What 9 male names were not given to children in the Romanov dynasty and why

2023 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 13:10

Different peoples and cultures have their own traditions and prejudices associated with the names of children. Someone translated names from foreign languages and, in accordance with the meaning, did not want to call their children them, believing that they could influence his fate. And for some, the not particularly prevalent life of people with certain names served as a negative example. The Romanov dynasty also had its own superstitions.

Fedor

The first name that fell into disgrace was the name Fedor. In 1682, the Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia Fyodor III Alekseevich died, leaving no heirs behind. His only son, born in a marriage with Agafya Grushetskaya, died ten days after birth, while his wife died three days after giving birth. The second marriage of the tsar with Martha Matveyevna Apraksina lasted only two months and there were no children in it. Not wanting to call their children by the name of Fedor, the Romanovs gave the patronymic Fedorovna to some Western princesses who converted to Orthodoxy before marrying the heirs to the throne.

Ivan

This name was banned after the short reign and subsequent imprisonment of Ivan Antonovich, the son of Anna Leopoldovna and Prince Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Bevern-Luneburg. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna issued a law condemning the name, all coins and documents with his mention were seized and destroyed. Despite the fact that after the accession to the throne of Catherine II the law was withdrawn, the Romanovs avoided calling their heirs so.

Peter

The reason for the prohibition of this name was a palace coup and the strange circumstances of the death of Peter III, who sat on the throne for only six months, and after he was sent to Ropsha, 30 miles from St. Petersburg, where he ended his days just a week later. It was officially believed that the cause of death was chronic diseases aggravated by alcohol consumption, but there is an opinion about the involvement in the death of Peter III, Alexei Orlov, who eliminated the former tsar.

Paul

They began to avoid the Romanovs named Pavel after Emperor Paul I died as a result of a series of conspiracies. At night, 12 officers burst into his bedroom, beat the tsar, and then took his life. Officially, they announced that the king was struck by a stroke.

Dmitriy

The reason for avoiding this name was not only the tragic death of Ivan the Terrible's son Dmitry, but also many False Dmitrys, who became a real disaster for the country. In addition, the unhappy fate of boys with this name was confirmed by the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, the second Russian tsar from the Romanov dynasty. Dmitry Alekseevich died before living a year.

Alexey

This name fell into disgrace after the death of his son Peter I. Alexey Petrovich was put on trial and condemned to death as a traitor. He was accused of having links with the Swedes and a conspiracy to seize power. Subsequently, Nicholas II decided not to pay attention to superstitions and named his heir Alexei. As you know, the heir to the Russian throne from childhood was in poor health and suffered from an incurable disease.

Boris

Although the boyar and brother-in-law of Tsar Fyodor I Ioannovich was from the Godunov dynasty, the events associated with him forced the Romanovs to treat his name with obvious apprehension. Although the son of Alexander II, Vladimir named his son Boris, and his fate was quite happy.

Ilya and Kirill

Not only the Romanovs, but also the Rurikovichs did not give these names to their children. There were no stories associated with it, but it was considered unworthy of monarchs. Only a few princes called their sons that. Perhaps this was due to some personal predilections of the kings, which were simply passed on to the rest.

The Romanov dynasty sat on the Russian throne for three centuries. It seems that more films and TV series are dedicated to the last emperor Nicholas II and his family than the entire dynasty. This is not surprising, for their fate was very dramatic and gave filmmakers all over the world a lot of materials for documentaries, artistic rethinking and creative speculation.