波利斯 transliterates two unrelated foreign words: the Slavic given name Boris (e.g. Boris Yeltsin 叶利钦) and the Greek term polis (city-state). For Boris, 鲍里斯 is the more common variant in mainland press.
memory
Sound-mapping: 波 (bō) for 'Bo-', 利 (lì) for '-li-', 斯 (sī) for '-s'. The chars themselves still mean 'wave / benefit / this' but only the sound is intended.
