Today’s name day is a more distinctly Greek one, the kind that may not have an everyday English twin but still travels easily across Montreal through classmates, co-workers and neighbours named Trifilios or Trifylios. If you know someone who carries the name in its Greek form, this is the sort of day that can start a conversation, especially with friends who have never heard of a name day before.
Trifilios, from Greek Τριφύλλιος, is connected to the Greek word trifýlli, meaning clover, built from tri, “three,” and phyllon, “leaf.” The image is ancient and transparent in Greek: the three-leaf plant became the heart of the name itself, giving it a natural, almost pastoral character. As a personal name, it is especially associated with Saint Tryphyllios of Cyprus, which helped preserve it in Greek use through the centuries.
In the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition, a person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after whom they were named at baptism.
There is something memorable about a name with such a clear image inside it. You can picture a papou Trifilios whose garden always comes in strong by midsummer, or a customer at the bakery whose presence feels familiar enough that everyone knows his order before he speaks. Even a university friend with a rarer Greek name like this often becomes the person everyone remembers first, simply because the name stays with you.
So today, warm wishes go to every Trifilios and Trifylios celebrating. Chronia Polla! And if there is one in your contacts, send the message along. A quick “happy name day” is often all it takes to let a small piece of Greek tradition land in someone else’s Canadian day.
