Even today we hear that names are happy and unhappy. Moreover, there is a theory according to which the name can influence the character and even the life of a person. In Russia, there were names that parents did not name their children. They were believed to be dangerous.
Amulets
For a long time, the Slavs did not trust the true name to strangers. Who knows, suddenly it will bring damage? This is where the tradition of peculiar amulets-names originated: Nelyub, Zhikhar, Bedok, Nelyub, Sinister … Few of the foreigners understood why the Slavs do not love each other so much!
One name
Contrary to popular belief, the ancient Slavs very rarely gave the same names in the same family. It was believed that each name was "looked after" by its own keeper. The belief says: such a guardian will not have time to see two of them - one will die, the other will die too.
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Paganism
Since 988, the names in Russia began to change. Christianity did not tolerate competition and nicknames in honor of ancient idols were banned. Veles, Yarilo, Perun and Mokosha were replaced by more familiar names during baptism. The Baptist of Russia, Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, spread to Vasily, his sons Boris and Gleb were baptized as Roman and David.
Martyrs
But even the Christian foundations could not finally eradicate the innate paganism of the Slavs. Names were most often given according to the calendar, diligently avoiding those that belonged to the great martyrs: it was believed that one could get the same fate with a name. Tatiana, Prokopiy, Varvara, George - these names were especially rare before.
The fate of the name
In general, the idea that a person gets a new destiny together with a name lived in Russia for a very long time. Children were never named after recently deceased relatives. They tried to forget the drowned people as soon as possible, and even giving the child his name was considered almost the worst omen.
Adoption
When adopting a child, they always changed not only the surname, but also the name. The old was considered damned, because being an orphan is a great misfortune. The new was supposed to bring the child a new destiny.
Steal the name
Now anyone can go to the passport office and change their name to the name of a celebrity. Well, maybe that's the point. In Russia, at least, they believed that someone else's name would change a person beyond recognition, since two completely different fates would mix into one.