Most Romanians celebrating Saint Basil are men. Less than half a million Romanians celebrate their name day

968 readings

More than 496,000 people celebrate their name day on January 1, on the occasion of the feast of Saint Basil the Great. The Directorate for the Registration of Persons has provided the annual data on the name of the first day of the year and less than half a million Romanians will be celebrated in 2025.

According to the data provided by the Directorate for the Registration of Persons, it is about 496,490 Romanians – 420,830 men and 75,660 women.

The most celebrated men bear the surname Vasile – 399,669.

There are also derivatives Vasilica/Vasilică – 19,999 people, Sile – 440, Sica/Sică – 366, Silica/Silică – 214 and Vasi – 142.

For women, the most celebrated are those with the surname Vasilica – 72,982.

Other celebrated ones are those called Vasilca – 1,072, Sica – 805, Silica – 496, Vasila – 281 and Vasi – 24.

Saint Basil the Great, one of the most important fathers of the Orthodox Church and one of the greatest Christian theologians, is considered “guardian of evil spirits”.

On the day of St. Basil the Great, tradition says that it is good to spill wine on the table, break a white glass, overturn a matchbox or give alms to a poor man, so that you will be lucky all year. Popular tradition also says that you are lucky if the first person to enter the house on January 1st is a man.