Today’s Greek name day travels further than family lunch tables. If you know a Justina or Justine, or even the rarer Cyprian, they share in today’s celebration too, whether their name came through Greek, Latin, French or English. It is the kind of tradition that turns into an easy text message and a good conversation with a classmate, co-worker or neighbour.
Justina and Justine come from the Latin name Justinus, built on iustus, meaning just, fair or upright. The Greek forms Ιουστίνα and Ιουστίνη reflect that Roman and later Christian-era name as it moved into Greek usage. Cyprian, from Κυπριανός, comes through Latin Cyprianus, meaning “from Cyprus,” and ultimately points back to the island’s ancient Greek name, Kypros.
In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after whom they were named at baptism.
There is something quietly graceful in these names today. A godmother named Justina can seem like the one who never rushes to judgement, while a university friend called Justine may be the person everyone trusts to keep things balanced when tempers rise. And a Cyprian, whether he is a cousin, a customer or the barber who knows everybody’s stories, carries a name with the old Mediterranean world still folded into it.
These are not the most common names on a Montreal street, which almost makes the day nicer to share. It gives the reader a chance to surprise the one Justine at work, the one Justina in the extended family, or the Cyprian who probably does not expect anyone outside the family to know.
Chronia Polla! to everyone celebrating today, Greek and non-Greek alike. If you know a Justina, Justine or Cyprian, today is a good day to send the wish along and introduce someone to a small Greek custom they may not even know they share.
