Boyan (given name)
Boyan (Bulgarian: Боян) is a Slavic male given name. The short form of the name Boyan used in Bulgaria is Bobi or Bobby (Bulgarian: Боби). Its female equivalent is Boyana (Bulgarian: Бояна).
| Pronunciation | [bo'jan] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Language(s) | Slavic |
| Word/name | boy "battle" |
| Derivation | boy- (root) + an (suffix) |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Bojan |
In present days it is used as a given name in Bulgaria written as Boyan (Bulgarian: Боян), and also in all countries of former Yugoslavia, mainly written as Bojan (Serbian and Macedonian: Бојан)/(Slovenian/Croatian: Bojan).
The name is recorded in historical sources among the Bulgarians, Serbs, Macedonians, Czechs, Poles, and Russians.[1]
Etymology
There is some discussion as to where the name Boyan comes from. It is generally accepted that it is derived from the word бой- (boy-), which means "battle", and the suffix -ан (-an) which is common in Bulgarian and Slavic names.[2][3] Together, Boyan (Боян) means "warrior" or "fighter".[2][3]
It is also considered as a possibility from the Turkic-Mongol word "Bayan" (Mongolian: Баян) meaning rich, wealth,[4][5] of the khagan of Avars Bayan I (562-602), and of the Bulgars Batbayan (665–668);[2][3] from the name of Bohemia, the area of modern Czech Republic, in Serbian as Bojka (White Serbia), where lived the Celtic tribe Boii;[2][3] from the Celtic Bryan or Brian which shares spelling and meaning similarity.[2] Therefore, according to the Celtic origin of the name Bryan or Brian, the Bulgarian and Slavic name Boyan or Bojan could have the meaning "strong" or "noble".[2][3]
Notable Boyans
- Batbayan of Bulgaria, also known as Batboyan or simply Boyan. The first son of Bulgarian khan Kubrat.
- Boyan-Enravota, the first Bulgarian Christian martyr and the earliest Bulgarian saint
- Boyan (bard), Russian bard from the 10th century
- Boyanka Angelova, Bulgarian gymnast
- Boyan Chowdhury, former lead guitarist of rock band The Zutons
- Boyan Gaytanov, Bulgarian footballer
- Boyan Iliev, Bulgarian football player
- Boyan Jovanovic, professor of economics at New York University
- Boyan Kotsev, Bulgarian cyclist
- Boyan Petkanchin, Bulgarian mathematician
- Boyan Peykov, Bulgarian footballer
- Boyan Radev, Bulgarian wrestler
- Boyan Slat (born 1994), Dutch inventor and entrepreneur
- Boyan Tabakov, Bulgarian football player
- Boyan Vodenitcharov, Bulgarian pianist and composer
- Boyan Vukelic, Canadian actor of Serbian descent
- Boyan Yordanov, Bulgarian volleyball player
Places
- Boyana, neighbourhood of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia
- Boyana Church, medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated in the Boyana neighbourhood
- Boyana Glacier on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, which is named for Boyana neighbourhood.
References
- Miklosich, Franz (1860). Die Bildung der slavischen Personennamen (in German). Vienna: Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hoff- und Staatdruckerei. pp. 10, 36.
- "Holy Martyr Boyan, Bulgarian Prince" (in Bulgarian). Първите седем. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- "Днес почитаме Св. мъченик Боян–Енравота" (in Bulgarian). InfoPleven. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- Sevortyan, Ervand (1978), Этимологический словарь тюркских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Turkic Languages] (in Russian), 2, Moscow: Nauka, pp. 27–29
- Gluhak, Alemko (1993), Hrvatski etimološki rječnik (in Croatian), Zagreb: August Cesarec, pp. 123–124, ISBN 953-162-000-8