Today, thousands of names are considered popular, but it's very difficult to find real Russian names, because a lot is taken from other countries and cultures. They were borrowed from different peoples and were awarded in someone's honor.
Earlier, our ancestors appropriated each other common names, which described the character of a person, his dignity and shortcomings. For example, Pock, Brave, Koschey or Malaya. This process was based on current life events, the environment and the habits of men. Some were compared to animals and birds, such as the Falcon, the Eagle or the Wolf. Often we can see the reflection of these names in surnames (Sokolov, Orlov, Belov and so on). Old Russian names were so many that it is impossible to list. Each was given special meaning and meaning. The character of man could be understood already by his name. Unfortunately, their number has greatly decreased with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, after which the church began to displace Russian culture, imposing Byzantine. The era of ancient Roman, Hebrew, Syrian and Egyptian names began.
Already by the 19th century, the names of Old Russian were completely superseded. Only from the beginning of the 20th century people again begin to call their children "relatives" for them names. But, sadly, the meaning and sound have changed, the influence of foreigners has left its mark in the history of mankind. But some old Russian names of boys are popular and today, for example, Vyacheslav, Vadim, Ivan, Miloslav, Yaroslav, Bogdan and others. Each of them characterizes glorious, strong and courageous men.
Strangely enough, the first names were completely unattractive: Nekras, Kriv, Evil. So men were called so that they were protected from unkind people and evil forces. The second name was given in adolescence, after the youth formed a character. Depending on this, he was given a name that he could be proud of, or vice versa - a brand for life. Those children, who were considered a miracle of God, were named after the gods, for example, Yarilo, Lada. There were also cases when the boys were called Borshch, Nut or Pike. Old Russian masculine names were also dibasic: Tikhomir, Dobrozhir, Gostomysl, Yaropolk and others. They were given to their master for the best qualities that he showed throughout his life. Some of them were strictly forbidden by the church and are unknown to this day.
Unfortunately, today very rarely parents give the child the old name of their people. Some consider them ugly or unmilitary, but they are part of the history of our people. Some Old Russian names remain a mystery, while others are not known to people at the moment. In those days, when the church banned the call of their children according to old customs, people did not quit the hope that it could severely undermine the entire church plan. Especially if a man was named after the sun god, it meant that not everything was lost. Therefore, people were simply forbidden.
The main thing is that the names carried secret meaning. For some, these were amulets protecting from misfortune and bad people, for others - gratitude for wisdom and patience, and for others - punishment for stupidity and misdemeanors.