Pick a date to see the Orthodox feast and who celebrates a name day. The list covers the best-known feasts with names, and movable feasts (Palm Sunday, Easter) are calculated for each year.
Main name days in the Orthodox calendar
| Date | Feast | Names |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | St Basil the Great | Vasile, Vasilica, Vasilia |
| 6 January | Epiphany | Iordan, Iordana |
| 7 January | St John the Baptist | Ion, Ioan, Ioana, Ionel, Ionela, Ionuț, Ionică |
| 17 January | St Anthony the Great | Anton, Antonie, Antonia |
| 18 January | Sts Athanasius and Cyril | Atanasie, Chiril |
| 25 January | St Gregory the Theologian | Grigore, Grigorie |
| 30 January | The Three Holy Hierarchs | Vasile, Grigore, Ioan |
| 23 April | St George the Great Martyr | Gheorghe, George, Georgiana, Georgeta, Gheorghiță |
| 25 April | St Mark the Evangelist | Marcu |
| 2 May | St Athanasius the Great | Atanasie |
| 8 May | St John the Evangelist | Ion, Ioan |
| 21 May | Sts Constantine and Helen | Constantin, Costel, Costin, Elena, Ileana, Lenuța |
| 24 June | Nativity of St John the Baptist | Ion, Ioana, Sânziana |
| 29 June | Sts Peter and Paul | Petru, Petre, Pavel, Paul, Paula |
| 17 July | St Marina | Marina |
| 20 July | St Elijah the Prophet | Ilie, Iliana, Ilinca |
| 25 July | St Anna | Ana, Anca, Anișoara |
| 27 July | St Panteleimon | Pantelimon, Pantelie |
| 15 August | Dormition of the Theotokos | Maria, Marian, Mariana, Marioara |
| 8 September | Nativity of the Theotokos | Maria, Marian, Mariana |
| 17 September | St Sophia and her daughters | Sofia, Vera, Speranța, Nadia |
| 14 October | St Paraskevi | Paraschiva, Parascheva, Veta |
| 18 October | St Luke the Evangelist | Luca |
| 26 October | St Demetrius | Dumitru, Dumitrița, Mitică, Mitruț |
| 8 November | Synaxis of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel | Mihail, Mihai, Mihaela, Gavril, Gabriel, Gabriela |
| 14 November | St Philip the Apostle | Filip |
| 25 November | St Catherine | Ecaterina, Cătălina, Cătălin, Catinca |
| 30 November | St Andrew the Apostle | Andrei, Andreea, Andrada |
| 4 December | St Barbara | Barbara, Varvara, Barbu |
| 6 December | St Nicholas | Nicolae, Nicu, Nicușor, Nicoleta, Nicoară |
| 12 December | St Spyridon | Spiridon, Spiridușa |
| 24 December | St Eugenia | Eugenia, Eugen |
| 27 December | St Stephen the Protomartyr | Ștefan, Ștefania, Ștefănel |
The Orthodox calendar has several feasts for the same name and some names are celebrated on more than one date. The list contains only the best-known name days and is not exhaustive. Palm Sunday and Easter change date every year.
Frequently asked questions
What is a name day?
It is the day on which the saint whose name someone bears is celebrated. In Romania, name days usually follow the Orthodox calendar.
When is the name day for Ion?
On 7 January (St John the Baptist). Other dates are 8 May and 24 June.
When is St George’s day?
On 23 April.
When is the name day for Maria?
On 15 August (Dormition of the Theotokos) and 8 September (Nativity of the Theotokos).
Why are some names missing?
The list is selective, with only feasts that have well-known names. Not all names have a single feast in the calendar.
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