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Central Europe

Slovak names

58 names used by Slovak families, arranged by the age in which each first appears, oldest first.

AllGirlsBoys

The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100

AnnaGirlGreek and Latin form of Hebrew Ḥannah, 'grace, favour'.Biblical · peak 1891

Ancient Greece800 BC to 146 BC

HelenaGirlGreek Helenē, of uncertain origin; a link to words for 'torch' or 'light' is often claimed but unproven.Greece · peak 1899

Ancient Rome750 BC to AD 476

DominicaGirlLate Latin dominica 'of the Lord', also used for Sunday (dies dominica).Rome · peak 1911

NataliaGirlFrom natalis 'of birth, birthday', especially dies natalis Domini 'Christmas Day'.Rome · peak 2020

RomanaGirlLatin romana 'Roman woman'.Rome · peak 1904

The Early Middle Ages400 to 800

BoženaGirlFrom Slavic bog 'god', with the sense 'divine' or 'blessed by God'.Early Medieval · forgotten

DrahomíraGirlFrom Slavic drag 'dear, precious' and mir 'peace, world'.Early Medieval · forgotten

IgorBoyFrom Old Norse Ingvarr, from the god Yngvi and varr 'watchful' or herr 'army'.Early Medieval

IvanBoyFrom Hebrew Yohanan 'Yahweh is gracious', through Greek Ioannes.Early Medieval · peak 2004

JaromírBoyFrom jar 'fierce, ardent, spring' and mir 'peace, world' (some scholars think -mir in old names first reflected…Early Medieval

LudmilaGirlFrom Slavic ľud 'people' and mil 'dear, gracious'.Early Medieval

MariaGirlFrom Hebrew Miryam, of uncertain meaning; many explanations ('bitter', 'beloved', an Egyptian root) have been…Early Medieval · peak 1966

MethodiusBoyLikely from Greek methodos 'pursuit, method'.Early Medieval · forgotten

OldřichBoyCzech form of German Udalrich, from uodal 'inheritance' and rihhi 'ruler'.Early Medieval · forgotten

OlgaGirlFrom Old Norse Helga, from heilagr 'holy, sacred', brought by the Varangian rulers of Kievan Rus.Early Medieval · peak 1897

RostislavBoyFrom Slavic rasti 'to grow' and slava 'glory'.Early Medieval

SvätoplukBoyFrom Slavic svęt 'holy, strong' and pъlkъ 'host, army'.Early Medieval · forgotten

VladimirBoyFrom Slavic vlad 'rule' and mir 'peace, world' (some scholars think -mir in old names first reflected Germanic -mar…Early Medieval · peak 2016

VojtěchBoyFrom Slavic voj 'war, warrior' and těcha 'comfort, joy'.Early Medieval

VratislavBoyFrom Slavic vratiti 'to return' and slava 'glory'.Early Medieval · forgotten

The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450

BarboraGirlCzech form of Barbara, from Greek barbaros 'foreign'.Middle Ages

BlankaGirlFrom French Blanche, from Germanic blank 'white, shining'.Middle Ages

BogdanBoyFrom Slavic bog 'god' and dan 'given': 'given by God'.Middle Ages

BogumiłaGirlFrom Slavic bog 'god' and mil 'dear', so 'dear to God'.Middle Ages · forgotten

BohumilBoyFrom Slavic bog 'god' and mil 'dear': 'dear to God'.Middle Ages · forgotten

DagmarGirlUsually explained as the Danish form of the Slavic name Dragomir(a), 'precious peace'; the popular Danish reading…Middle Ages · peak 1895

DorotaGirlPolish form of Dorothea, from Greek doron 'gift' and theos 'god'.Middle Ages

DušanBoyFrom Slavic duša 'soul'.Middle Ages

EliškaGirlCzech diminutive of Alžběta (Elizabeth), from Hebrew Elisheva, usually read 'my God is an oath'.Middle Ages

FilipBoyFrom Greek philos 'loving' and hippos 'horse'.Middle Ages · peak 2012

IlonaGirlHungarian form of Helen, taken into Polish, Czech and Slovak.Middle Ages · peak 1940

JakubBoyFrom Hebrew Ya'aqov, explained in Genesis by aqev 'heel'; scholars often read it as 'may God protect'.Middle Ages · peak 2008

JanBoyDutch form of Johannes, from Hebrew Yohanan 'Yahweh is gracious'.Middle Ages · peak 1954

JaroslavBoyCzech form of Yaroslav, from jar 'fierce, ardent' and slava 'glory'.Middle Ages

KazimierzBoyFrom Slavic kazi 'destroy, spoil' and mir 'peace'; the popular reading 'proclaimer of peace' (from kazać 'to…Middle Ages · forgotten

MatejBoySlovak and Croatian form of Matthew, from Hebrew Mattityahu 'gift of Yahweh'.Middle Ages

MilošBoyFrom Slavic mil 'dear, gracious' with the suffix -oš.Middle Ages

PavelBoyCzech, Slovak, Russian and Bulgarian form of Paul, from Latin paulus 'small'.Middle Ages · peak 2008

TomášBoyCzech form of Thomas, from Aramaic ta'oma 'twin'.Middle Ages · peak 2003

YaroslavaGirlFeminine of Yaroslav, from Slavic yar 'fierce, ardent' and slava 'glory'.Middle Ages

ZdeněkBoyShort form of the old name Zdeslav; the first element is unclear and slava means 'glory'.Middle Ages

ZofiaGirlFrom Greek sophia 'wisdom'.Middle Ages · peak 2011

ZuzannaGirlFrom Hebrew Shoshannah 'lily' (possibly 'lotus').Middle Ages

The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837

DanicaGirlSouth Slavic danica 'morning star', the planet Venus, from dan 'day'.Revolutions · peak 2007

MilanBoyFrom Slavic mil 'dear, gracious'.Revolutions · peak 2020

Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914

GabrielaGirlFrom Hebrew Gavri'el 'God is my strength'.Victorian · peak 2003

HanaGirlCzech form of Anna, from Hebrew Hannah 'grace, favour'.Victorian · peak 2018

IvanaGirlFeminine of Ivan (John), from Hebrew Yohanan 'Yahweh is gracious'.Victorian · peak 2010

JarmilaGirlFrom Slavic jar 'spring, ardent' and mil 'dear, gracious'.Victorian · forgotten

LenkaGirlA Czech and Slovak diminutive of Helena or Magdalena that became a full given name.Victorian

MilenaGirlFrom Slavic mil 'dear, gracious' with the feminine ending -ena.Victorian · peak 2019

MiroslavaGirlFrom Slavic mir 'peace, world' and slava 'glory'.Victorian

TerezaGirlCzech form of Teresa, of uncertain Greek or Spanish origin.Victorian

VlastaGirlFrom Slavic vlast 'rule, power, homeland'.Victorian · forgotten

ZdenkaGirlFeminine of Zdeněk, a short form of the old name Zdeslav; the first element is unclear (proposals include 'here' or…Victorian · forgotten

ZlataGirlFrom Slavic zlato 'gold'.Victorian

ZoraGirlSlavic zora 'dawn'.Victorian · peak 1884

The Modern Age1880 to today

KamilaGirlIn Europe a Slavic form of Camilla, a Roman name of uncertain meaning; it also coincides with Arabic Kamila…Modern · peak 2020

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.