Ena, Lea, Ea, Teon, Ion, Kaj... atypical names for the Macedonian area, but they are found more and more. Many new parents, trying to be in trend with modern trends, give their babies names that can be heard abroad, but not at home. Globalization and rapid access to world influences are increasingly suppressing traditional Macedonian names, Alfa analyzes.
"Foreign names have always been present in our environment. We now have some greater use of foreign names over those traditional names. Perhaps in recent times, what has been noticed as a trend is that the tradition of naming children after their ancestors is slowly being abandoned in our country", says Elka Jacheva - Ulcar, director of the Macedonian Language Institute "Krste Misirkov".
Old Macedonian names in certain traditional and patriarchal families are still used as a symbol to preserve identity.
"That tradition is still alive in some traditional and patriarchal families. Regarding the naming of children's baptisms, the most common names for boys are Alexander, and the names after the four evangelists from the New Testament, that is, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and for girls, the name Maria is still the most popular," decided Jacheva. – Ulcar.
Jana is the most common female and Luka the most common male name given to newborns in the country in 2024.
"Regarding the choice of the personal name, our law is largely liberal, let me tell you, it is not like it is in some other European countries, here let me tell you, Russia, they have a list of names according to which children are baptized , it is constantly being renewed here," said Elka Jacheva - Ulcar, director of the Macedonian Language Institute "Krste Misirkov".
New, modern names are only one part of the trend with which we are increasingly moving away from the traditional forms of the Macedonian language. The form SKI is more often observed in female surnames, that is, when getting married, many women take the surname from their husband in its entirety, so we have examples such as Ana Petreska Trajkoski, Marija Todoroska Dimeski, Teodora Kasovska-Mirchev, Elizabeta Vasev.
Professor Elka Jacheva – Ulcar believes that this is due to a kind of modernism that is neither in the spirit nor in the tradition of the Macedonian language system. At a time when women are fighting for their independence, equality and equality, and want to emphasize their uniqueness, by putting the male form of the surname it seems as if they are doing the opposite, Alfa reported.
"Foreign names have always been present in our environment. We now have some greater use of foreign names over those traditional names. Perhaps in recent times, what has been noticed as a trend is that the tradition of naming children after their ancestors is slowly being abandoned in our country", says Elka Jacheva - Ulcar, director of the Macedonian Language Institute "Krste Misirkov".
Old Macedonian names in certain traditional and patriarchal families are still used as a symbol to preserve identity.
"That tradition is still alive in some traditional and patriarchal families. Regarding the naming of children's baptisms, the most common names for boys are Alexander, and the names after the four evangelists from the New Testament, that is, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and for girls, the name Maria is still the most popular," decided Jacheva. – Ulcar.
Jana is the most common female and Luka the most common male name given to newborns in the country in 2024.
"Regarding the choice of the personal name, our law is largely liberal, let me tell you, it is not like it is in some other European countries, here let me tell you, Russia, they have a list of names according to which children are baptized , it is constantly being renewed here," said Elka Jacheva - Ulcar, director of the Macedonian Language Institute "Krste Misirkov".
New, modern names are only one part of the trend with which we are increasingly moving away from the traditional forms of the Macedonian language. The form SKI is more often observed in female surnames, that is, when getting married, many women take the surname from their husband in its entirety, so we have examples such as Ana Petreska Trajkoski, Marija Todoroska Dimeski, Teodora Kasovska-Mirchev, Elizabeta Vasev.
Professor Elka Jacheva – Ulcar believes that this is due to a kind of modernism that is neither in the spirit nor in the tradition of the Macedonian language system. At a time when women are fighting for their independence, equality and equality, and want to emphasize their uniqueness, by putting the male form of the surname it seems as if they are doing the opposite, Alfa reported.
