GREEK BABY NAMES
Greek baby names are derived from the Greco-Roman Gods or from the old or new testaments and early Christian traditions. Some of the names are anglicized and male baby names usually ends with in -?? and -?? , along with -a and -??. A name is of Hebrew origin which has been translated into Greek if it ends in -?a? , -?? and sometimes -?? / ?? . Female names mostly end in -a and -?.
In Greek tradition there is a practice of keeping a newborn's name after their grandparents and this result in the continuation of the same names in the family. But this is not always so as new baby names are also introduced in the family thus coming away from the age old tradition. The first names are also kept according to patron saints, famous churches or monasteries. Examples include the name Gerasimos in Cephalonia, Dionysia and Dionysios in Zante, Markella and Markos in the Aegean Islands long under Venetian rule, Savvas among refugees from Asia Minor, Emmanuel , Joseph and Menas in Crete and so on
Greek mythology is a very rich one in its content and parents likes to keep the names of new babies after the great heroes from mythology who represents strength and valor. So we may find Greek baby names such as Achilles who is the famous hero mentioned in The Illiad or Afrodite which represents Goddess of love |
