Boris - name meaning, origin

The boy's name Boris \b(o)-

is pronounced BOR-iss. It is of Russian and Slavic origin, and its meaning is "small; battle glory". Originally from the Tartar nickname Bogoris, then used as a shortened form of the Russian name Borislav. The name was borne by a ninth century ruler of Bulgaria who converted his kingdom to Christianity. Saint Boris (10th century) is known as the patron saint of Moscow. Russian playwright Pushkin and composer Mussorgsky both based works on the career of the 16th-century czar Boris Godunov, who became cartoon character "Boris Badenov" in "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", resulting in a faint comic connotation. Horror-movie actor Boris Karloff; author Boris Pasternak; tennis player Boris Becker.

Boris has 4 variant forms: Boriss, Borja, Borris and Borys.

Baby names that sound like Boris are Baris and Paris.

Boris is a somewhat common first name for men (#860 out of 1220) and an even more common last name for both men and women (#11912 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)

Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the boy name Boris. Compare Boris with its variant forms and related boy names.

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