Elena and Constantine

On the 21st of  May, the Orthodox Christians celebrate Saint Emperors Constantine and Helena. So, all those named Constantine and Helen or derived from these have a new reason to have a good day today. Happy name’s day to you Elena and Constantine! And me!

For those who would like to know more about the meaning of Elena, here is what I found on the internet. If you want to know more, click on the link below the info.

Elena (spanish source)

Nombre de origen griego que significa “antorcha“. Muy extravertida, sociable y amable, disfruta de la compañía de los demás y del bullicio de la multitud. Una polvorilla.

Elena (italian sources)

English equivalents: Ellen, Helen, Helena. Derived from the Greek name Heléne, Latinized into Helena or Helene. Taken from hele meaning “splendor, vigor of the sun.”

In Greek mythology Helen was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, whose kidnapping by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War.

One of her name days is on August 18 – in memory of St. Flavia Julia Helena Augusta, mother of Constantine the Great.

Elena (russian sources)

The name is of Old Greek origin with its meaning being still not quite clear – it might be “clear, chosen” or “bright, light, torch“.

One of its Russian versions is Alyona.

Since early childhood Elena loves fairy tales. She is a bit reserved and is never is complete tune with other children – she is always slightly aloof engrossed in the world of her imagination. Elena is trustful but if she faces deception based on her credulity she will definitely try to punish the person who has deceived her demonstrating remarkable creativity and imagination in the matter. Elena is kind but in childhood her kindness is not of energetic nature. For instance she can bring home a stray kitten, give him hot milk and mourn over his deplorable fate but she is not able of being firm enough with her parents so that it would stay at her place. She is slightly interested in everything. She is attracted by the beautiful and tries to embroider, sew and knit.

Elena does her homework from time to home; however at school she does fairly well owing to a great extent to her retentive memory and a teacher she likes. Elena often takes after her father, at any rate as far as her character is concerned. On the basis of her father’s disposition Elena develops emotionality and intolerance. In generals emotions play a significant role in Elena’s life. In youth she comes across as timid and reserved but on further acquaintance she comes out in her true colours and it gets clear that she is cheerful, optimistic and dreamy. Elena can do the best in the sphere involving communication.

Love as an emotion is secondary with Elena, it displays as a consequence of pity. Elena would marry a man who arouses her compassion rather than a prosperous and a handsome one. Taking no pity on herself and her sacrificial love Elena expects the other person to do the same in return. She takes painfully everything that distracts her husband’s attention- his friends, hobbies, etc. Engrossed in the world of inner emotional experience she is indifferent to conditions of life and other daily routine issues; she can make do with the least. At Elena’s home there is usually peace. She is a home person and a caring mother. She can be a good housewife only if she is in the right frame of mind for it; otherwise she regards housework only as tedious but indispensable element of her life.

Source: http://www.orcca.on.ca/~elena/site/NameElena.html

Well, how about that! 😉

For Constantine I found even fewer info but it is still enough for a man’s name. 😉

Constantine (pronounced /ˈkɒnstəntaɪn/ or /ˈkɒnstəntiːn/; Latin: Cōnstantīnus, Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos) is a masculinegiven name and surname which is derived from the Latin name Constantinus^[1], a hypocoristic of the first names Constans and Constantius, both meaning “constant, steadfast” in Latin.^[2] The names are the Latin equivalents of the Greek name Eustáthios, meaning the same. The name “Constantine” is still very common in Greece and Cyprus, the forms Κώστας (Costas) and Ντίνος (Dinos) being popular hypocoristics. The popularity stems from the eleven Roman and Byzantine emperors (beginning with St. Constantine I) and two Greek kings of the same regnal name.

Costel is a common Romanian form. The Russian, Macedonian and Serbian form is Konstantin, and their short forms Kostya and Kosta, respectively. The name is common among Orthodox people in Albania, in the form of Kostandin or Kosta.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_(name)

When you think that one of the most beautiful women in the world had this name, Elena, it is indeed a reason of joy, but when you think she started a war, well… you think again, because another Elena found the Holly Cross so it is another reason of joy.

Happy Name Day! x