I.
Etymology
The root of the name — Baltic, Christian, Slavic or Germanic — traced gently back to the year it first appears in Latvian parish books.
Vārda Grāmata · The Book of the Name
A hardcover book
about your name.
Etymology, poetry & literature, name-day, famous bearers — written in Rīga, bound in hardcover, sent to your door with a wax seal.
Order your book — €79
Free worldwide shipping · 3–4 weeks
What is inside
Eighteen pages, gathered over a winter
Eight chapters, composed from poetry, parish records and old ethnographic notes. Every book contains them all.
II.
Poetry & Literature
Poems and literary passages that carry the name — gathered from across the centuries, in their original spelling.
III.
Name-day across Europe
When and where the name is celebrated across the world — its dates, its customs, its place on the calendar.
IV.
Famous bearers
Poets, soldiers, scientists, midwives — a quiet portrait gallery of those who carried the name before you.
V.
Saints & mythology
The patron saint, or the pagan figure, whose shadow lingers behind the name on the church calendar.
VI.
Name-day menu
A celebratory table for the name-day — dishes and traditions from the countries where the name is most beloved.
VII.
The name in numbers & languages
Numerology in the old folk sense, plus how the name travels through Russian, English, French, Lithuanian and Yiddish.
VIII.
A letter to the name
A personal page from Mirdza Liepiņa, addressed to the person who carries it — and a dedication from the one who gave the gift.
How it works
From your screen to your shelf
01
Tell us the name
At checkout, you give us the given name, and — if it is a gift — the name of the person sending it. Nothing else is needed.
02
We write & print in Rīga
Our small atelier composes the book by hand, sets the type, and prints it on uncoated paper, then binds it in hardcover.
03
It arrives sealed in wax
Wrapped in linen ribbon, sealed with burgundy wax, and tucked into a kraft envelope — to your door in 3–4 weeks.
The atelier
Letters from Mirdza Liepiņa
Mirdza is the voice of LIEPA — an etymologist who arrives in Rīga in 1924 with a notebook and a habit of writing letters to strangers. Every book we make is one of her letters.
Shipping & details
Posted from Rīga, with care
- Free shipping
- Worldwide, included in the €79.
- 3–4 weeks
- Made to order — printed, packaged in Rīga, sent worldwide.
- Handpacked in Rīga
- Linen ribbon, burgundy wax, kraft envelope.
- Hardcover
- 18 pages, uncoated paper, hardcover binding.
Give a name its book.
For a birthday, a name-day, or the first Christmas spent far from home. One name, one book, one envelope sealed in wax.
Order your book — €79Free worldwide shipping · arrives in 3–4 weeks