Last name is the family name that a person receives by inheritance. Many people for a long time live and don’t even think about what their last name means. Thanks to the surname, you can not only determine who your great-grandfathers were, but also determine the nationality of its owner. In this article we will try to figure out what nationality this or that surname belongs to.
You can find out the origin of your surname in several ways, which are described in the article, among them you can identify the determination of origin by the endings of surnames.
Last name endings
Using certain endings, you can find out what nationality a surname belongs to:
- The British. It is very difficult to identify specific endings that indicate the English. Mostly surnames are derived from English words, indicating the place of residence: Wales, Scott, or the person’s profession: Smith - blacksmith, Cook - cook.
- Armenians. Most Armenian surnames end in - yang: Aleksanyan, Burinyan, Galustyan.
- Belarusians. Belarusian surnames ending in -ich, -chik, -ka, -ko: Tyshkevich, Fedorovich, Glushko, Vasilka, Gornachenok.
- Georgians. It is very easy to identify a person of Georgian nationality; their surnames end in - shvili, - dze, - a, - ua, - ni, - li, - si: Gergedava, Geriteli, Dzhugashvili.
- Jews. If the surname contains the root Levi or Cohen, then its owner belongs to Jewish nationality: Levitan, Koganovich. But you can also find surnames with the endings - ich, - man, -er: Kogenman, Kaganer.
- The Spaniards and Portuguese have surnames with the endings - ez, - iz, - az, - iz, oz: Gonzalez, Gomez, Torres. There are also surnames that indicate a person’s character: Alegre - joyful, Malo - bad.
- Italians. If we talk about Italians, their surnames end in - ini, - ino, - illo, - etti, - etto, - ito: Puccini, Brocchi, Marchetti. The prefix di and da can indicate that the genus belongs to a certain territory: da Vinci.
- Germans. German surnames Mostly they end in - man, - er and they indicate the type of human activity (Becker - baker, Lehmann - landowner, Koch - cook) or contain some characteristic (Klein - small).
- Poles. Surnames ending in - sk; - tsk; -y indicate that a person (or his ancestors) belongs to the Polish nationality: Godlewski, Ksieszynski, Kalnitski, and their roots go back to the time of the creation of the Polish nobility (gentry).
- Russians. Surnames ending in -ov, -ev, -in, -skoy, -tskoy: Ignatov, Mikhailov, Eremin. Russian surnames in structure are patronymics, which are formed from the names: Ivan - Ivanov, Grigory - Grigoriev; but among the examples you can find surnames derived from the name of the family’s locality: White Lake - Belozersky.
- Ukrainians. The endings that indicate that a person belongs to Ukrainian nationality include: - ko, - uk/yuk, - un, -niy/ny, - tea, - ar, - a: Tereshchenko, Karpyuk, Tokar, Gonchar, Peaceful. Surnames mainly indicate the family's affiliation with a particular craft.
Onomastics
It is worth noting that the science that studies proper names and their origin is called onomastics. Its section - anthroponymy - studies the origin of human names and their forms, one of which is the surname. It touches on the history of their origin and transformation as a result of long-term use in the source language.
Doctor of Philological Sciences Alexandra SUPERANSKAYA.
This morning the doctor came to see me; his name Werner, but he is Russian. What's surprising? I knew one Ivanova, who was German.
M. Lermontov
Science and life // Illustrations
Famous Russian historian Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin (1766-1826). Engraving
N. I. Utkin from a portrait by the artist A. G. Varnek. The Karamzins’ ancestor was a baptized Tatar named Karamurza.
Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev (1713-1788). Copy from a portrait by P.-A. Rotary made by an unknown Russian artist in mid-18th century century.
Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova (1861-1939), wife of Prince F. F. Yusupov. Ceremonial portrait brushes by V. A. Serov. 1902. The Yusupov princes received their surname from the Nogai Khan Yusuf.
Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev (1818-1883). The portrait was painted by the artist A. A. Kharlamov in 1875. The founder of the Turgenev family was the Tatar Murza Lev Turgen, who arrived in 1440 from the Golden Horde to Grand Duke Vasily Vasilyevich.
Composer, conductor, professor of the St. Petersburg Conservatory Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) posed for I. E. Repin in his St. Petersburg workshop for more than a month. The portrait was created in 1893.
In many families in Lately interest in the origins of surnames, our own and those of others, was awakened. Some people think that once they know the origin of their last name, they can learn about their family history. For others, this is a purely cognitive interest: how, when, under what circumstances this or that surname could have arisen.
Two women once came to me with the question: “What nationality is your last name? Onu'chin? - their niece was going to marry a man with that last name. They feared that this surname was “not Russian enough.” I ask a counter question, is the surname Russian? La'ptev. They nodded affirmatively. Did you put bast shoes on your bare feet? They are silent. So, those cloth windings that were used to wrap the leg were called onu’cha. Bast shoes did not exist without onuchi, just as onuchi did not exist without bast shoes...
I recently received a letter from Alexander Arzha'eva from the city of Kurgan, who was pestered during his military service, asking what his nationality was, and they did not believe that he was Russian. Was an old calendar name Arsa'kiy, which was baptized until the 18th century. Its short form Arsa'y where the last name comes from Arsa'ev. The common surname is somewhat similar to it Arzha'nov, formed from Old Russian name Arzhano'y, which means “rye”. For a long time, rye was the main grain in Rus'. Apparently, in popular dialects the unclear Arsaev was replaced with the more understandable Arzhaev, bringing it closer to the adjective rye, perhaps through the intermediate form Arshaev, because the consonants With And w mixed in many dialects.
Surname Arzhaev It can also be Mordovian, Mari, Tatar: all these languages have words consonant with it.
One day a friend called with a similar question: “What nationality is the last name? Indy'k? Let me explain: this word is found in the geographical names of Crimea with the meaning “ditch, cliff, depression.” However, most often this is what mountains are called. Apparently, the people who gave these names moved along the mountain from top to bottom, and the word “indyk” meant depressions. Then people looking at the same objects from below perceived this word as the names of individual mountains or rocks. Geographical names of Crimea were recorded in different time people different nationalities, so the spelling varies: Indek, Endek, Endek, Gyndyk(with additional g). Last name Indyk could be received by a person who lived near a mountain or cliff. Kazakhs have a similar sound male name Yntyk.
The linguistic affiliation of names and surnames is determined not so much by the foundations of which language they are composed of, but by the language in which they are used. It turns out that the most traditional Russian name Ivan of Hebrew origin, and formed from numerous folk forms this name is like a surname Ivakin, Ivanaev, Ivanyaev, Vankaev, Vankin, Vanshin, Ivashkin may belong not only to Russians, but also to Chuvash, Mordvins, Mari and other peoples inhabiting Russian Federation. They are used both in Russian and in the languages of other peoples. Thus, a person’s nationality and the linguistic affiliation of his surname often do not coincide.
Last name is special, legally significant word, serving to identify individuals and entire families. The assignment of official passport names is largely a random and always artificial act. There may be brothers, children of the same father, with different surnames, and families where some of the children are registered with the mother's surname, and some with the father's surname. Nowadays, when women get married, they do not always take their husband's surname. There are places where the so-called street names(nicknames) change with each generation and the naming of people in oral communication does not coincide with the passport ones. The living, everyday form of naming recorded in documents hardens, turning into a surname passed on to the next generation.
In Russia, every tenth marriage is mixed. This is largely determined by demographic reasons: the lack of Russian men. We especially note marriages with foreign students. After graduating, the young man leaves for his own country, and the marriage often breaks up. The children remain in Russia, are brought up in Russian culture, and only an incomprehensible surname reminds them of their father who left.
One of the American presidents in his inaugural speech, addressing the nation, said: “We are all so different, and this is our strength.” In America, and in Europe, a nation is the entire population of the country, its citizens, without dividing into blacks and whites, Anglo-Saxons, Italians, and Mexicans. America is figuratively called a “melting pot”, where the ambitions of individual national groups disappear and a single American nation is formed. The national idea contributes to its unity.
Nations in modern Europe are made up of people of different nationalities united in a single state. The formation of their common national consciousness is facilitated by a common ideology and culture with the unity of the occupied territory with unhindered movement throughout the country, unity economic activity and economic interests.
Mutual understanding of different ethnic groups is facilitated by the presence of a language (or languages) interethnic communication. For example, the single Swiss nation is made up of four different ethnic groups. Their unity is facilitated by the fact that all important government documents and regulations are published in four languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh, with identical content. Every nation speaks its own language native language, but all peoples work for a common economy and recognize a common policy.
If the population of a country is grouped not on the basis of national interests, but on the basis of belonging to a certain ethnic group, and at the same time everyone strives to put their ethnic group above others, nationalism is created. Then the united nation splits into national composition to the detriment of national interests.
Nationalism is characterized by the ideas of national superiority and national exclusivity, consolidating the dominance of one nation by enslaving others, between whom national discord is sown. As a result, national interests are undermined, and human values are forgotten.
The conflict between state and ethnic origins is inevitable in most modern states, because as a result of numerous migrations it is difficult to find a country with a single ethnic group. But reasonable national policy helps to overcome crisis situations.
The famous linguist and Eurasianism theorist Nikolai Sergeevich Trubetskoy wrote: “The destinies of the Eurasian peoples are intertwined with each other, firmly tied into one huge tangle that can no longer be unraveled, so that the exclusion of one people from this unity can only be carried out through artificial violence against nature and must lead to suffering." This idea can be continued: the artificial rise of one people within a country leads to the suffering of others.
The national Russian idea arose under the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy (1350-1389). When Mamai's large army was approaching Moscow, Dmitry turned to all the Russian princes, who were constantly fighting with each other, with a proposal to jointly overthrow the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Squads from Moscow, Tver, and Ryazan came to the Kulikovo field. The Russians were returning home.
It is surprising that even in the 50s of the 20th century the echoes of the tribal mistrust that existed in Ancient Rus'. A neighbor told me about a friend of his who was having trouble family life, adding: “His wife is from Smolensk!”
Since the 14th century, foreigners “traveled” to serve the Russian sovereign. This elevated his princely dignity and strengthened his desire to centralize the state. So, according to historical sources, ancestor Saburovs left the Horde in 1330 to visit Grand Duke John Danilovich [Kalita]. Ancestor Pushkin“my husband is honest Radsha, descended from a noble Slavic surname, left for Russia from Germany during the reign of the Holy Blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky.” The founder of the Pushkin family was Grigory Pushka, who belonged to the seventh generation of the family.
"Surname Timiryazev comes from a person who left the Golden Horde in 1408 to join Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich Ibragim Timiryazev, who was named Alexander after holy baptism.”
"Surname Korsakov I got my start from someone who left Lithuania for Moscow Wenceslav Zhegmuntovich Korsak».
"The ancestor of the family Aksakov, Shimon Afrikanovich, and named after baptism Simon, left in 1027 to visit Grand Duke Yaroslav Vladimirovich in Kyiv from the Varangian land and with him three thousand people.”
Surname Sheremetev“I took my beginning... from Andrei Ivanovich, nicknamed Mares descended from the King of Prussia Vejdevuta" One of Kobyla’s descendants was the founder of the family, Andrei Sheremet.
When documents began to be drawn up confirming the rights of noble families to own land plots, the idea of “emigration” became so universal that those who could not provide or invent it were considered lower in status compared to people from foreign lands.
There were many non-Russians among persons of non-noble rank. To begin with, the Russians came relatively late to the territory with the Finno-Ugric and Baltic populations, neighbored the Turks, had contact with the Iranians and, naturally, elements of all these peoples and their languages penetrated both the Russian ethnic group and Russian surnames.
As the Russian state centralized, the tsars waged numerous wars with neighboring peoples, often ending in the capture of large contingents of foreign troops. The Livonian Wars began under Alexander Nevsky and ended under Ivan the Terrible, when the Livonian Order ceased to exist. The wars of Peter I and subsequent tsars produced new prisoners. During the First World War, a mass of refugees from the Western Territory ended up in Russia. Not all prisoners or refugees returned to their homeland. Many found work in Russia, got married, were baptized, passing on their surnames to their Russian offspring.
The main thing for the assimilation of foreigners was the act of baptism. They learned the Russian language, their children were brought up in Russian culture, and only the surname reminded them of the origin of their fathers.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the question of a person’s ethnicity practically did not arise. There was a column “Religion” in the documents. The entry “Orthodox” opened many doors for a person. The entry “Muslim” or “Buddhist” led him down a different road, with its own privileges.
Many figures of Russian culture were born from mixed marriages. Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky was the son of a Russian nobleman and a captured Turkish woman, and received his surname from his godfather. The mother of Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was a German woman who was not legally married to his father, and his surname was invented from the German word “herzen” - “heartfelt” as a symbol of the parents’ heartfelt affection.
Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin is a descendant of a knight of the Order of the Sword, captured under Ivan the Terrible. The father of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov came from the Scottish family Leirmont. One of the representatives of this family, Georg Lermont, switched to Russian service in 1613. “The Sun of Russian Poetry,” Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, was a descendant not only of the above-mentioned Radsha, but also of Ibrahim Petrovich Hannibal, the Arab of Peter the Great.
Pushkin's friend, Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, a famous Russian writer and historian, joked: “If you scrape any Russian, you will find a Tatar.” The joke applied primarily to himself: his family descended from a baptized Tatar named Karamurza. The Karamzin family was not very ancient: it was first granted estates in 1606. Kara-Murza- this is the name of one of the Nogai clans, literally “black Murza”. For many peoples, blackness was a sign of strength.
The column “Nationality” appeared in documents only when Soviet power, when the fight against any religion was declared - “the opium of the people.” And if religion contributed to the consolidation of the nation as citizens of the country, united by a common idea, then the appeal to the national aspect contributed to its splitting into separate ethnic groups.
As a result of the interaction of languages different nations Some surnames of Russian citizens cannot be unambiguously interpreted as coming from some word. The many languages involved in their formation, fairly short stems, an abundance of homonyms and folk etymology have contributed to the fact that sometimes surnames have up to five possible interpretations and, when applied to different families, each of them can be fair.
Let's add errors and typos. Not all " writing people" - this is the name of those who were entrusted with keeping vital records - they were quite literate and had legible handwriting. Many entries were made based on oral statements from persons who did not have good diction. The writer understood such naming in his own way and did not write down what he was told. As a result, many surnames that we perceive as definitely Russian cannot be interpreted with any clarity.
Let us give a number of examples that support these arguments.
Aulichev- the surname has nothing to do with eastern villages. It is formed from the old Orthodox name Vavula, modern church form Vavila. Patronymic from the old form of the name - Vavulich, where the patronymic surname comes from Vavulichev. In Smolensk-Belarusian dialects, where it either disappears or appears out of nowhere, this sound-laden surname was “lightened” by turning into Aulichev.
Babin, Babich, Babichev- these surnames can come from the Russian word woman- “woman, wife”, also from Turkic woman'- “father, grandfather.”
Baltenkov- on behalf of Baltyonok with the typical Belarusian suffix -onok/-yonok, used when naming grandchildren or younger children. Baltenok's grandfather (or father) was called Balt. Among the Catholic Slavs this is a shortened form of the name Balthazar. But, if we take into account the Belarusian akanye, the name Baltyonok may also be derived from Bolt(cf. chatterbox, chatter) or bolt- a thick nail to cover the nut.
Velegzhaninov- from Vologzhaninov: Vologda resident- “resident of Vologda”.
Goryunov- from goryun(grieving man), but there is also an archaic ethnic group Goryuny in Polesie.
Zenzin- the basis of the surname zenza/zenzya may be associated with a regional word zen from earth- “earth”, with the name of the plant zenzevel - “bryonia”. Nose most likely it goes back to German word Sense (Zenze)- “scythe” is the nickname of the mower.
Korelapov- possibly comes from the surname Korepanov, through Korelanov, when reading P How l, A n- How P plus association with the word paw, when the meaning of a word is lost korepan: to dig- “to do it ineptly, at random”; wriggle- “to break, be stubborn, make a fool” (usually about a child).
Kuklin- from the Russian word doll: "1. toy, likeness of a person; 2. a dapper, but stupid or soulless woman,” but there is also a Turkic tribal name Dolls, from which the surname is also possible Kuklin.
Rodomanov- from Romodanov- rearrangement of syllables plus association with a word genus. The surname is based on a Turkic name Ramadan/Ramadan Arab origin, from the name of the ninth month lunar calendar when Muslims fast. The fast ends with a feast. The name was given to boys born in this month. Russification is manifested in the fact that the vowel sound A at the base of the name is replaced by O. Next comes folk etymology.
Sharapov- on behalf of Sharap. Word sharap in the Kalmyk language it means “wisdom”, in Russian it means “grab by hand, whatever happens to anyone.” There is also a Turkic tribal name Sharap.
Shenshin- some researchers compare this surname with the verb make noise- “mumble like an old man or walk with shuffling feet.” Another hypothesis is possible - from Orthodox names Arseny or Semyon, through their shortened form Senya, with the favorite Pskov-Novgorod suffix -sha - Sensha - Senshin, with further assimilation s - w: Shenshin.
The examples can be continued. But this is enough to show the complexity of defining the concept of “Russian surname”. The ethnic diversity of the peoples who participated in the formation of Russian culture was reflected in the composition of Russian surnames, in which the forms and models of others were superimposed on top of the elements of one language, and all this was processed “in the forge colloquial speech"(L.V. Shcherba).
From all that has been said, it is clear that the main criterion for determining a Russian surname should be the existence of surnames in Russian families, among people raised in Russian culture.
Literature
Baskakov N. A. Russian surnames of Turkic origin. - M.: Nauka, 1979.
Dal V.I. Dictionary living Great Russian language, vol. 1-4. - M., 1978-1980.
Trubetskoy N. S. On the problem of Russian self-knowledge. - Paris, 1927.
Have you ever wondered about the origin of your last name? In fact, this is very interesting, because the surname makes it possible to find out a person’s nationality and roots.
To figure out what nationality a particular surname belongs to, you need to pay attention to suffixes and endings. So, the most common suffix
Ukrainian surnames
- “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is “-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor). Among Russian surnames
The following suffixes are common: “-an”, “-yn”, -“in”, “-skikh”, “-ov”, “-ev”, “-skoy”, “-tskoy”, “-ikh”, “ -s.” It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh. most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-tsk”, as well as the endings “-iy”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often find Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz).
English surnames often come from the name of the area where a person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet).
In front of many French surnames
there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen).
German surnames most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller).
Tatar surnames come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin).
Italian surnames are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto).
Majority Spanish and Portuguese surnames
come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez).
Norwegian surnames are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix at all are also popular (Per, Morgen). Surnames are often formed from the given name natural phenomena or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan).
Swedish surnames most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).
U Estonians You can’t tell by a surname whether a person is masculine or feminine (Simson, Nahk).
U Jewish surnames
There are two common roots - Levi and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed using suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).
Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, “-ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kuharchik ).
Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, “-ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekinci).
Almost all Bulgarian surnames
formed from names using the suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).
Men's Latvian surnames end with “-s”, “-is”, and female ones end with “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Shurin).
And men's Lithuanian surnames
end in “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aytis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Women's endings in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinyuvene). The surnames of unmarried girls contain a part of the father’s surname and the suffixes “-ut”, “-polut”, “-ayt”, as well as the ending “-e” (Orbakas - Orbakaite).
Majority Armenian surnames end with the suffix “-yan”, “-yants”, “-uni” (Hakopyan, Galustyan).
Georgian surnames end in “-shvili”, “-dze”, “-uri”, “-ava”, “-a”, “-ua”, “-ia”, “-ni” (Mikadze, Gvishiane).
Greek surnames The endings “-idis”, “-kos”, -“poulos” are inherent (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis).
Chinese and Korean surnames consist of one, sometimes two syllables (Tang Liu, Qiao, Mao).
Japanese surnames are formed using one or two words (Kitamura - north and village).
Feature of women's Czech surnames
is the obligatory ending “-ova” (Valdrova, Andersonova).
It's amazing how many differences there are between the names of different nationalities and peoples!
Since ancient times, family nicknames and names have been used to emphasize a person’s belonging to his family. Previously it could mean professional activity, character traits appearance or personal nature of its owner. That's whyfind out the history of the origin of the surnamefor researchers it means finding out a lot of interesting and important information from its carriers. Who they were, what they did and where they lived - all this information can be hidden and encrypted in the name of your family.
If previously nicknames were used for practical purposes and could be forgotten over time or changed due to circumstances, then the surname in modern understanding has a completely different meaning. It is directly related to pedigree, family history and continuity of generations. Unfortunately, we often take it for granted. We have been wearing it since childhood, without thinking about what family secrets are hidden in it. It is rarely seen as a source of pride, since now everyone receives it from birth. But previously this was the privilege of only nobles and noble families. This was a kind of reflection of the superiority of the nobility and the unity of family members.
You can pay tribute to your ancestors, honor their memory, strengthen kinship and family ties even today. You just have to put in a little effort and find outHow to find out the history of your family by last name. Online services for freeoffer access to the archives where they are collected large lists With detailed description the supposed place, cause and approximate time of origin, down to the indication of the century. You can use them, or contact specialists who will help you calculate your roots, tell you why the genus was named that way, and even draw up a family tree.
If you have enough patience and enthusiasm, try to find out the meaning of your last name yourself. You will learn how to do this from our article, where we have collected a variety of useful tips about this theme.
How to find out the origin of your last name: freeexcursion into history
First, let's remember how the nicknames of our ancestors were formed in Ancient Rus'. We call them by nicknames because modern definition It is impossible to assign their surnames. They were given to make it easier to recognize a person or contact him, and changed over time. As for forced peasants, their family name could generally change at the whim of the master. The owners especially liked to have fun by inventing offensive and offensive nicknames. For example, someone born Ignatov (by the name of an ancestor) became Shcherbakov (by external sign - the absence of front teeth).
Find out the meaning of your last name,associated with the ancient roots themselves, easiest for those whose ancestors lived in the Veliky Novgorod region. Chronicles dating back to approximately the 13th century indicate that it was there that the very first generic nicknames originated. In ancient archives there are references to Novgorodians who died in the Battle of the Neva.
They appeared among princes and boyars in the 14th century. The loudest and most famous of them were worn by representatives of influential and ruling dynasties: Shuisky, Nevsky, Donskoy. A little later, the nobles also had borrowed from foreign languages: Fonvizin, Yusupov, Karamzin.
However, ordinary, not famous and not noble people remained with nicknames. Even the reforms of Peter the Great could not restore order to peasant families. So, it was he who introduced the word, it comes from the Latin familia - family, in everyday life. Conducted censuses of the population, including the peasant population - the so-called “audits”. Of course, it would be much more convenient for the emperor if each clan had a permanent name passed on by inheritance, but that was still a long way off. The absence of a permanent surname indicated a person’s low origins and the stigma remained among the general population throughout almost its entire existence. Russian Empire.
Remember the works of Russian classics. There are never any indications or information about the surname of the serfs. Let's take for example " Dead Souls» Gogol. There, peasants were listed by nicknames.
Naturally, the names for the families were not taken from anywhere. They were assigned according to certain characteristics. If now we don’t think about the roots and meaning, then before the generic nickname made sense. Sohow to find and find out the history of the origin of your last name - freea way to find out interesting details of the life of your ancestors, we suggest you study the most common options in Rus', which are still found in modified, and sometimes even in their original form:
- By analogy with animals: Lisitsyn, Medvedev, Khomyakov, Volkov, Kobylkin.
- By occupation: Stolyarov, Kuznetsov, Rybakov, Streltsov.
- At your place of residence or geographical names: Belozersky, Kareltsev, Sibiryak, Vyazemsky, Donskoy, Bryantsev.
- By the names of ancestors: Fedotov, Ivanov, Fedorov.
- By name religious holidays, during which the child was born: Preobrazhensky, Uspensky, Blagoveshchensky.
- For household items that a person used in his work: Shilov, Spitsyn, Molotov.
- By external characteristics: Ryzhov, Krivtsov, Krivoshein, Sleptsov, Nosov, Belousov, Sedov.
- By home nicknames: Malyshev - baby, Menshikov - youngest child in the house.
- By nationality: Tatarinov, Ordyntsev (from the word “horde”), Nemchinov.
As you can see, having determined the origin of your surname, you can find out about the profession of your ancestors, what they did, who they were or where they were born. If you are the Tolmachevs, then there were once interpreters and translators in your family. Muromov’s distant ancestors could have been born or lived in the city of Murom, while the Pobezhimovs’ ancestors probably arranged an escape. This data may be useful to you in compiling your family's pedigree.
A very interesting phenomenon are the so-called seminary surnames. They arose much later, in the 17th century among representatives of the clergy. People also called them “priestly”, since they were worn mainly by clergy. They were created artificially, the priests explained this by saying that they wanted to be closer to the people. They were specially made to be harmonious and beautiful, which emphasized the special status of the wearer. They are formed mainly with the help of the suffixes skiy/-tskiy. Here are some of them:
- Aquilev
- Blagonadezhin
- Vetrinsky
- Bethlehem
- Damascene
- Demosthenes
- Euclidean
- Zlatoumov
- Kristallevsky
Their origin is based mainly on Latin words. Also found are the names of birds, animals and plants, the names of philosophers, clergy and saints. Often they are also transliterations of Russian names from Latin. Such surnames sound somewhat unnatural for our language and it is almost impossible to meet them today. However, if instead of the usual Russian language suffixes ov/-ev, in/-yn you have skiy/-tskiy, then most likely your ancestors belonged to the clergy.
Where to find out family history: determine the profession of ancestors by last name
When compiling a family tree, it is very important to know what your distant relatives did many centuries ago. Perhaps they did something very important for the state: they were war heroes, saved people, and were engaged in art. This could be an impetus for a future career and determination life path for yourself. Being inspired by the actions of your ancestors makes it much easier to find and understand your purpose. How to do it? Access to ancient archives, historical documents and chronicles is not available to everyone. Opportunities on the Internet are also limited, since there are no resources offering to find out the history of a family by surname for free online full list necessary information. In addition, it is not always reliable and there is no way to verify the data.
It is best for you to handle the task yourself. Listen to your last name, break it down into its component parts (prefix, root, suffix) and think about what word or phrase it came from. Here are the names of the representatives different professions and classes in Rus':
Merchants
Merchants have always been a privileged class and enjoyed honor and respect. Therefore, much earlier than ordinary people, they were awarded the right to bear surnames. Initially, this opportunity was provided only to influential and noble merchants of the highest guilds. The most famous of them:
- Bakhrushins
- Mamontovs
- Shchukins
- Ryabushinsky
- Demidovs
- Tretyakovs
- Eliseevs
- Soltadenkovs
Nobles
The etymology of this word means that this is a certain person located at the princely or royal court. Members of the class passed on their status by inheritance from generation to generation, and with it the surname of their ancestors.
- Ancient nobility who received title in the period before the second half XVII centuries: Scriabins, Eropkins.
- Nobles with the title of count, baron, prince, listed in genealogical books: Urusovs, Alabyshevs.
- Foreign nobility: surnames contain foreign language elements “de”, “von”, “von dem”.
Clergy
For clergy, surnames were most often used to designate the parish in which the priest worked: Uspensky, Voznesensky, Rozhdestvensky. Those who graduated from the seminary were assigned fictitious ones. The euphony depended on how diligent the student was. For example, someone who demonstrated outstanding academic success was given the surname Diamonds.
Service people
Those who were on public service, also enjoyed a special position and privileges from the sovereign. This is especially influenced by the fact that the rank of nobility could be obtained in the service. The appearance of such surnames dates back to the XVII - XVIII. They usually reflected the location of the employee or the territory of important battles and battles. These include:
- Kazantsev
- Bryantsev
- Moskovkin
- Kareltsev
Peasants
This class officially received surnames only after the revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in the Russian Empire, although many rulers of the state made attempts to restore order with their nicknames. The serfs' surnames emphasized their short stature social status, most often associated with crafts and physical labor, as well as household equipment that was used for this:
- Melnikov
- Khomutov
- Sokhin
- Bochkarev
- Goncharov
- Brewers
- Cab drivers
- Karetin
- Basement
- Nebogatikov
- Bosyakov
If you find your last name on this list, it will be easier for you to understand what type of activity your ancestors had. This means that you have found the answer to one of the mysteries of your ancestry.
How to find and determine the origin of your surname yourself
If you are interested in in-depth independent searches and are committed to serious investigation, then you can make significant progress in the study of your ancestry. Here are tips to help you with this:
Find out more about genealogy
Very often, reading books and studying resources on this topic becomes a source of inspiration for your own research. Devote a few days to this, and then your work will become more orderly and conscious.
Purchase the necessary materials
It's difficult to keep all the information in your head. To make it more convenient for you to draw diagrams and record data, stock up on notepads and folders. You can even make a large table on a piece of Whatman paper indicating all the names of your close and distant relatives.
Dig through family archives
You probably have old documents at home: passports, birth certificates, certificates, extracts.
Get your relatives involved
Ask your parents, grandparents, what surnames were in your family. In women it is especially important to recognize them maiden names which they wore before marriage.
Getting to know your family history is a great opportunity to get together and feel the unity of family members.
Wikipedia:
Most surnames in the Russian nominal formula come from patronymics (based on the baptismal or secular name of one of the ancestors), nicknames (based on the type of activity, place of origin, or some other characteristic of the ancestor) or other family names.
Russian surnames in most cases were single or hyphenated, passed down strictly according to male line. IN mid-19th century, especially after the abolition of serfdom in 1861, surnames were formed for the majority of people of the peasant class. By the 1930s, the process of obtaining surnames by various nationalities was completely completed.
Russian surnames most often end in -ov/-ev. From 60% to 70% of Russian surnames have the ending -ov/-ev. Surnames in -ov/-ev are formed as follows:
Surnames formed mainly as patronymics or by the name of the grandfather (the name of the grandfather, from whom the temporary surname of the father came) from church or Slavic personal names or nicknames, for example, Ivan → son of Ivan - Ivanov, Alexey → son Alexey-Alekseev, a man nicknamed Bezborody → son of Bezborodoy - Bezborodov, etc.
This also includes surnames derived from nicknames associated with the profession. For example, a person by profession is a blacksmith → the son of a blacksmith - Kuznetsov.
The authorities of the Don Army Region did not recognize surnames ending in -in and -i/y. During the population census, such surnames were changed to -ov, for example, the surname Kuzmin turned into Kuzminov, Bessmertny - into Bessmertnov, etc.
Russian surnames ending in -in occupy the second place in prevalence among Russian surnames, after surnames ending in -ov / -ev. In some places in Russia, especially in the Volga region, surnames starting with -in cover more than 50% of the population. Everything that is written about family names in -ov/-ev fully applies to surnames in -in. Surnames ending in -in are present among Belarusians and are less popular than among Russian surnames. Among Belarusians, the ratio of the suffixes -ov/-ev and -in is completely different, 90% to 10%. This is due to the fact that the basis of surnames was perceived not in the original Russian diminutive form of names with -ka, but with the Belarusian form with -ko (Ivashkov, Fedkov, Geraskov - from, respectively, Ivashko, Fedko, Gerasko, instead of Ivashkin, Fedkin, Geraskin).
The Russian North is the historical homeland of Russian surnames, having the suffixes -ih and -ih. These surnames appeared at the turn of the first and second millennia and later spread to the central regions of Rus' and the Urals. The appearance and widespread distribution of surnames in Siberia occurred much later and was associated with the beginning of the period of conquest of Siberia in the second half of the 16th century.
Surnames on -i/-s come from the nickname that characterized the family - Short, White, Red, Large, Small, etc. - and are a form of the genitive (or prepositional) case plural possessive adjective, which was formed by adding a patronymic suffix to the root of the nickname. Doctor of Philological Sciences A.V. Superanskaya describes the mechanism of formation of these surnames as follows: “The head of the family is called Zolotoy, the whole family is called Zolotoy. A native or descendants of a family in the next generation - Zolotykh"
Surnames in -skiy / -tskiy are more common among Poles. Despite this, a fairly large percentage of the Russian population have surnames in -sky / -tsky. The surname originates from areas that were previously occupied by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This method of word formation includes surnames derived from names:
Localities or settlements- this method of education is especially typical for princely families or the Western Russian gentry of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, however, is not so characteristic of the Great Russian noble families(Unlike Western Europe). Examples: Belozersky is the owner of the Beloozero estate, Vyazemsky is the owner of the estate in Vyazma.
Church parishes (churches), in turn, formed from the names church holidays, names of saints. Examples: Voznesensky, Holy Cross, Rozhdestvensky, Trinity, Uspensky, Yaransky.
Artificially created in the seminary. Examples: Athenian, Athos, Dobrovolsky
