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Etymology and origin of the Russian word имя

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1056–1057 Ostromir Gospel
Inherited from
Old East Slavic имѧ
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥

Pronunciation

Forms

и́мя (ímja) n inan (genitive и́мени, nominative plural имена́, genitive plural имён, relational adjective именно́й, diminutive и́мечко)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old East Slavic имѧ (imę), from Proto-Slavic *jьmę (“name”), genitive *jьmene, from an older *ьnmen-.[1][2][3] The word is common Slavic: Ukrainian ім'я (im'já), Old Church Slavonic имѧ (imę), Bulgarian име (íme), Czech jméno and Polish imię.[2][4]

It continues the Indo-European word for name, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥.[1] Its cognates include Old Prussian emmens, Old Irish ainm, Ancient Greek ὄνομα (ónoma), Old Armenian անուն (anun), Sanskrit नामन् (nā́man), Latin nōmen and Hittite lāman.[2][1][4]

The deeper origin of the Indo-European word is unclear.[5] Shaposhnikov derives the Slavic form from Proto-Indo-European *en-men- (“what is put inside”), a variant of *onōmen, *nōmen (“what is put on top”).[6] Shansky and Bobrova list three views: a derivative in ⟨-men⟩ of the stem of *jęti (“to take”) (Russian иметь), meaning “the name taken, accepted”; a derivative of the preposition *en (“in”); or a weakened variant of знамя.[5] Vasmer, Trubachev and ESRJa reject Isačenko's derivation from a clan-society term *jьm-men (“accepted sign”), from the same verb.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sreznevsky first records the word in the Ostromir Gospel of 1056–1057.[4] SlRJa's earliest quotation is from the Sinai Patericon of the 11th–12th century: „имя его Патрики” “his name was Patrikios”.[7] Old Russian used it for a name, an appellation and a word.[6]

Semantic evolution

In the 11th–17th centuries the word had the genitive имене or имени and the derivatives именьнъ, именьныи and именовати.[6] Besides a person's name it meant a nickname, the full name with patronymic and surname (1562), and the name of a place, people or faith;[7] на имя meant “by name” (1675).[7] The merchant Afanasy Nikitin, in a 15th–16th-century copy of his travels, writes: „Имя ми Офонасей, а бесерменьское имя хозя Исуфъ Хоросани” “My name is Afanasy, and my Muslim name is Khoja Yusuf Khorasani”.[7]

The figurative sense “fame, renown” was current by the 19th century: человек с именем is a man who has made his name.[8] The grammatical sense “noun” is a calque of Latin nōmen or Ancient Greek ὄνομα (ónoma).[9] Modern Russian also uses имени with a genitive to name an institution after a person.[6] In Oryol, Kaluga and Tula dialects имя is a form of вымя “udder”.[10]

Timeline

  • 1056–1057 – the word in the Ostromir Gospel.[4]
  • 11th–12th century – имя его Патрики “his name was Patrikios” in the Sinai Patericon.[7]
  • 15th–16th century – Afanasy Nikitin's “my name is Afanasy” in a copy of his travels.[7]
  • 1562 – the sense “full name, with patronymic and surname”.[7]
  • 1675 – на имя “by name”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A personal name, given to a person at birth; also the name of an animal: Её имя — Ольга “Her name is Olga”.[11][12]
  2. A surname, a family name, or a name with its patronymic.[11][12]
  3. Reputation, personal fame: врач с именем “a doctor who has made a name”.[11][13]
  4. (figurative) A famous person, someone who has made a name.[13][14]
  5. The name of a thing, place or phenomenon.[6][14]
  6. (grammar) A noun in the broad sense, a class of declinable words: имя существительное “noun”, имя прилагательное “adjective”.[6][1]
  7. имени + genitive: named after someone, in the names of institutions.[6]

Word family

  • именной
  • именовать
  • наименование
  • именины
  • именитый
  • именно
  • безымянный
  • имярек
  • местоимение
  • поимённый
  • одноимённый
  • именительный
  • отымённый
  • тезоименитство
  • тезоименитый
  • Old East Slavic имѧ (imę)

Usage notes

The word is a neuter noun in ⟨-мя⟩: genitive и́мени, plural имена́, genitive plural имён.[11][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 129–130
  3. ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 4, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 212
  4. ^ a b c d e Shansky, N. M.; Zhuravlev, A. F. (eds.) (1963–2007), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь русского языка], vols. 1–10 (A–M), Moskva: Izdatel'stvo Moskovskogo universiteta, p. 7, s.v. имя
  5. ^ a b Shansky, N. M.; Bobrova, T. A. (2004), Škol'nyj ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka [Школьный этимологический словарь русского языка], 7th ed., Moskva: Drofa, p. s.v. имя
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Shaposhnikov, A. K. (2010), Ètimologičeskij slovar' sovremennogo russkogo jazyka [Этимологический словарь современного русского языка], 2 vols., Moskva: Flinta / Nauka, p. 1, 352
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Barkhudarov, S. G. et al. (eds.) (1975–), Slovar' russkogo jazyka XI–XVII vv. [Словарь русского языка XI–XVII вв.], vols. 1–31, Moskva: Nauka / Azbukovnik / Lexrus, p. 6, 231
  8. ^ Michelson, M. I. (1902–1903), Russkaja mysl' i reč'. Svoe i čužoe. Opyt russkoj frazeologii [Русская мысль и речь. Свое и чужое. Опыт русской фразеологии], 2 vols., Sankt-Peterburg, p. s.v. Имя
  9. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), Ètimologičeskij slovar' russkogo jazyka, transl. and suppl. by O. N. Trubačev, 4 vols., Moskva: Progress, p. 2, 130
  10. ^ Filin, F. P.; Sorokoletov, F. P.; Myznikov, S. A. (eds.) (1965–), Slovar' russkix narodnyx govorov [Словарь русских народных говоров], vols. 1–51, Moskva / Leningrad / Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka, p. 12, 195
  11. ^ a b c d Ozhegov, S. I.; Shvedova, N. Yu. (1997), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4th ed., Moskva: Azbukovnik, p. s.v. имя
  12. ^ a b Evgen'eva, A. P. (ed.) (1981–1984), Slovar' russkogo jazyka v četyrex tomax [Словарь русского языка в 4 тт.] (MAS), 2nd ed., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. имя
  13. ^ a b Ushakov, D. N. (ed.) (1935–1940), Tolkovyj slovar' russkogo jazyka [Толковый словарь русского языка], 4 vols., Moskva: Sovetskaja ènciklopedija / OGIZ, p. s.v. имя
  14. ^ a b Efremova, T. F. (2000), Novyj slovar' russkogo jazyka. Tolkovo-slovoobrazovatel'nyj [Новый словарь русского языка. Толково-словообразовательный], 2 vols., Moskva: Russkij jazyk, p. s.v. имя

Related etymologies

  • вода · also from Old East Slavic
  • быть · also from Old East Slavic
  • с · also from Old East Slavic
  • на · also from Old East Slavic
  • в · also from Old East Slavic
  • и · also from Old East Slavic
  • что · also from Old East Slavic
  • не · also from Old East Slavic
Cite this entry

“Имя.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/ru/%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%8F. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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