The Name Svetlana
Svetlana is a female name of Slavic origin meaning “bright, light”. Below are the forms of the name, name days in the Orthodox calendar, character by tradition, numerology, the first letter, talismans and compatibility with other names.
Origin and meaning
Svetlana is a female name of Slavic origin. Meaning: “bright, light”. A Slavic name from the word “svetly” (bright); it corresponds to the Greek Photinia (φῶς, “light”), the name under which it is borne in the Church.
In the church calendar the name is written as Fotiniya: this is the name used at baptism and in church.
Forms of the name
| Full form | Svetlana |
| Church form | Fotiniya |
| Short forms | Sveta, Lana |
| Affectionate forms | Svetochka, Svetulya |
Name days (angel’s day)
| February 26 | Venerable Photinia (Svetlana) of Palestine |
| April 2 | Martyr Photina (Svetlana) the Samaritan Woman |
A name day is the feast of the saint after whom a person was baptised. If several saints share the name, custom is to celebrate the first feast after the birthday. Shown here are the main feasts in the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church, with civil (Gregorian) dates.
Character by tradition
Svetlana, by tradition, is an open, friendly and active nature. She knows how to enjoy life and support others. She can be quick-tempered. Her strength is optimism and sincerity.
Name numerology
Letters of the name Svetlana («Светлана») in the Russian 1–9 table: С 1 + В 3 + Е 6 + Т 2 + Л 4 + А 1 + Н 6 + А 1 = 24 → 6. The sum is reduced to one digit; the master numbers 11, 22 and 33 are kept.
Name number 6: care and harmony. Six is the number of home: responsibility for loved ones, a sense of beauty, a wish for comfort and fairness. The weak spot is caring even for those who did not ask for it.
Vowels give the soul number 8 (power and achievement), consonants the personality number 7 (analysis and intuition). Inner motive: power and achievement; outer manner: analysis and intuition. Such a gap is not bad in itself: others see one side, close people know the other.
In Slavic Cyrillic numerals (using the modern spelling of the name): С=200 + В=2 + Е=5 + Т=300 + Л=30 + А=1 + Н=50 + А=1 = 589, reduced to 4. Letters that had no numeric value are skipped. This is an additional digit, not a second name number: meanings for the Cyrillic numerals were added in the 20th century, modeled on Western numerology.
More: name number with surname, Slavic Cyrillic numerals, number meanings.
First letter and letters of the name
In letter reading — a popular tradition of interpreting letters — the first letter of the name matters most: it sets the main tone of character. The other letters add shades.
С — common sense. A striving for material security, practicality; irritability when someone gets in the way.
Other letters: В — sociability and realism; Е — self-expression; Т — intuition and search; Л — sense of beauty; А — beginning and action; Н — strong character and protest.
Talismans of the name
Name books usually derive talismans from the name number and its planet; lists differ between authors. Here we follow Cheiro (“Book of Numbers”): number 6 is linked with Venus.
| Planet | Venus |
| Stones | turquoise, emerald |
| Colours | blue, pink |
| Favourable days | Tuesday, Friday |
Compatibility with other names
In numerology, compatibility of names is judged by their numbers. Number 6 goes most easily with 2, 4 and 9, and has more friction with 5 and 7.
Goes well with: Aleksandr, Arkadiy, Valentin, Veniamin, Vyacheslav, Demyan, Elisey, Luka, Savva, Timur.
More friction with: Bogdan, Viktor, Gleb, Efim, Ignat, Fedor.
Check a couple precisely: compatibility by name.
Outcome
The name Svetlana carries the meaning “bright, light”. Name number 6 — care and harmony; first letter S — common sense. Inner wishes (power and achievement) and outer manner (analysis and intuition) differ: a person with this name needs close people to see more than what is shown. Name days: February 26, April 2.