Boriss

The origin of this name is still quite uncertain today. The theories include: 1) From the Proto-Slavic “ubogъ “(Slavic: Bog ‘Бог’), a Bahuvrihi compound of *u and an adjective *bogъ ‎(fortunate), but which later shifted in meaning to “god.” This convincing parallel has led some linguists to claim that “*bogъ” is an Iranian borrowing. Slavic-Iranian parallelism can be further extended to Slavic mythology expressions: Dažbog, Belobog, and Chernobog, which suggest the existence of Iranian-type dualism in Proto-Slavic mythology. The name is meant as “heavenly, godlike, celestial.” 2) From the Persian name “Behrouz, Behrooz has been traced to the Middle Persian reconstruction of the name “Bōrān” (Bvrandkht), meaning “prosperous life, good days in life, success.” Boris I was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At the time of his baptism in 864, Boris was named Michael after his godfather, Emperor Michael III. The historian Steven Runciman called him one of the most significant persons in history. Boris and Gleb, Christian names Roman and David, were the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus’ after the country’s Christianization. The feast day is traditionally celebrated on July 24 and August 6.