Svetlana

In this article, we will delve into the world of Svetlana to explore its many facets and discover its importance in different contexts. Throughout history, Svetlana has played a fundamental role in people's lives, impacting the way we relate, work and function in society. From its origins to its relevance today, Svetlana has been the subject of study and debate, generating endless interpretations and opinions. Through this article, we propose to analyze and reflect on Svetlana, unraveling its most relevant aspects and offering a critical and comprehensive look that allows us to understand its true scope.

For other uses, see Svetlana (disambiguation).
Svetlana
Svetlana is often used in reference to the Samaritan woman at the well in the Biblical Gospel of John. It is the Russian version of the Greek saint name Photini, meaning "enlightened"
Genderfemale (feminine)
Origin
Word/nameRussia
Meaning"light", "pure"
Region of originRussian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Slavic Macedonian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Circassian
Other names
Nickname(s)Sveta, Lana, Ceca, Svetla, Svetka, Svetochka, Svetlanka, Svetulya, Svetik, Svetti
Related namesSvitlana, Sviatlana, Svjetlana, Świetlana

Svetlana (Cyrillic: Светлана) is a common Orthodox Slavic feminine given name, deriving from the East and South Slavic root svet (Cyrillic: свет), meaning "light", "shining", "luminescent", "pure", "blessed", or "holy", depending upon context similar if not the same as the word Shweta in Sanskrit.[1]

Particularly unique among similar common Russian names, this one is not of ancient Slavic origin but was coined by Alexander Vostokov in 1802 and popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky in his eponymous ballad "Svetlana", the latter first published in 1813. The name is also used in Ukraine, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, North Macedonia, and Serbia, with a number of occurrences in non-Slavic countries.[2]

Popularity of name Svetlana.

In the Russian Orthodox Church Svetlana is used as a Russian translation of Photina (derived from phos (Greek: φως, "light")), a name sometimes ascribed to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (the Bible, John 4).

Semantically similar names to this are Lucia (of Latin origin, meaning "light"), Claire ("light" or "clear" in French, equivalent to Spanish and Portuguese Clara), Roxana (from Old Persian, "little shiny star, light"), and Shweta (Sanskrit, "white, pure"[3]).

Variants

The Ukrainian equivalent of the name is Svitlana (Ukrainian: Світлана), the Belarusian is Sviatlana (Belarusian: Святлана), the Polish variant is Świetlana, and the Czech is Světlana. The Serbo-Croatian speaking area has three pronunciations: Ijekavian Svjetlana (Свјетлана), Ekavian Svetlana (Светлана) and Ikavian Svitlana (Свитлана) are used according to local customs.

Diminutives

Russian language diminutives include Sveta (Russian: Света), used in Russian-speaking countries, and Lana (the latter is mainly used outside the former USSR).

Sveta also means "saint" in Bulgarian. The Slavic element Svet means "blessed, holy, bright".

Serbian language diminutives of the name are Sveta (Света), and Ceca (Цеца, pronounced Tsetsa).

People

See also

References

  1. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (1899). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford: Clarendon Press. OCLC 685239912.
  2. ^ "Baby Names, Name Meaning, Popularity". BabyCenter. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010.
  3. ^ Monier-Williams, Monier (1899). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford: Clarendon Press. OCLC 685239912.