Gender Masculine
Scripts Борис(Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Macedonian) ბორის(Georgian)
Pronounced Pron. /bɐ.ˈrʲis/(Russian) /ˈbɔɹ.ɪs/(English) /ˈbôː.ris/(Croatian) /ˈbo.rɪs/(Czech) /ˈbɔ.ris/(Slovak) /ˈboː.ʁɪs/(German) /bɔ.ʁis/(French)  [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

From a Bulgar Turkic name, also recorded as Bogoris, perhaps meaning "short" or "wolf" or "snow leopard". It was borne by the 9th-century Boris I of Bulgaria, who converted his realm to Christianity and is thus regarded as a saint in the Orthodox Church. To the north in Kievan Rus it was the name of another saint, a son of Vladimir the Great who was murdered with his brother Gleb in the 11th century. His mother may have been Bulgarian.

Other notable bearers of the name include the Russian emperor Boris Godunov (1552-1605), later the subject of a play of that name by Aleksandr Pushkin, as well as the Russian author Boris Pasternak (1890-1960), the Bulgarian king Boris III (1894-1943), and the Russian president Boris Yeltsin (1931-2007).

Related Names

DiminutivesBorya(Russian) Bor, Borut(Slovene) Boro(Croatian) Borko, Boro(Serbian) Borko(Macedonian)
Other Languages & CulturesBarys(Belarusian) Boriss(Latvian) Borys(Polish) Borys(Ukrainian)
Surname DescendantsBorisov, Borisova(Bulgarian) Porsche(German) Borisov, Borisova(Russian)
User SubmissionsBóris, Bòris, Boris

Popularity

People think this name is

classic   mature   formal   strong   rough   strange   simple   serious  

Name Days

Austria: May 2
Bulgaria: May 2
Croatia: May 2
Croatia: July 24
Croatia: September 6
Czechia: September 5
France: May 2
Slovakia: October 14
Sweden: June 10

Images

Icon depicting Boris I of BulgariaIcon depicting Boris I of Bulgaria

Categories

Entry updated April 23, 2024