Boris

**Boris**, **Borys** or **Barys** (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Ukrainian: Борис; Belarusian: Барыс) is a male name of Bulgar origin, an extinct Turkic language. It is among the most common names used in slavic speaking countries. It is most commonly used in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia and other countries in Eastern Europe. The spelling variant *Borys* is more common in Poland.

The name, although most commonly used in and associated with countries speaking slavic languages, the name is also used in Germanic speaking countries, such as Germany as well as England and its former colonies, such as the United States, India and Australia.

### Meaning

Among the most commonly accepted theories is that the names origins can be found in the Bulgar language. Despite that, the precise etymology of it still remains unclear. It may be derived from one or more of several Turkic words such as *böri* – meaning "wolf", or from *bogöri* – which means "short", or from *bars* – meaning "snow leopard". It can be used as a short form of the name **Borislav**, derived from the Slavic elements *borti* "battle" and *slava* "glory", "fame". Through the nickname "Bob" the name is often linked together with the name **Robert**, an ancient Germanic name meaning "fame-bright".

## People with the name

### Royalty

* **Knyaz Boris I of Bulgaria**, Emperor of Bulgarian Empire and saint, one of the principal commanders of  Byzantine–Bulgarian wars
* **Tsar Boris II of Bulgaria**, Emperor of Bulgarian Empire, one of the principal commanders of  Byzantine–Bulgarian wars and Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria
* **Boris III of Bulgaria**, Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1894–1943), one of the principal commanders of European Theatre of World War II
* **Grand Duke Boris of Russia**
* **Boris and Gleb**, Russian princes; murdered 1015; first Russian saints
* **Boris, Prince of Turnovo**
* **Tsar Boris Godunov**, Tsar of Russia during the late 16th and early 17th centuries and Time of Troubles, the principal leader of Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595)

### Presidents and Prime Ministers

* **Boris Stürmer** (1848–1917), Russian lawyer, Master of Ceremonies at the Russian Court, district governor of German descent, member of the Russian Assembly, Prime Minister of Russia, Minister of Internal Affairs and Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire
* **Boris Ebzeyev**, Karachay politician and judge, president of Karachay–Cherkessia and one of the principal commanders of Insurgency in the North Caucasus
* **Boris Kidrič**, Slovenian communist official and resistance leader, Prime Minister of Slovenia
* **Boris Johnson**, Former Mayor of London and Prime Minister of United Kingdom, one of the principal commanders of War on Terror, War against the Islamic State, 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis, American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war, Operation Juniper Shield, Fall of Kabul (2021), Mali War, War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and Taliban insurgency
* **Boris Tadić** (born 1958), Yugoslav-Serb politician; former President of Serbia
* **Boris Trajkovski**, Macedonian politician who served as the second President of Macedonia from 1999 until his death in 2004 in a plane crash, one of the principal commanders of 2001 insurgency in Macedonia and Yugoslav Wars
* **Boris Yeltsin**, Russian politiciand and first President of Russia, one of the principal commanders of 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, War of Dagestan, First Chechen War, Second Chechen War, Tajikistani Civil War, East Prigorodny conflict, Abkhaz–Georgian conflict, Georgian–Ossetian conflict, Georgian Civil War and Transnistria War

### Military

* **Boris Gromov**, Russian military and political figure, Governor of Moscow Oblast, one of the principal commanders of Soviet-Afghan War
* **Boris Pistorius**, German lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), German Federal Minister of Defence, one of the principal commanders of Mali War
* **Boris Shaposhnikov**, Soviet Russian general, Chief of the Staff of the Red Army, and Marshal of the Soviet Union, one of the principal commanders Eastern Front (World War II) and Battle of Moscow
* **Count Boris Sheremetev**, Russian diplomat and general field marshal, one of the principal commanders of the Great Northern War

### Politicians

* **Boris Gryzlov**, Russian politician, Interior Minister from 2001 to 2003 and Speaker of the State Duma from 2003 to 2011
* **Boris Pugo**, Soviet Communist politician of Latvian origin, Minister of Interior of Soviet Union, one of the principal commanders of 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt and The Barricades
* **Boris Shcherbina**, Ukrainian Soviet politician who supervised the crisis management of both the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and the 1988 Armenian earthquake

### Actors

* **Boris Karloff** (1887–1969), English actor; appeared in many horror films
* **Boris Kodjoe**, American actor
* **Boris Roatta** (1980–1994), French child actor
* **Boris Rösner** (1951–2006), Czech actor