Boris

bu-REES; BAWR-iss; BO-rees; BAW-rees; BOH-riss
Slavic
"to fight"

Boris Origin and Meaning

The name Boris is a boy's name of Slavic origin meaning "to fight".

Boris is one of the old Russian names being revived by chic Europeans; it hasn't quite made a comeback yet in the U.S., but it does have potential.

For a long time the name has been associated with Boris Karloff, famed for playing Frankenstein's monster; he was William Henry Pratt before taking on the more captivating stage name of Boris — and the Karloff fear factor may have kept some parents away. Now, it might be the association with ex-Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson that puts some people off.

A Russian saint's name, Boris has other more benign and inspiring namesakes like German-born tennis champ Boris Becker and writer Boris Pasternak, author of Dr. Zhivago, as well as the early Tsar Boris Gudonov, son-in-law of Ivan the Terrible, the subject of the Moussorgsky opera.

Boris Trigorin is a main character in the Chekhov play The Seagull.

# 893 in the US

Boris Rank in US Top 1000

# 1776 on Nameberry

Boris Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Boris Popularity

20 Names Similar to Boris

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Boris.

Famous People Named Boris

  • Boris Fyodorovich Godunov
    Tsar of Russia
  • Boris Karloff (born William Henry Pratt)
    English actor
  • Boris Said
    American NASCAR driver
  • Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin
    Russian President
  • Boris Franz Becker
    German tennis player
  • Boris Vian
    French novelist, jazz musician and polymath
  • Boris Aronson
    American theatrical scenic designer
  • (Alexander) Boris de Pfeffel Johnson
    British Prime Minister
  • Boris Mikhaylovich Moiseev
    Russian singer and dancer
  • Boris Kodjoe
    American actor
  • Boris Leonidovich Pasternak
    Russian novelist
  • Boris Vasilievich Spassky
    Russian chess grandmaster and World Champion
  • Boris Babacar Diaw
    French basketball player

Boris in Pop Culture

  • Boris the Wolf
    fictional character that appears in the horror game "Bendy and the Ink Machine"
  • Boris Walleyska
    main character on TV's "Alien Dawn"
  • Boris Badenov
    a main adversary on "The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show"
  • Boris
    a snow goose in the animated movie Balto
  • Boris Pavliovsky
    character in Donna Tartt's "The Goldfinch"
  • Boris
    later Sparrowpelt, character in Erin Hunter's "Warriors" book series
  • Boris
    Great Dane dog in the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie/musical "Freaky Friday"

Boris in Nameberry Blog Posts