Kaloyan, who was still a teenager in 1188, must have been born around 1170, according to historian Alexandru Madgearu. He was baptised Ivan (or John), but he was called Johannitsa ("Little Ivan") because Ivan was also the baptismal name of his elder brother Asen. Kaloyan derived from the Greek expression for John the Handsome "(Kallos Ioannis)". His Greek enemies also called him "Skyloioannes" ("John the Dog"), which gave rise to references to "Tsar Skaloyan" or "Scaluian" in frescos in the Dragalevtsi Monastery and the Sucevița Monastery.