Names of hope

In Russia most names, mine included, came with Orthodox Christianity. They mean something, but in Greek or Hebrew. There are only a few names that mean exactly what they say. Nadezhda, hope, is one of them.

I always wondered what it is like to introduce yourself with a word that has so much meaning, so much longing, so much light. And what it is like to give that name to your child who has just been born, to hand them your hopes, or maybe your hopes for the world.

I talked to so many “Hopes” for this project. Hopes from Colombia to Japan. They told me about a father back from a war, a grandmother and three saintly sisters, a banned film, made by a revolutionary. They smiled at how much their names mean to them, and how little.

They all felt hopeful knowing that, across the world, in different cultures and religions, so many people carry the same name, even if it sounds different.