Names of Soviet origin

Given names of Soviet origin appeared in the early history of the Soviet Union,[3] coinciding with the period of intensive word formation, both being part of the so-called "revolutionary transformation of the society" with the corresponding fashion of neologisms and acronyms,[4] which Richard Stites characterized as a utopian vision of creating a new reality by means of verbal imagery.

Such names may be primarily found in Russian persons,[5] and sometimes in Belarusians and Ukrainians,[6] as well as in other minorities of the former USSR (e.g. Tatar[7]).

The proliferation of the new names was enhanced by the propagation of a short-lived "new Soviet rite" of Octobering, in replacement of the religious tradition of child baptism in the state with the official dogma of Marxist–Leninist atheism.

[3][8] In defiance of the old tradition of taking names from menology, according to the feast days,[3] many names were taken from nature having patriotic, revolutionary, or progressive connotation: Beryoza (Берёза, "birch tree", a proverbial Russian tree), Gvozdika (Гвоздика, "carnation", a revolutionary flower), Granit (Гранит, "granite", a symbol of power), Radiy (Радий, "radium", a symbol of scientific progress).

[4] A peculiarity of the new naming was neologisms based on the revolutionary phraseology of the day, such as Oktyabrin/Oktyabrina, to commemorate the October Revolution, Vladlen for Vladimir Lenin.