About the name Anatoli / Anatoly
Etymology & meaning
Anatoli comes from the Greek ἀνατολή — "sunrise, east": "the man of the east", "of the dawn". The full form is Anatoliy; the name is especially widespread in the East Slavic world.
History & patron saint
The patron is Saint Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople (3 July) — the 5th-century hierarch under whom the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon affirmed the Orthodox teaching of Christ's two natures.
Traditions & customs
The name day is a summer one — treats outdoors at a light table. Wishes play on the name's sense: "may your days be bright as sunrise".
Popularity & notable bearers
Anatoli is familiar if never mass in Bulgaria, given mostly in the 1960s–70s under East Slavic influence; the short Tolya lives in everyday speech.