Today, every Isaiah and Christopher you know shares a name day with the Greek tradition. That can mean a cousin called Ilias at home but Isaiah at work, a Christopher in your contacts, a Chris on your hockey team, or even a Christophe, Cristóbal or Kristóf in the wider circle around you.
Isaiah comes into English through biblical Greek Ἠσαΐας and Latin Esaias from Hebrew Yeshayahu, usually understood as “Yahweh is salvation.” The Greek form Ησαΐας was preserved through the Septuagint and later church Greek, which is why it remains recognizable in Greek calendars even if it is less common in everyday Canadian use. Christopher comes straight from Greek Χριστόφορος, built from Christos and pherein, “to bear” or “to carry,” before spreading through Latin into the many European forms familiar today.
In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, a person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after whom they were named at baptism.
Isaiah has the kind of resonance that suits the uncle whose words are measured and memorable, or the teacher who sees further ahead than everyone else in the room. Christopher carries a more active image, fitting the friend who is always driving someone to the airport, helping a neighbour move, or showing up first when something needs to be carried. Between them are all the family versions too: the theo called Christoforos, the classmate everyone knows simply as Chris, the quieter Isaiah in a university seminar, and the little Sitsa in a Greek family who may be celebrating under a nickname outsiders would never guess.
Chronia Polla! to everyone celebrating today, in Greek and in every other language form of these names. It is a good day to text an Isaiah, Christopher, Chris or Christophe a quick happy name day and share one of those small Greek customs that lands beautifully in everyday Canadian life.
