This is an accepted version of this page
 | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Bulgar,Bulgarian |
| Meaning | Wolf, Short, Snow Leopard, Famous Battle (Borislav) or Fame-Bright (Robert) |
| Region of origin | First Bulgarian Empire |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Bob, Bobby (nicknames) |
Boris,Borys orBarys (Bulgarian,Russian,Serbian,Ukrainian:Борис;Belarusian:Барыс) is a male name ofBulgar origin.[1] It is most commonly used in countries in Eastern Europe.[a] It is also used in Greece and countries that speakGermanic,Baltic andRomance languages. The spelling variantBorys is more common inPoland.
Early records of the nameBoris are related to a ruler of theFirst Bulgarian Empire, KnyazBoris I (r. 852–889). The name likely reachedthe Rus in the late 10th century, during the reign ofBoris II of Bulgaria (r. 969–977), great-grandson ofBoris I. In 967, the Byzantines instigated the Rus to attack theFirst Bulgarian Empire; it is probably around thismilitary campaign that the marriage was arranged ofVladimir I of Kiev to aBulgarian noblewoman, who is assumed to be a daughter of Peter I (i.e., sister of Boris II).[2][3][4]
As evidenced by the Rus'Primary Chronicle,Boris and Gleb were sons of Vladimir I, born to him by the Bulgarian princess. During Vladimir's reign in 988, the conversion of theKievan Rus' to Christianity took place. In this conversion, both ordinary priests and prelates fromBulgaria played a significant part.[5] Also, with the adoption of theByzantine calendar and theEastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the cult of St. Boris entered theRus' Orthodox Church.[6] In 1015, the princes Boris and Gleb were killed by their stepbrotherSviatopolk I of Kiev, who usurped the throne. Within a short time, Boris and Gleb were revered as native soldier-saints among theUkrainians,Russians andBelarusians.[7]
Borys is a Ukrainian and Polish-language variant, andBarys is a Belarusian-language variant.
The name gives rise to severalpatronymic surnames:Borisevich,Borysewicz,Barysevich,Borisevičius,Borisov,Borysenko (or Borisenko),Borysenkov [ru] (or Borisenkov),Borisik [ru],Borysiuk (or Borisiuk), Borisikhin,Boriskin [ru],Borisko [ru],Borisovsky, Borysovych (or Borisovich),Borysiak [ru] (or Borisiak).
A number of Jews in theRussian Empire andSoviet Union with the given namesBaruch orBer used the (unrelated) name "Boris" to avoid being targeted withantisemitism and, vice versa, upon immigration to Israel changed their name in the opposite direction. Some who did this were:Baruch Agadati,Baruch Podolsky, andBoris Schatz(Shlomo Zalman-Dov[citation needed] Baruch Boris Schatz). Accordingly, antisemites using the "Jew-counting" slander, applied the name "Barukh" to a public person called "Boris", so alleging the person to be a Jew and associating him with the "international Jewish conspiracy". This occurred, for example, toBoris Yeltsin, who was variously "revealed" to be "Baruch Eltzind",[8] "Baruch Yeltzer",[9] or "Baruch Elkin".[10]