Name «Liubytsia»

The name Liubytsia is used by Ukrainians in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Croatia. In these countries, it is no longer perceived as a diminutive. Within the Ukrainian community, there is an effort to use this variant of the name in official and formal contexts. For example, a professor at Prešov University is officially referred to and recorded as Liubytsia Babota; a former student of Prešov Ukrainian Gymnasium from 1986 is Liubytsia Leshkanin (see Regional Studies Dictionary, page 175). The name Liubytsia was introduced into artistic literature by O. Dukhnovych in the idyll "Milen and Liubytsia" (Works). This name is formed from the base name Liuba with the diminutive suffix -ytsia. It is also used among Ukrainians and Rusyns in Serbia, but there it is pronounced with a hard /ts/. For example, names of students from the interwar years in the town of Šid include Liubytsia Burchak, Liubytsia Skuban, and Liubytsia Zhdinyak (see Mudry - Salamon, pages 246 - 252).