At 10:50 PM 10/31/2002 -0500, david yarros wrote: >Dear List, > First of all a big Thank you to all who helped me out with finding > Maskovce! I now know where my G Grandfather Mike Jaros was from! > >Another Question now...Did the Slovak people have any customs for the >naming of thier children? Naming customs have helped me out in the past >regarding my English ancestry...just wondering if it might help me out here. > >Regards, >David Yarros Maskovce was a Rusyn village I believe. Since it is located in Eastern Slovakia the naming patterns may follow the Ukrainian pattern shown below or perhaps the Polish naming pattern: http://rootsweb.com/~polwgw/naming.html#polish "Polish Naming Customs: Naming after Saints Saints and their Feast Days were very important to the Polish people. Many parents consulted their pastor and/or the Roman Calendar to name their children. The parents looked for a saint whose feast day was on or near the birth or baptismal date of their child. The feast day was usually not more than three weeks after the birth or baptism. Poles did not celebrate their birthdays, as we do now. They celebrated the feast day of the saint for whom they were named or the anniversary of their baptism. Many families in Poland today still observe this tradition. Note: Keep in mind that many immigrants from Poland may have given their baptismal date or feast day instead of their actual date of birth when providing a birth date for American records. Naming after Godparents Some parents named their child after one of the godparents. The custom was not as common and varied by locality. The godfather was called a kmotr or kumoter, and the godmother was called a kumoszka. A list of first names and the feast days associated with them can be found HERE. A chronological list of feast days and the saints associated with them can be found HERE. Ukrainian Naming Customs: The Ukrainian people began using Christian first names about 988 A.D., when Christianity was introduced to the Ukraine. These first names, originally of Roman, Greek, and Hebrew origin, were modified to the Ukrainian language. (For example, John became Ivan and Michael became Mykhailo.) Also, many children were given the names of Slavic or Ukrainian saints, many of them known only in Eastern Europe. Children were named within eight days of birth. The name was often selected by the priest and not the parents. Sometimes the parents suggested a name which the priest then approved. The child's name was the name of the patron saint on whose feast day the child was born or baptized, or the name of a patron saint whose feast day fell within seven days after the child's birth. The godparents took the infant to the church. The parents were usually not present for the baptism. Often, the parents did not learn the chosen name of their child until the baby was returned home by the godparents. In Ukrainian custom, names were chosen based on the church calendar, the Byzantine Calendar. This calendar, which starts with September, contains many different saints' names than the Roman Calendar. The dates of some feast days differ between the two calendars. Many girls were given a female version of the name of a male saint by adding an "a" to the end of the name." John