Today’s name day travels in different directions at once. A Greek-Canadian might know a Nectarios in the family, a Mayra at work, or a Myra from school, all tied in some way to the names marked on November 9. Alongside them are the rarer Greek forms Elladios and Theoktisti, names less likely to appear on a hockey roster or office email list, but still part of the same tradition of reaching out with a warm message.
Nectarios comes from the Greek νέκταρ, nectar, the drink of the gods in ancient Greek literature, a word that passed into Latin and then into English as “nectar,” carrying the sense of sweetness and richness. Mayra is best understood in modern use through Spanish Mayra and English Myra, a name family with a later international life rather than a deep classical Greek one. Elladios is built on Hellas, the Greek name for Greece, while Theoktisti comes from Greek elements meaning “built” or “created” by God.
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 memorable about Nectarios for the uncle whose voice softens every room he enters, or the colleague who somehow makes a difficult day easier by mid-afternoon. Mayra suits the classmate or customer whose name already moves easily between languages, one of those names that never needs much explanation in Montreal. And for a yiayia or godmother named Theoktisti, the name carries an older, rarer music, the kind that makes people pause and ask where it comes from.
Chronia Polla! to everyone celebrating today, Greek and non-Greek alike. If you know a Nectarios, Mayra, Myra, Elladios or Theoktisti, today is a lovely excuse to send a quick “happy name day” and share a small Greek tradition with someone who may not even know they are part of it.
