuit with the Central District Court of Riga against the Department of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, where they were denied. Then they filed an appeal to the next judicial instance - the Riga District Court. The Riga Regional Court agreed with the applicants' arguments and granted their motion. In a court order dated 17 March 1999, it was stated that the transcriptions SISKINA and SISKINS did not match their real names and that the machine readable strings should read SHISHKINA and SHISHKIN. The Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs was ordered to issue new passports to the applicants with corrected data. However, the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs appealed this decision to the Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia. The Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia rejected the cassation complaint of the Office and upheld the previous judgment. At the same time, the Senate referred to Resolution No. 174 of May 14, 1996 "On the spelling and identification of names and surnames in documents." According to article 2 of this regulation, the transcription of surnames of foreign origin should, as far as possible, be as close as possible to their pronunciation in the original language. However, on February 7, 2000, the chairman of the Department of Civil Cases of the Senate of the Supreme Court of Latvia lodged a protest against this decision, and by a decision of February 23, 2000. The Senate granted this protest. Shishkina appealed to the Chairman of the Supreme Court with a complaint about the protest of the Chairman of the Department for Civil Cases and the decision of the Senate to satisfy it. In a letter dated 19 June 2000 the President of the Supreme Court replied to the applicant that the Senate's decision on the interpretation of any judicial decision was not subject to further appeal and that the decision of 23 February 2000 was in accordance with the law. Then the Shishkins appealed to the European Court, where the case “Shishkina and Shishkin v. Latvia” arose, where they also lost the case. Then also Ruslan Pankratov (Ruslans Pankratovs) filed a complaint with the European Court, but according to the general transcription of his last name, but he also lost the case. . After extensive coverage of the problem in the media and the appeal of deputies, it was allowed to indicate the transcription of the name and surname in Latin on the second page of the passport without using the rules of Latvian spelling.

Common Latvian given names and surnames

see also

Notes

Literature

• E.Blese. Latviešu personu vārdu un uzvārdu studijas. Riga: A. Gulbis, 1929. 1.d. Vecākie personu vārdi un uzvārdi (XIII-XVI gs.). - 359 lpp. (kopsavilkums vāciski)
• V. E. Staltman. Latvian anthroponymy. Surnames [res. ed. A. V. Superanskaya]; Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Institute of Linguistics. Moscow: Nauka, 1981. - 227 p. (V.Staltmane "Latviešu antroponīmija". Maskava, 1981., krieviski)
• K. Silins. Latviešu personvārdu vārdnīca. Riga: Zinatne, 1990. 346 lpp. ISBN 5-7966-0278-0
• O. Buss. Personvārdi, vietvārdi un citi vārdi: izpētes pakāpieni. Riga: LU Latviešu valodas institūts, 2003. - 310 lpp. ISBN 9984-7421-0-5 (latviski, krieviski, vāciski

Sources

• Decree of the government of the Courland province on the issuance of surnames to Latvian peasants. October 29, 1834. // Kurzemes guberņas valdes rīkojums par uzvārdu došanu latviešu zemniekiem. 1834. gada 29. oktobris on the site

A name is an integral attribute of a person, which is inherent in every civilization, regardless of its level of development. With it, you can often identify a person, as well as find out nationality and confessional conditioning. But, of course, this is not always possible.

It is rather the influence of fashion and personal preferences of parents. This article will present some Latvian names. Their roots go back to ancient times, in fact, like all Latvian culture.

Nominal categories

All names can be divided into the following groups:

• according to gender, male or female are distinguished;
• according to the geography of a person’s residence, he can be called a native Latvian name or one that came from other peoples;
• by belonging to a particular religion, pagan names and Christian ones are distinguished.

However, if we turn to history, then the last two groups are united, because initially Latvian names are mostly pagan, while many foreign ones are Christian. This can be explained by the fact that Christianity came to the lands of Latvia only in the 12th century. After that, many parents continued to call their children pagan names or even invented names for their children on their own.

Male names

Often, Latvian male names can be identified by the ending -с (-s). This ending is common to all groups of names. It may seem that the Latvian boys were called too eloquently. Therefore, it is necessary to begin to understand the meanings of a particular name. Latvians sincerely believe that the name plays an important role in the formation of a person's character. If parents wanted their child to be diligent and diligent, they called him Zentis. In devout families, boys were often called Laimonis, which means "blessed".

Why are children called by this or that name?

It is quite popular in Latvia to call boys names associated with environment. For example, Dzintars (amber) or Druvis (Niva).

Today you can hear the names that in the old days were called the great military leaders who fought in crusades. The most common of these names are Viestrus and Talivaldis.

Basically, all foreign names came to the Latvian language with the development of Christianity. Indigenous Latvians mainly profess Catholicism and Lutheranism, so Christian names came to these lands from the Germans, Swedes and Poles. Sometimes these names are consonant with Russians. For example, the Hebrew name John in Latvia sounds like Janis, and we have Ivan, which means "Divine grace." The name Peteris (meaning "rock") came to Latvia from Ancient Greece. Paulus is an analogue of Pavel. In the Russian version, this name sounds similar.

The Latvian name Aivars means "warrior". This name came to the Latvian lands from Ancient Scandinavia. From England came the name Edgars (rich warrior), from Germany - Uldis (powerful).

Some Latvian male names differ from Russian only in pronunciation. For example, in Russian there is a rule to abbreviate names, while in Latvian names are converted into an affectionate form and therefore become much longer than the original ones.

Women's names

Many indigenous female names came from ancient pagan mythology. For example, Laima (the patroness of happiness) and Lauma (the magician). Latvian names, especially women's ones, often describe only the positive bright qualities of its owner. For example, Maiga is affectionate, Ilga is darling, Mirzda is brilliant.

Many Latvian names, female and male, owe to Christianity. Especially popular in Latvia are such options as Anna (favor), Christina (Christian), Maria (mistress), Inese (pure).

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Latvian language came female names from Lithuania and Scandinavia. Inguna, Daina, Biruta - these Latvian names are quite rare. Not so often, but still there are names that are derived from male ones. Mostly use a diminutive or caressing form. For example, Melita turns into Melitina.

You can choose any name for the girl, because there are no canons in the Lutheran church. Often parents remake names on their own, including all their imagination.

It is especially popular among Latvians to call girls Anitas. But this name is not as harmless as it might seem. Parents need to learn its meaning in advance.

Popular name Anita

You can’t call Anita cute, because her distinguishing features are unimaginable irritability, perseverance, and also excessive nervousness. Girls with this name from childhood do not recognize authorities. They like to defend their opinions and views to the end, at school they often argue with teachers and object to adults. Such a girl has great willpower, an analytical mindset, and an excellent memory. In addition, Anita has an incomparable flair. The girl is extremely temperamental, and in life she is very independent and difficult to influence. She always resists anyone who wants to convince her or teach her something, and Anita will not listen to advice, although sometimes these same tips are indispensable and necessary. After examining the description in detail, we can conclude that given name It's more of a curse than a blessing. But for some reason, Latvians are increasingly giving the name Anita to their newborn babies.

Fashion dictates its own rules

Today, the popularity of original traditional names is falling sharply, as parents prefer to name their children, following not folk traditions, but fashion. A lot of names appeared in everyday life, which did not exist at all before. They are simply derived from others. Sadly, some beautiful Latvian names are on the verge of extinction. But quite often in Latvia you can meet Anastasius, Victoria and Alexandrov.

It is noteworthy that patronymics are not used in Latvian. Only first and last name. But if Latvians are mentioned in Russian-language sources, then this person identifier is also mentioned on a par with others.

Latvians are the main population of the former Latvian SSR. The total number of Latvians is 1.5 million people.

The Latvian anthroponymic system is binomial, that is, it consists of a first name and a surname, for example: husband. Janis Kalnins, female Mirdza Ozola. There are no patronymics in Latvian anthroponymy. Father's name in the genitive form (for example, Arturs Petera d. Kalns’Arthur, son of Pēteris Kalns’, Elza Karfa t. Liepa'Elza, daughter of Karlis Liepa') is recorded in documents for identification purposes, but in Everyday life in the sphere of both official business and everyday everyday communication is not used.

When addressing, Latvians call each other in the family circle by their first names and in a more formal setting by their last names; to distinguish namesakes, it is possible to add a name to a surname. In official courtesy or when mentioned in our time with a surname, the words are used biedrs, biedre'comrade', for example: biedrs KfaviriS(im. pad.), biedri K\avin(call. pad.); Biedre Jansone(in the feminine vocative similar in form to the nominative). When addressing persons with an honorary title, holding a high position, to express respect, reverence instead of a combination + surname ”often prefer to call their position, title, rank, etc. in combination with the word biedrs, for example, biedri profesorl 1 'comrade professor!', biedrs directors'comrade director', Biedre lectore'comrade lecturer' (appeal to a woman), etc. Words kungs'mister', kundze'Mistress', jaunkundze'young lady' (Kalninakungs, Kalniriakundze, Kalnina jaunkundze) at present, they have left the active fund of the vocabulary of native speakers of the literary language and are used very rarely; socially and stylistically they are perceived as anachronisms.

Speaking in Russian with Russians or foreigners, Latvians more often than is customary in Russian use the combination "comrade+ surname" (Comrade Grabis, Comrade Reformatsky), and also, along with this combination, they also use a combination of a name with a patronymic, formed according to the model of the Russian language: Artur Yanovich, Vallia Fritsevna, Daina Ernestovna.

The vast majority of Latvians were Lutherans, and only in Eastern Latvia in Latgale 2 did Catholicism survive.

Lutherans do not have canonical names 3 , so parents are completely free to choose a name 4 . The name can be traditional (common, widespread, well-known), such as Janis, Gustavs, leva, Dzidra, but it can also be invented -. Kiris, Maranda, Lineta etc. Moreover, in the metric, a derivative form of the name (which will thereby turn into the official one) can also be recorded as official, for example: Andrisl/Andrsjiapnay from the original Andrejs, Talis - Talivaldis, Valdis - Valdemars, Gusts - Gustavs, Guntis - Guntars, Iza - Izabella, Inga - Ingrida, Sandra - Aleksandra etc. Thus, various morphological forms of one name acquire the rights of independent names, for example: Irena - Irene, Rata - Rute, Gundaris - Gundars.

This procedure for choosing a name among Latvians (according to the religion of the former Lutherans) is equally characteristic of the Soviet and pre-Soviet periods.

The vocabulary of names was different until the last decades in Catholic Latgale. When a child is baptized in a church (church), parents to this day can choose a name only from a limited list of canonical names, while the child's record in the registry office makes it possible to freely choose names. During the Soviet period, the number of cases when parents are satisfied with the registration of the child only in the registry office increases, as a result of which the number of non-canonical names in Latgale increases significantly. So, instead of typically Latgalian Catholic names like Ignats, Benedikts, Jezups, Genoveva, Tereza, Vanda, Bronislava(cf. Polish. Ignacy, Benedykt, Jozef, Genowefa, Teresa, Wanda, Bronislawa) names appear that were previously found only among Lutherans: Aivars, Ivars, Valdis, Mirdza, Arija, Ruta.

By their origin, Latvian names represent several layers.

1) Old borrowings of European (mostly) Christian names that have fallen in the Latvian language simultaneously with the spread of Christianity (starting from the 13th century). These anthroponyms, as a rule, came through the German language, having undergone more or less significant phonetic, morphological and spelling changes in the Latvian language, for example: Janis, Peteris, Ernests, leva, Kristine, Ilze(cf. German. Johann = Johannes = John, Peter, Ernst, Ewa, Christine, Itsa = Ilse).

2) The process of borrowing foreign names has not been completed; it continues up to the present day, expanding the range of its sources. So, in the XX century. vocabulary of Latvian names was replenished with Scandinavian names, for example Egils, Gunars, Inguna, Jngrida, Astrida, as well as Lithuanian, for example Vitauts, Gedimins, Qirts, Daina, Biruta, origin.

3) The formation of personal names based on the Latvian language (national names) is typical of the 20th century. Most of these names have not yet lost their connection with their respective appellatives, for example: Ziedonis('spring'), Austria('dawn'), Mirdza (mirdzet'sparkle'), Dzintars('January'), Centis (centigs'diligent'), Ilga (ilgas'dream'), Laimonis (laime'happiness'), Vizbulite('snowdrop'), Maiga('gentle'), etc.

The national names also include a small number of names of Latvian tribal leaders of the 13th century. (who fought the German crusaders), such as Viesturs, Talivaldis etc. Together with the names taken from the Latvian mythology - Laima(name of the goddess of happiness), Lauma (lauma'nymph') and others - they were revived in the 20th century.

Latvian names are not rich in derived informal forms. More often abbreviated forms (Talivaldis - Talis, Margarita - Marga, Gundega - Gunta, Guntars - Guntis 5) there are forms of names with diminutive suffixes -iris, -schA, -itis, -ite: Janis - Janitis, Karlis - Karlitis, Dzidra - Dzidrina, Melita - Melitina.

In dialects and colloquial speech, there are other transformations of names intended for use in the sphere of everyday communication, such as Peteris — Pecis. Pica, Pics; Janis - Janka, Jancis, Jankus; Jekabs - Jeska, Jecis; Andrews - Andzs, Andzus; Otilija-Ote, Oca etc. However, the latter forms are stylistically brightly colored and normalized, stylistically neutral, literary language rarely penetrate.

The history of Latvian surnames is small - about a century and a half.

According to their origin, they can be divided into the following groups:

1) borrowed, a) mainly from German or through German (Bergmanis, Svarcs, Neilands, Svans, Rihters, Johansons; cf. German Bergmann, Neuland, Schwann, Richter, Johanttsahn) and b) less commonly from Slavic languages (Jablonskis, Adamovics, Kaminskis, Jurevics, Kazaks, Palkavnieks, Orlovskis, Pecerskis);

2) hybrid, i.e. surnames consisting of two components - Latvian and borrowed, for example: Lielmanis (liels'big' + German Mann), Strautmanis (strauts'stream'), Jansons (Janis + German Sohn), Plavinskis (plava'meadow'), Purvinskis (purvs'swamp'), Klavinskis (klava'maple'), etc.;

3) original Latvian 6 surnames, which usually have parallel appellatives, for example: Abele'apple tree', Abols'apple', Akmentins'pebble', Alksnis'alder', Alms'deer', Amatnieks'artisan', Arajs'plowman', Auns'ram', AuninS'lamb', Balodis'dove', Baloditis'dove', Kalns'mountain', Kalnins'hill', Ozols'oak', Ozolins'oak', Liera'faces', Ridzenieks'Riga', Lacis'bear'.

Most Latvian surnames differ by gender, for example, m.p.: Jekabsons, Auzins, Alunans, Apalais, Neretnieks; well. p.: Jekabsone, Auzina, Alunane, Apala, Neretniece.

1 Words like professors, academicians'academician', etc. in polite speech can replace the word biedrs, for example: professors Jansons, academicians Endzelins.
2 Latgale in the 16th century, that is, during the period of the Reformation, was under the rule of Poland.
3 This is explained by the fact that the Protestant religion recognizes only the triune god as a saint.
4 This applies not only to the registration of the child in the registry office, but also in the Lutheran church (kirche).
5 It is necessary to stipulate that all listed abbreviated forms - talis, Marga, Cunta, Guntis- are also found as official (i.e., full) names.
6 The number of surnames of this group increased sharply in the last years of bourgeois power in Latvia, when a special decree was issued allowing the change of surnames of non-Latvian origin and dissonant into Latvian and euphonious.

The Latvian anthroponymic system is binomial, that is, it consists of a given name and a surname, for example: male Janis Kalnins, female Mirdza Ozola. There are no patronymics in Latvian anthroponymy. The name of the father in the genitive form (for example, Arturs Petera d. Kalns "Arture, son of Peteris Kalns", Elza Karjam. Pera "Elza, daughter of Karlis Liepa") is recorded in documents for identification of the person, however, in everyday life in the sphere as an official business, and everyday communication is not used.

When addressing, Latvians call each other in the family circle by their first names and in a more formal setting by their last names; to distinguish namesakes, it is possible to add a name to a surname. In official courtesy or when mentioning a surname in our time, the words biedrs, biedre "comrade" are used, for example: biedrs KlaviriS (nominative case), biedri Kavin (vocative); biedre Jansone (in the feminine, the vocative is the same as the nominative). When addressing persons with an honorary title, occupying a high position, to express respect, respect, instead of the combination “biedrs + surname”, they often prefer to call their post, title, title. in combination with the word biedrs, for example, biedri profesorl "comrade professor!", biedrs direktors "comrade director", biedre lektore "comrade lecturer" (appeal to a woman). The words kungs "master", kundze "lady", jaunkundze "lady" (Kalninakungs, Kalni na kundze, Kdlnina jaunkundze) are now out of the active vocabulary of native speakers of the literary language and are used very rarely; socially and stylistically they are perceived as anachronisms.

When speaking in Russian with Russians or foreigners, Latvians more often than is customary in Russian use the combination “comrade + surname” (Comrade Grabis, Comrade Reformatsky), and also, along with this combination, also use the combination of the name with the patronymic, formed according to the model Russian language: Artur Yanovich, Vallia Fritsevna, Daina Ernestovna.

The vast majority of Latvians were Lutherans, and only in Eastern Latvia in Latgale did Catholicism survive.

Lutherans do not have canonical names, so parents are completely free to choose a name. The name can be traditional (ordinary, widespread, well-known), such as Janis, Gustavs, leva, Dzidra, but it can also be invented: Kiris, Maranda, Lineta, etc. Moreover, in the metric as an official a derivative form of the name can also be written (which will thereby become official), for example: Andrisl / Andrs along with the original Andrejs, Tnlis - Talivaldis, Valdis - Valdemars, Gusts - Gustavs, Guntis - Guntars, Iza - Izabella, Inga - Ingrida, Sandra - Alexandra. So various morphological forms of one name acquire the rights of independent names, for example: Irena - Irene, Ruta - Rute, Gundaris - Gundars.

This procedure for choosing a name among Latvians (according to the religion of the former Lutherans) is equally characteristic of the Soviet and pre-Soviet periods.

The vocabulary of names was different until the last decades in Catholic Latgale. When a child is baptized in a church (church), parents to this day can choose a name only from a limited list of canonical names, while the child's record in the registry office makes it possible to freely choose names. During the Soviet period, the number of cases when parents are satisfied with the registration of the child only in the registry office increases, as a result of which the number of non-canonical names in Latgale increases significantly. So, instead of typical Latgalian Catholic names like Ignats, Benedikts, Jezups, Genoveva, Tereza, Wanda, Bronislava (Polish Ignacy, Benedykt, Jozef, Geno-wefa, Teresa, Wanda, Bronislawa), there appear names that were previously found only among Lutherans: Aivars, Ivars, Valdis, Mirdza, Arija, Ruta.

By their origin, Latvian names represent several layers.

1.Old borrowings of European (mostly) Christian names that entered the Latvian language simultaneously with the spread of Christianity. These anthroponyms, as a rule, came through the German language, having undergone more or less significant phonetic, morphological and spelling changes in the Latvian language, for example: Janis, Peteris, Ernests, leva, Kristine, Ilze (German Johann - Johannes - John, Peter, Ernst , Ewa, Christine, Ilsa-llse).

2. The process of borrowing foreign names is not completed; it continues up to the present day, expanding the range of its sources. So, in the 20th century, the dictionary of Latvian names was replenished with names of Scandinavian, for example Egils, Gunars, Inguna, Ingrida, Astrida, as well as Lithuanian, for example Vitauts, Qedimins, Girts, Daina, Biruta, origin.

3. The formation of personal names based on the Latvian language (national names) is typical for the 20th century. Most of these names have not yet lost touch with the corresponding appellatives, for example: Ziedonis (“spring”), Ausma (“dawn”), Mirdza (mird-zet " sparkle"), Dzintars ("January"), Cenlis (centigs "diligent"), Ilga (ilgas "dream"), Laimonis (laime "happiness"), Vizbulite ("snowdrop"), Maiga ("tender").

National names also include a small number of names of Latvian tribal leaders of the 13th century (who fought against the German crusaders), such as Viesturs, Talivaldis. Together with the names taken from Latvian mythology - Laima (the name of the goddess of happiness), Lauma (lauma "nymph") - they were revived in the 20th century.

Latvian names are not rich in derived informal forms. More often than abbreviated forms (Talivaldis - Talis, Margarita - Marga, Gundega - Gunta, Guntars - Guntis) there are forms of names with diminutive suffixes -ins, -ta, -itis, -ite: Janis - Janitis, Karlis - Karlitis, Dzidra - Dzidrlpa, Melita - Melitina.

In dialects and colloquial speech, there are other transformations of names intended for use in the sphere of everyday communication, such as Peteris - Pecis. Ryosa, Pics; Janis - Janka, Jancis, Jankus; Jekabs - Jeska, Jecis-Andrejs - Andzs, Andzus; Otilija - Ote, Oca, etc. However, the latter forms are stylistically brightly colored and rarely penetrate into a normalized, stylistically neutral, literary language.