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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Greek boy names please!!

60 replies

Rk123 · 18/03/2019 11:25

Hi there, I am in need of a greek boy name!

I was thinking Antoniou but we got a few reactions from fhe family... need more suggestions please!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
JohnnyBee · 19/03/2019 07:03

Apostolos

BillyAndTheSillies · 19/03/2019 06:51

Oh that's interesting @PBobs DH is Greek Cypriot, but his family are Catholic not Greek Orthodox due to his Irish granny and our priest is likely to react to a child called Aristotle (getting a Byron through was a tough fight to be honest).

Not sure whether it's a Cypriot thing or my in-laws have been anglicised for a while, but when speaking to FIL about Ari, all the ones he knows are Aristotle.

Booboostwo · 19/03/2019 06:08

An Uber was trying to find me once in a part of Athens where someone names streets alphabetically. I was at Aristotelis road, just below Aristophanes road and he was on Aristides road. I kept telling him, I am at the philosopher, right after the playwright, you are at the politician, but he didn’t get it for a while.

As if I would let a wrong Greek name thread go without a fight! Grin

Booboostwo · 19/03/2019 06:03

PBos is Andonis (Antonis) is fine, but the OP wanted Antoniou which is a surname.

So first name , last name:
Christos Antoniou
Antonis Christou
Antonis Georgiou
Giorgos Antoniou

are all perfectly valid as some first names have surname verions as well.

onelostsoulswimminginafishbowl · 19/03/2019 03:06

My grandfathers name was Neoklis which I believe is an Ancient Greek name. It was never shortened though.

PBobs · 19/03/2019 02:55

@Booboostwo thanks for fighting the good fight with names. Smile

Why not Adonis though? Is that because of what you think English people with think? I know lots of Adonides in Greece and Aphrodites. Nobody bats an eyelid.

Do people mean Milos for Miles?

I know a Greek called Theodoros who called himself Theo with a short e (like the e in the brand Mentos sweets - sorry, all I have to hand right now). I've heard several others use it too but yes, without the s at the end which would sound weird.

@thighofrelief101 I think the name you mean is Diamandis which is a bit of an unusual one. Wouldn't be my top choice. Pandolakis is a nickname/diminutive. -akis is added at the end of boys' names to make them diminutives/cute/nicknames/etc. E.g. Dimitris would perhaps be Dimitrakis when he's small or when his friends are taking the piss out of him. Or when mama is fussing over him. Girls have -aki added to the end of their name e.g. Maria and Maraki or Christina and Christinaki. Girls can also have -oula added at the end which I hate (because I had one relative who used to do it to my name and it sounds AWFUL) e.g. Christina and Christinoula.

@BillyAndTheSillies friends of mine called Ari (conjugated form of Aris) are actually named after the God Ares or their name was Aristides rather than Aristotelis.

@Rk123 I agree that I would give you a funny look for Antoniou as a first name. Also will the baby ever have a Greek passport/ID card? I am currently going through all sorts of name comedy with passports and names and spellings. It ain't pretty but something you need to think about if relevant to you.

The hardest thing with Greek-English names is getting your head around the fact that with most of them there will be at least two ways of spelling it/pronouncing it/etc in English and not being too precious about it or else being clear from the outset that you prefer one over the other.

@Charley50 Georgios is right.

Names I know - not necessarily a fan of:

  • Lysander (Greek Lysandros, I like this one)
  • Panagiotis (nickname Panos)
  • Stefanos (I like this one)
  • Vangelis (hard sound on the g)
  • Vyronas (Byron in English and actually spelt Byron in Greek but pronounced Vyron)
  • Efstathios (nickname Stathis)
  • Vassilis (Basil)
  • Filipos (Philip)
  • Alexis/Alexandros
  • Angelos (means angel)
  • Christos
  • Dimosthenis
  • Dionysis
  • Kimonas
  • Nestor
  • Marios
  • Nassos
  • Petros
  • Thomas (with the Th pronounced softly like as in "thud", accent on the a)
Tillygetsit · 18/03/2019 22:59

DH has a lovely friend called Aneas.

calamariqueen · 18/03/2019 21:28

Thodoris
Vasillis
Emmanuel/Manolis/Manos/Maki
Yianni
Yiorgos
Alexandros
Themistoclis
Xenophondas/Nondas
Costas
Nikos
Neophitos
Dimitri/Mitzos
Adonis
Stelios

Possibly a bit outing 🙈

Booboostwo · 18/03/2019 21:08

BlackPrism that doesn’t make it a Greek name. Greek people can give their children non-Greek names! It’s a Latin name.

Charley50 · 18/03/2019 20:55

Dimitri is a lovely name.

BlackPrism · 18/03/2019 20:24

@Booboostwo I know a Greek Miles tbh

Booboostwo · 18/03/2019 20:21

Goodness SmiledWiththeRisingSun, no!

Not Lander, Leandros
Not Leo, Leon
Not Mateo, Mattheos
Not Maximus, at best Maximilianos
Not Miles, I can’t even guess what that one is
Not Moe, you are just trolling now aren’t you?!
And while Neo does mean new, nobody Greek calls their baby that.

Regardless of regional variations, nobody calls their baby God (Theos). The guy is probably called Theodoros, Theodosis, Theologis or similar and is Theo to his english friends.

QueenofallIsee · 18/03/2019 19:15

Alexis
Stayos
Andrea

Charley50 · 18/03/2019 19:13

I like Georgios too! No idea how to spell it!

Charley50 · 18/03/2019 19:12

Anything but Stavros!

Charalambos can be shortened to Charlie. Or Philippos to Phillip or Phil.
I like Yannis and Vassilis.
And surely there are different regional pronunciations in Greece / Cyprus?

BillyAndTheSillies · 18/03/2019 19:12

Oh and our top Greek name for the baby we are currently expecting is Ari, but we wouldn't do the full Aristotle.

BillyAndTheSillies · 18/03/2019 19:11

Just going by young family members -
Christos
Dimitri (who shortens to Jimmy which I love)
Michalis
Nicholas
Andreas
Nikolas
Alexander
Christakis
Vyron (my son has the English version of the name which is more recognisable in English)

zen1 · 18/03/2019 19:02

Aeëtes (means eagle)

SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 18/03/2019 18:59

• Lander: Lion man

•	<a class="break-all" href="https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/leo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Leo</a>: Lion

•	<a class="break-all" href="https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/mateo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mateo</a>: Devoted to God

•	<a class="break-all" href="https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/maximus" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maximus</a>: Greatest

•	<a class="break-all" href="https://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/name/miles" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Miles</a>: Merciful

•	Moe: Saved

•	Neo: New
SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 18/03/2019 18:55

Adonis? Grin

Booboostwo · 18/03/2019 18:43

AlannaofTrebond sometimes Greek people pronounce their names in a way that has the best hopes of being copied by foreigners rather than the way it is supposed to be pronounced. I have an Ancient Greek name that is very difficult for English speakers so I try to make it a bit easier.

You also get conventional English ways of pronouncing well known Greek names which are different from the actual Greek, e.g.
Aristotelis and Aristotle
Platonas and Plato

DharmaInitiativeLady · 18/03/2019 18:19

Athanasios

pineapplebryanbrown · 18/03/2019 18:18

I knew someone called Yiamandis (can't spell it) that is how it sounded and it means diamond - i thought it was a great name.

Less so Pandolakis.

Baconislife · 18/03/2019 18:14

Yannis I love this name

Westfacing · 18/03/2019 18:11

Aris