Orestas

Orestas is a masculine given name used primarily in Lithuania. It is the Lithuanian form of the classical Greek name Orestes, the mythological son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in ancient Greek tragedy.

The name entered Lithuanian usage through classical education and national cultural revival, and it remains in common use in contemporary Lithuania and among Lithuanian communities abroad. It is one of several Lithuanian forms of Greek and Roman names that were popular in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The origin and meaning of the Greek name Orestes are uncertain; scholarly theories link the root to various Greek words, but a precise etymology is not established. The Lithuanian form Orestas adapts the sound and spelling to Lithuanian phonology.

In other languages, related forms include Orestes in Greek and Orest as a shorter form in some contexts; Orestas is the standard Lithuanian form.