Greek girl names: meanings, saints and name days

A Greek girl's name, like a boy's, brings a name day with it: the feast of a saint, of the Virgin Mary or of Christ, on which she will celebrate every year. This guide goes through the traditional girls' names in this calendar, what they mean and when they fall, with particular attention to something that sets girls' names apart: many of them are feminine forms of men's names and celebrate on a male saint's day. Naming children after their grandparents is explained in Greek naming traditions, and the companion guide to Greek boy names covers the boys.

How the names are ordered

Of the 427 names in this calendar, 184 are girls' names. Each has a popularity value between 0 and 100, which the site uses to order lists and search results. It is a relative ordering of how common a name is in everyday life, not an official statistic and not a count of births. Maria stands at 100, followed by Eleni at 92, Katerina at 88 and Sofia at 85.

The names at the top of the list

The twelve girls' names with a value of 76 or more, with what they mean and their main name day:

• [Maria](name:maria): the Greek form of the Hebrew Miryam. Its original meaning is uncertain; proposals include “sea of bitterness”, “rebelliousness” and “wished-for child”, and Behind the Name thinks an Egyptian origin likely, perhaps from mry, “beloved”. The Dormition, 15 August; some Marias celebrate on the Entry of the Theotokos, 21 November.
• [Eleni](name:eleni): an ancient Greek name of uncertain origin, probably related to ἑλένη, “torch”, with a possible link to σελήνη, “moon”. Saints Constantine and Helen, 21 May.
• [Katerina](name:katerina) (formally Aikaterini): uncertain too; saint.gr tentatively links it with the ancient ἑκάτερος, “each of the two”, while others derive it from the goddess Hecate or from αἰκία, “torture”. Saint Catherine, 25 November.
• [Sofia](name:sofia): the word σοφία, “wisdom”. 17 September, the feast of Saint Sophia and her daughters Faith, Hope and Love.
• [Vasiliki](name:vasiliki): the feminine of Vasileios, “royal”. Saint Basil the Great, 1 January.
• [Georgia](name:georgia): the feminine of Georgios, from γεωργός, “farmer”. Saint George, 23 April, or Easter Monday when the feast is moved.
• [Dimitra](name:dimitra): the modern Greek form of Demeter, the ancient goddess of agriculture; the name may mean “earth mother”. Saint Demetrius, 26 October.
• [Angeliki](name:angeliki): the Greek form of Angelica, from the Latin angelicus, “angelic”, ultimately from ἄγγελος, “messenger”. The Synaxis of the Archangels, 8 November.
• [Ioanna](name:ioanna): the feminine of Ioannis, from the Hebrew Yoḥanan. 7 January, together with Giannis.
• [Konstantina](name:konstantina): the feminine of Konstantinos, from the Latin Constantinus. 21 May.
• [Eirini](name:eirini): the word εἰρήνη, “peace”, in antiquity also the name of the goddess of peace. Saint Irene, 5 May; some celebrate on 28 July, with Saint Irene Chrysovalantou.
• [Paraskevi](name:paraskevi): the word παρασκευή, “preparation”, which is also the Greek name for Friday. Saint Paraskevi, 26 July.

Feminine forms of men's names

Four of the twelve names above are feminine forms of men's names (Vasiliki, Georgia, Ioanna and Konstantina), and Dimitra, the name of the goddess Demeter, is paired with Dimitris in the same way. The pattern runs through the whole list, and in this calendar such names normally celebrate on the man's feast: Georgia on 23 April, Dimitra on 26 October, Vasiliki on 1 January, Konstantina on 21 May, Ioanna on 7 January, Panagiota on 15 August, Stavroula on 14 September, Styliani on 26 November, Athanasia on 18 January and 2 May, Nikoleta on 6 December and Eleftheria on 15 December. The feast is often not a saint's day at all: Stavroula's is the Exaltation of the Cross and Panagiota's the Dormition of the Theotokos.

Some feminine names have a woman saint of their own and therefore a different main date from the man's name. Christina celebrates mainly on 24 July, and may also celebrate at Christmas with Christos; Alexandra on 21 April, while Alexandros celebrates on 30 August; Kyriaki on 7 July, while Kyriakos has his main day on 29 September; Theodora on 11 February, with the Empress Theodora; and Marina on 17 July. If a girl is given her grandfather's name, it is worth knowing which of the two dates the family will keep.

It also works the other way round: Paraskevas celebrates with Saint Paraskevi, and Marios on the feasts of the Virgin Mary.

Names from women saints and from the Virgin Mary

Many girls' names belong to a woman saint: Katerina, Eirini, Paraskevi, Kyriaki, Marina and Christina, Varvara (Barbara) on 4 December, Foteini on 26 February, and Anna, whose main day is the Dormition of Saint Anne on 25 July. Their lives are told on the saints' pages and in the guides to names of female saints and the great martyrs.

Other names come from the Virgin Mary herself. Maria, Panagiota and Despoina, “mistress, lady”, celebrate at the Dormition; Evangelia at the Annunciation, 25 March; and Zoi on the feast of the Life-giving Spring, the Friday after Easter. See names from the feasts of the Virgin Mary.

Names that are words

A good many girls' names are ordinary Greek nouns, so their meaning is plain to any Greek speaker: Sofia is “wisdom”, Eirini “peace”, Zoi “life”, Eleftheria “freedom”, Niki “victory”, Eftychia “happiness, good fortune”, Athanasia “immortality” and Sotiria “salvation”. Dafni is the laurel tree, and Margarita comes from the ancient μαργαρίτης, “pearl”.

Three virtue names celebrate with Sofia on 17 September, because they are the names of her daughters: Pisti, “faith”, Elpida, “hope”, and Agapi, “love”. Two names are days of the week, Kyriaki (Sunday) and Paraskevi (Friday); according to saint.gr, both saints were named after the day on which they were born.

Ancient names are a case of their own. Athina and Pinelopi (Penelope) celebrate on 1 September with the Forty Holy Virgin Martyrs, while Kalliopi has a saint of her own on 8 June; see the guide to ancient Greek names.

When in the year she will celebrate

Girls' name days are spread differently from boys'. Of the 26 girls' names at the top of the list (popularity 56 or more), eight have their main name day in July or August: Kyriaki (7 July), Marina (17 July), Christina (24 July), Anna (25 July) and Paraskevi (26 July), and Maria, Panagiota and Despoina on 15 August. Six fall between November and January (Angeliki, Katerina, Styliani, Vasiliki, Ioanna and Athanasia), whereas among the 25 leading boys' names that season holds twelve.

A few dates move with Easter. Anastasia celebrates on Easter Sunday (2 May in 2027, 16 April in 2028) and also on 22 December; Zoi on the Friday after Easter (7 May in 2027, 21 April in 2028); Dafni on Palm Sunday, a week before Easter (25 April in 2027). Georgia, like Giorgos, celebrates on Easter Monday when 23 April falls on or before Easter, as it does in 2027. See movable name days.

Several names have more than one date: Eirini (5 May and 28 July), Foteini (26 February and Theophany, 6 January), Athanasia (18 January and 2 May) and Anna, who besides 25 July may celebrate on 9 September, with Saints Joachim and Anne, or on 9 December, the Conception by Saint Anne. See names with more than one name day.

Before you decide

• Each name page gives the meaning with its sources, the saint or feast, nicknames, spellings in Latin letters and every date, movable ones included.
• For a feminine form of a man's name, check whether it follows the man's feast or has a saint of its own.
• Some nicknames are shared: Voula may be a Paraskevi or a Stavroula, Popi a Kalliopi or a Pinelopi; more in the guide to nicknames and formal names.
• From the name's page you can save its dates for the next ten years to your calendar as an .ics file.