In Greece many people don't go by the exact name on their ID card. Georgios is Giorgos, Ioannis is Giannis, Aikaterini is Katerina, and Konstantinos may be Kostas, Kostis or Dinos. For name days, though, the rule is simple: the formal name, the everyday form and every nickname share the same name day, because they are all the same name.
Formal and everyday forms
Most Greek names have a formal version, the older, learned form used on official documents, and a demotic (everyday) version used in daily life. A few examples:
- Georgios: Giorgos (George), who celebrates on 23 April or, when that date falls before Easter, on Easter Monday.
- Ioannis: Giannis (John), on 7 January.
- Aikaterini: Katerina (Catherine), on 25 November, with nicknames such as Katina, Katia or Rina.
- Eleftherios: Lefteris, on 15 December.
- Stylianos: Stelios, on 26 November, like Styliani, who is often called Stella.
- Emmanouil: Manolis or Manos (Emmanuel), on 25 and 26 December.
You can search this calendar using whichever form you know. Each page in the list of names brings together the formal name, variants and nicknames, as well as Latin-alphabet spellings and equivalents in other languages.
How Greek nicknames are formed
Greek short forms are built in a handful of ways, often combined:
- Dropping the beginning: Panagiota becomes Giota, Stavroula becomes Voula.
- Dropping the end: Nikolaos becomes Nikos, Konstantinos becomes Kostas.
- Losing a syllable in the middle: Theodoros becomes Thodoros.
- Repeating a syllable: Paraskevi becomes Vivi.
- Letting one sound spread through the name: Pinelopi (Penelope) becomes Popi.
- Adding a diminutive ending: -akis for boys (Giorgakis, Manolakis) and -oula, -itsa or -io for girls (Maroula, Elenitsa, Vangelio).
- Borrowing a similar-sounding foreign name: Vasiliki becomes Vicky, Athanasia becomes Nancy.
Nicknames are also practical. Because children are often named after their grandparents, one family can have two or three cousins with the same formal name, who are told apart by their nicknames. Read more in the guide to Greek naming traditions.
Women's names follow suit
The same goes for the matching women's names, which usually celebrate together with the men's: Georgia with Giorgos, Konstantina with Konstantinos, Dimitra with Dimitris, Vasiliki with Vasilis and Nikoleta with Nikos. Their nicknames follow along: Gogo is a Georgia, Vaso a Vasiliki, Dina a Konstantina. There are exceptions, such as Christina, who has a saint of her own and mainly celebrates on 24 July, while Christos celebrates at Christmas.
When one nickname fits several names
Here you need to be careful: some nicknames are shared by more than one name, and so by different name days.
- Takis: may be Panagiotis (15 August), Dimitris (26 October) or a Kostakis, that is a Konstantinos (21 May).
- Voula: may be Paraskevi (26 July) or Stavroula (14 September).
- Kiki: Angeliki (8 November) or Kyriaki (7 July).
- Popi: Kalliopi (8 June) or Pinelopi (1 September).
- Tina: Konstantina (21 May) or Christina (24 July).
- Fanis: Theofanis (6 January) or Fanourios (27 August).
- Chrysa: Chrysoula (25 December), Chrysanthi (19 March) or Chrysi (13 October).
If you don't know someone's “real” name, just ask. It is the only sure way to wish them “Chronia polla!” (“many years”) on the right day, and few people mind the question.
Latin spellings and foreign equivalents
On a passport or abroad, the same Greek name can be spelled in many ways: Vasilis may appear as Vassilis, Vasileios or Vasilios. Many names also have equivalents in other languages, such as George for Giorgos or Helen for Eleni. All of them celebrate with the Greek name, so a Greek who introduces himself as John abroad will still be glad of good wishes on 7 January.