Male Polish given name · rank 25 among male names (2024)
/ˈbɔ.rɨs/ · BAW-riss
Borys is the Polish and Ukrainian form of the name Boris, whose origin is not entirely certain. It is most often connected with a Slavic root meaning "battle" or "fight", giving the sense "warrior, fighter". It is also sometimes linked to a Bulgarian name of Turkic roots.
The name gained standing through Saint Boris, an eleventh-century Rus' prince who, together with his brother Gleb, died a martyr's death and was venerated as one of the first saints of Kievan Rus'. It passed into Polish from the East Slavic world. In Poland it remains a rarer name, but a strong and distinctive one.
It is most often traced to the Slavic root "bor-" (battle, fight), perhaps as a shortening of the name Borysław. Another hypothesis links it to the Bulgarian Bogoris of Turkic roots.
| Nominative | Borys |
| Genitive | Borysa |
| Dative | Borysowi |
| Accusative | Borysa |
| Instrumental | Borysem |
| Locative | Borysie |
| Vocative | Borysie |
In Poland, Borys celebrates its name day on 10 August.
Borek, Borysek, Boryś.
Equivalents in other languages include Boris (Russian, German, French, Czech), Barys (Belarusian), Boriss (Latvian) and Boro and Borko (South Slavic forms).
Borys remains a relatively rare name in Poland, though in recent years it has drawn growing interest from parents seeking strong, short names.