Christianism reached the Albanian culture via Rome, in a very early stage
(the core Christian terminology in Albanian is Latin). Many Christian names
were adopted at that time, and some of these have made it to our day. Such is
the case of modern Albanian <Ndue> from a presumably Latin form <Anton> (or
something similar); both the aphaeresis of the initial <a->, and the
transformation <-on> <-ue> are regular (and quite archaic). The same name is
also used in its modern form <Anton> more or less by the same people who now
perceive <Ndue> as archaic (urban Catholics).
Examples of these early Christian names: <Gjin>, <Mhill>, <Gjon>, <Llesh>,
<Tome>, <Pal>, <Zef>, <Pjeter>, <Frang>, <Shtjefen>, <Kole>, <Ndre>, <Pashk>
etc., all of them still in use among the Catholic mountaneers of Northern
Albania, who historically have certainly been in contact with the Latin
population in antiquity and might have been in some touch with
Medieval-Latin-Balcanic populations (mostly Dalmatian), but practically NOT
with the Byzantine administration of the area for geographical reasons.
Therefore the Byzantine origin for some of these names, although possible,
still has to be held as much less probable. On the contrary, some Albanian
names typically medieval, such as <Gjergj> and <Gjorg>, might be considered
as related to a South Slavic presence and/or influence. The Christian
Orthodox population (dominant until the Turks arrived and the mass
Islamization started) have always used Christian names such as <Mihal>,
<Thanas>, <Jani>, <Thoma>, <Kristo> etc., but these can hardly be held as
Byzantine (their form suggest their being not very old; compare the current
Christian Orthodox <Mihal> to the old -- but still in use -- Catholic <Mhill>
to notice the difference).
Lulzim Shtino