ROMAN

(male) (Russian) , Polish, and Czech: from the Late Latin personal name Romanus, originally an ethnic name meaning ‘Roman’ (a derivative of Roma; compare Romolo). This name was borne by a large number of early saints, and in the 10th century was given as a baptismal name to Boris, son of Vladimir, the ruler who Christianized Kievan Russia. Boris and his brother Gleb were murdered by their brother Svyatopolk and canonized as martyrs. Use of the name in the English-speaking world is recent, influenced perhaps by the film director Roman Polanski (b. 1933 as Raimund Liebling).