Name Meaning and Secret

Enter a name — full or familiar, for example Sasha («Саша»). The reading shows the origin and meaning of the name, its forms, name days in the Orthodox calendar, character by tradition, the name number, the meaning of the first letter, talismans and matching names.

Calculation

What the reading includes

Origin and meaning — which language the name came from and what the word it was formed from means.
Forms of the name — full, church (if different), short and affectionate.
Name days — the main feast days of saints with this name and the nearest date.
Character by tradition — how books on the meaning of names describe the name.
Numerology — the name number, soul number and personality number from the Russian letter table, and the sum in Slavic Cyrillic numerals.
First letter — its interpretation in letter reading, plus short meanings of the other letters.
Talismans — planet, stones, colours and days by the name number.
Compatibility — names whose numbers combine most easily with yours, and those with more friction.

At the end comes a summary: the meaning of the name, its number and first letter brought together into one portrait, the way an interpreter of names would do it.

Where the data comes from and how far to trust it

Origin and meaning come from onomastics, the study of names. Where scholars disagree (Vadim, Nina, Alla, Sergey), we say so and do not pass off a folk interpretation as exact.

Name days follow the calendar of saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church lives by the Julian calendar, but dates here are given in the familiar civil calendar: the feast of St Tatiana is 12 January Old Style and 25 January New Style. For each name we list the main feast days, not all of them: Aleksandr or Ivan have dozens.

Character, letters and talismans come from the popular tradition of name books and numerology. Such descriptions have no scientific confirmation; read them as part of the culture of names.

How the name number and talismans are calculated

Each letter of the Russian alphabet is assigned a digit from 1 to 9 in a cycle: А is 1, Б is 2 … И is 1, Й is 2, and so on. The letter digits are added up and reduced to a single digit; 11, 22 and 33 stay as master numbers. Vowels separately give the soul number, consonants the personality number. The table is the same as in the “Expression Number” calculator, so the numbers match.

Talismans are derived from the name number: each number is linked with a planet, and the planet with stones, colours and days of the week. The correspondences are taken from Cheiro’s “Book of Numbers”; other authors give different lists.

Name compatibility is calculated by numbers, just as in the “Name Compatibility” calculator.

All names in the dictionary

Male names

Female names

Frequently asked questions

Why do some names have no name day?

A name day is celebrated on the feast of a saint with the same name. Names that are not in the Orthodox calendar of saints (Ruslan, Diana, Milana and others) have no fixed name day: at baptism a person receives a church name and celebrates its day.

Can I enter Sasha instead of Aleksandr?

Yes. The calculator recognises short and affectionate forms, shows the full name and, separately, the number of the form you entered. If a form belongs to two names (Sasha for Aleksandr and Aleksandra, Zhenya for Evgeniy and Evgeniya), there will be a link to the second name.

What if the name is not in the dictionary?

Name numerology, letter reading, talismans by number and compatibility are calculated for any name written in Cyrillic. Origin, forms and name days will appear once we add the name to the dictionary.

Where do the character descriptions come from?

From the popular tradition of books on the meaning of names. This is a cultural tradition, not a scientific fact: a person’s character is not determined by their name.