Cyprus-Forum.com

[Leon]

After searching to no avail on the Internet, I am eager to learn the unofficial conventions of naming Greek Cypriot children.

First of all, I am aware that a child's surname can be his/her grandfather's first name in the genitive case of the Greek language (i.e. Στέφανος Πετρίδης has a grandson named Χαρίλαος Στέφανου), but is there a specific case in which this should happen? Additionally, would the child's younger siblings follow the same rule or is it entirely optional (i.e. could my hypothetical Χαρίλαος have a younger brother called either Δημήτρης Στέφανου or Δημήτρης Πετρίδης (the family name) depending on personal preference?)? I have even heard of a father inverting his names to give to their son (i.e. Ηλίας Γεωργίου had a son called Γεώργιος (Γιώργος) Ηλία); is anyone able to shed more light on this?

Secondly, is it possible for Cypriots to use their middle name (that is, their father's Christian name in the genitive form) as their surname, i.e. Αναστάσιος Κυριάκου has a son named Γιάννης Αναστασίου?

These are odd questions, I realise, but they have been bothering me for some time. All help will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[CBBB]

I just ignored the "rules" in naming my kids, they all kept my surname and they each have 2 "Christian" names unconnected to any Grandparents.

[Leon]

I just ignored the "rules" in naming my kids, they all kept my surname and they each have 2 "Christian" names unconnected to any Grandparents.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

With all respect, that doesn't answer any of my questions.

[Oracle]

I think in the end, it is up to you. So long as you record it appropriately on the Birth Certificates there shouldn't be a last minute scramble to correct matters so that all your kids have the same family name as they go through school...

Nothing is forever, all reversible. But just time-consuming!

Decide on Fifie, Trixiebell, Pixie, Paris, Noo-Noo-Apple, Peaches, Moon or other and go fo it ....

[Leon]

Hi Oracle.

I'm aware that I can name any children I may have in the future whatever I desire, but the original questions I asked were specifically about the culture of naming conventions among Greek Cypriots.

Surely somebody out there knows?

Thanks again for replying.

[Sotos]

What you talk about maybe happened a century ago. Today the convention is simple. The children get the surname of their father and their first name can be the first name of one of their grandparents. Middle name is almost never used but when it is used it is the first name of the father. Thats about it!

[Oracle]

Hi Oracle.

I'm aware that I can name any children I may have in the future whatever I desire, but the original questions I asked were specifically about the culture of naming conventions among Greek Cypriots.

Surely somebody out there knows?

Thanks again for replying.

Hello Leon

I too was interested in seeing an answer to your request, so bumped up your thread with my usual bit of nonsense

I am interested because my family adopted a brand new surname in the 50's, until then taking on the father's first name (my grandfather being Elias gave that as a surname to my dad). But when we got our new made-up surname, my dad kept Elias as his middle name. So I think there is room for individual variation.

One interesting thing all the generations of my Cypriot family have done for centuries, is name the first male child of each fresh generation a particular (unique to our family tree) name ... I think such a practice of honouring the first-born, is really sweet. I wonder if others do that? ... Maybe it's a common tradition.

Anyway, effectively another thread bump to see if anyone adds more to what Sotos said too .....

[Leon]

What you talk about maybe happened a century ago. Today the convention is simple. The children get the surname of their father and their first name can be the first name of one of their grandparents. Middle name is almost never used but when it is used it is the first name of the father. Thats about it!

Thanks for your reply, Sotos.

I don't think it is actually such an archaic rule; my grandfather's Γιώργος Ιωάννου yet my father is known as Τομάζος Γεωργίου. I'm not sure how he was named at birth though and whether he acquired his father's Christian name as his surname later in life (in the army, perhaps). I do need to ask more.

My surname is, like my father's, Γεωργίου, but my younger (half-)siblings use Ιωάννου. I can see that I'm an exception here as I was born in England, whereas my siblings were both born and raised in Cyprus, so the conventions would apply. Maybe if I were born in Cyprus I would be a Ιωάννου. I just wanted to know more about the rule and whether I should actually be using Ιωάννου when in Cyprus.

To make matters confusing, the name Leon is of Greek origin, but very, very rare, I believe. I guess I should start introducing myself as Λεόντιος Ιωάννου. Talk about f****d up.

[Sotos]

What you talk about maybe happened a century ago. Today the convention is simple. The children get the surname of their father and their first name can be the first name of one of their grandparents. Middle name is almost never used but when it is used it is the first name of the father. Thats about it!

Thanks for your reply, Sotos.

I don't think it is actually such an archaic rule; my grandfather's Γιώργος Ιωάννου yet my father is known as Τομάζος Γεωργίου. I'm not sure how he was named at birth though and whether he acquired his father's Christian name as his surname later in life (in the army, perhaps). I do need to ask more.

My surname is, like my father's, Γεωργίου, but my younger (half-)siblings use Ιωάννου. I can see that I'm an exception here as I was born in England, whereas my siblings were both born and raised in Cyprus, so the conventions would apply. Maybe if I were born in Cyprus I would be a Ιωάννου. I just wanted to know more about the rule and whether I should actually be using Ιωάννου when in Cyprus.

To make matters confusing, the name Leon is of Greek origin, but very, very rare, I believe. I guess I should start introducing myself as Λεόντιος Ιωάννου. Talk about f****d up.

You already have a name so why bother? All these are just customs not laws. Keep the name you always had and don't bother with insignificant things

[Leon]

Yeah, I realise that, but I'm trying to express that I'm interested in the conventions. There's (obviously) little I can do to dictate how tradition affects my own name, but I am interested in how the 'rules' according to conventions work.