Timofey

Timofey is the Russian Timothy, three syllables with a lift on that final fey. The Greek Timotheos means "honoring God," a name carried by one of Saint Paul's closest companions and passed through Byzantium into the Slavic world. It has climbed steadily in Russia in recent years, a favored choice for parents seeking a saint's name that still sounds fresh. Nabokov's Pnin, with its bumbling, tender professor named Timofey Pavlovich, pinned the name to twentieth-century literature in English. The diminutive Tima is effortless, warm, almost mischievous. Rare in English birth registries, approachable in sound, with a thoughtful, scholarly air.