Beautiful Czech surnames. List of options in Russian and their meaning

Statistics of the most popular names for Last year and their origin

1. Jakub – from Hebrew “born again”;
2. Jan – from Hebrew “merciful God”, “merciful gift of God”, “given by God”;
3. Tomas (Tomáš) – biblical name with Aramaic roots “twin, twin”;
4. Lukash (Lukáš) – from Latin “Lukanian, resident of Lucania”;
5. Matěj – from Hebrew “God’s gift”;
6. Matthias (Matyáš) – from Hebrew “gift of God”;
7. Adam (Adam) - a biblical name with Aramaic roots “from red clay”, “inhabitant of the earth”, “man”;
8. Philip (Filip) - from Greek “horse lover”;
9. Vojtěch – Slavic name“reinforcement for the army”, “consolation”;
10. Ondřej - from Greek “brave, courageous, courageous.”

1. Teresa – associated with the Greek island of Thera, associated with the words “protection”, “summer”, “warmth”, “security”;
2. Eliška – Czech form Jewish name Elizabeth "who worships God";
3. Anna (Anna) - from Hebrew “merciful, merciful, sweet, amiable”;
4. Adela – from German “sublime creature”;
5. Carolina (Karolína) – derived from Latin male name Carolus means "free man";
6. Natalia (Natálie) – from Latin name Natalis "alive". The name Natalia is usually given to girls born on Christmas Eve, as it is used to designate it (Christi natalia);
7. Kateřina – from Greek “pure”, “moral”;
8. Christina (Kristýna) – from Greek “Christian”;
9. Lucie – from Latin “light, radiant”;
10. Barbora – from Greek “foreigner”, Western European version of Barbara.

Pronunciation and meaning of popular Czech names

The Czech Republic is a Slavic country with its capital in Prague. It is inhabited mainly by Catholics. Faith had a great influence on their names for many centuries. Just a few decades ago the country was filled with Josephs and Marys.

Today traditional names are still popular among the population. Although there is a tendency to name children exotic names. More often they are given to girls. For example: Nela, Emma, ​​Vanessa, Joanna, Sofia, Flora, Leontina, Zdislava, Berta, Sarah. There are also such rare names like Zyuzanna or completely comical for the Russian language like Mike. Among the names of boys, such as Samuel, Kristof, Matthias, Oliver, Tobias are increasingly common.

Over the past three years, the statistics of female and male names have remained virtually unchanged. Only a few names change in the rating table, but do not leave it.

Since the Czech Republic belongs to Slavic countries, many names are identical to Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian. Such as Alena, Veronika, Kristýna, Klára, Anna, Dana, Dáša. There are also modifications of Slavic female names - Katka, Verča, Lenka, Tana, Helena, as well as male ones - Petra, Andrea, Michaela, Nikola.
However, due to the Latin alphabet, many of them are pronounced differently. So the Czech “h” should be pronounced as softly as the letter “g” in the Ukrainian language. In Russian, it is conveyed by the transcription of the usual “g”. For example, Hanuš - Hanush, Hostislav - Gostislav, Havel - Havel.

The Czech "y" should be pronounced somewhere between "i" and "s". Russian transcription more often renders it as “and”.
The Czech consonant “l” is pronounced a little softer than in Russian. There is no real soft “l” in the Czech language. They pronounce these names like this: Albert, Lubomír, Silvestr, Ráchel. Taking into account the traditions of pronunciation, in the Russian version these names can be rendered as Albert, Lyubomir, Sylvester, Rachel. But many are still transmitted according to the rules: Karel, Pavel, Havel.

The stress in Czech is also different from Russian. It is not related to the length of the sound, but to the strength of pronunciation, that is, dynamic. It usually falls on the first syllable, although this is difficult to determine without communication experience. Often the same word contains long vowels (á, é, ó, í, ú, ý), which in our language are associated with stress.
But knowing the names of Czechs is not enough to address them. Since they, like the Ukrainian language, have a seventh vocative case. So if a name ends in “-tr” (Peter) – its vocative form is Petrshe!; if “-a”, “-ya” (Sveta, Nastya) - “Sveto!”, “Nastya!”; if “-dr” (Alexander) – “Alexander!”; if with “-iy” (Gregory) – “Grigory!”

Many Czechs, when introducing themselves to a foreigner, say given name in the English manner, because they understand that they are too difficult to pronounce for people speaking other languages. So in one room there can be many Jans, Peters, Georges, etc. You should check with your interlocutor exactly how his name sounds in Czech. But then it is necessary to pronounce the heard name correctly.

Modern women's and men's Czech names extremely beautiful and varied. They have a very interesting and original sound. Irena, Lenka, Mihalka, Jiri, Lubosh, Radek - bearers of such names simply cannot go unnoticed in the Russian-speaking society. They are doomed to constantly remain in the spotlight.

The meaning of beautiful male and female Czech names

However, a beautiful and unusual sound is not the only advantage of Czech names for boys and girls. Their internal content is no less attractive than their external appearance. These names are filled deep meaning. Their meaning is associated with the best - kindness, courage, grace, nobility, etc. In addition, it can indicate various plants, natural phenomena, animals, jewelry, and in some cases, all sorts of abstract categories. For a more detailed acquaintance with the meaning of Czech names and surnames, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with the lists below.

List of common Czech names for boys

1. Vaclav. Czech version of the name Vyacheslav = “more glorious”
2. Jiri. Czech boy name meaning "farmer"
3. Lukash. From Greek Lucas = "light"
4. Lubosh. Translated into Russian it means “beloved”
5. Milan. Male Czech name, meaning “grace”
6. Ondrej. Interpreted as "warrior"
7. Peter. Translated into Russian it means “rock”
8. Tomas. Czech boy name which means "twin"
9. Stefan. Interpreted as "crown"
10. Yakub. Corresponds to the name Jacob = “the one who comes next”

List of beautiful Czech names for girls

1. Agnieszka. Czech version of the name Agnes = “pure”
2. Blanca. Female Czech name meaning "white"
3. Batka. Affectionate from Elizabeth = “oath to God”
4. Irenka. Translated into Russian it means “peaceful girl”
5. Kveta. Czech girl name which means "flower blossom"
6. Pavel. Interpreted as "little girl"
7. Petra. Female equivalent of the name Peter = “rock”
8. Radka. Czech girl name meaning "lucky woman"
9. Elichka. Translated into Russian it means “God is my oath”
   

How to choose a beautiful Czech name for a boy or girl

In order to choose the best Czech name for a girl or boy, parents should pay attention to several important criteria. The first thing to consider is the sound. The name must be beautiful, non-trivial and easy to remember. The second factor that you need to focus on is interpretation. It is best to choose such beautiful Czech names for girls and boys, the meaning of which is related to appearance and character. Don’t forget about the child’s personal horoscope. A name chosen according to the zodiac sign is considered the most favorable for a person.

Popularity rating of Czech female names, 2013

Descending:

Jana, Kateřina, Lenka, Aneta, Lucie, Klára, Marketa, Anna, Tereza, Natálie, Eliška, Karolína, Adéla, Barbora, Zdeňka, Kristýna, Štěpanka, Daniela, Renata, Zuzana.

These are the most common Czech female names.

There are, of course, other names, for example Andrea, Michaela, Petra, Nikola, Jítka, Dominika, Marie, Radka, Hana, Hedvika, Simona, Eva.

To the Russian ear, some names sound very beautiful, while others, on the contrary, are very funny. For example, girls named Andrea and Michaela are abbreviated as Misha, Mikhalka, Andreika, Stepanka (in Russian Stepa).

Almost always the names are pronounced in a rude form: Lenka, Radka, Ganka, Simonka, Yanka, Adelka, etc.

Popularity ranking of Czech male names

Descending:

Jakub, Jan, Tomáš, Lukáš, Filip, David, Ondřej, Matěj, Adam, Vojtěch, etc. In Russian it sounds like Jakub, Jan, Tomas, Lukash, Ordřej, Matěj, Vojtěch, etc.

How to address a Czech by name

As it turned out in practice, it is absolutely not enough to know the name of a Czech in order to contact him.

Unlike the Russian language, the Czech language has vocative case(seventh), the essence of which boils down to approximately the following:

if your name ends in “-tr” (Peter), then the vocative form is “Petrshe!” (Petře!), if “-dr” (Alexander) - “Alexandre!” (Alexander!).

If it’s “-a, I, e” (Adela, Misha, Lucia), then it will be “Adelo, Misha, Lutsiyo.”

If it starts with “-iy, iya” (Grigory, Natalia), then it will sound like “Grigoriji, Natalija”.

In general, be prepared for the fact that the Czechs will distort your name and pronounce it as they please, but not in the way you are used to.

The most common Czech surnames

Husbands and wives in the Czech Republic have completely different surnames. Moreover, Czechs are very fond of inclining the names of foreigners. For this reason, they will pronounce Nicole Kidman's name as Nicole Kidmanova. That is, the ending - ova is added almost everywhere.

Differences between male and female Czech surnames

Also very common are the surnames Bogach, Shafer, Kabelka (bag in Russian), Bely, Mudry, Vesely, Gladky, Straw, etc.

Another interesting feature of the “distortion” of foreign surnames in the Czech Republic.

If your name is Ekaterina Guseva, for example, then according to any Czech documents you will be listed as Ekaterina Guseva.

One of the notable features in the field of surnames is female ending"OVA". This extension is automatically added to the surname in Czech if the carrier is a woman. This means that, that in marriage with Mr. Novak Woman's last name Novakova the Bears. Some Czech women find the naming of tradition humiliating. IH Feminine suffix indicates the type of possession to a person's eyes. Frieda Mann is therefore also in Czech for Frieda Mannová. The goal is again and again to eliminate this discreditable expansion in the context of homogenization. But there are exceptions, like Krejci, where there is no female name suffix.

German influence on Czech family name

German surnames are also quite common in the Czech Republic. The country was 1918 part of the Austrian Empire. Thus the share of Germans in the population was relatively high before the First World War. Some of them were normalized phonetically, about Müller as Miler, Stone Štajn, Smith, converted to Šmid. Some have kept their original German names, z.B. : Berger, Koller, Ebermann, Lendl, Gebauer, Kaberle and VOG. If you know someone, or maybe even yourself, a German is hot, then this indicates German origin or origin.

List of the most common surnames in the Czech Republic showing fifty

1. NOVAK
"FREEDOM"
NOVOTNY
DVOŘAK
ČERNY
PROKHAZKA
KUČERA
FUNNY
HORAC
10. KREJČI
MAREK
HUMBLE
POSPIŠIL
HAJEK
JELINEK
KRAL
RŮŽIČKA
BENEŠ
FIALA
20. SEDLAČEK
DOLEŽAL
ZEMAN
KOLAŘ
NĚMEC
LIED
ČERMAK
URBAN
VANĚK
BLAŽEK
30. KŘIŽ
KRATOCHVIL
KOVAŘ
BARTOS
KOPECKI
VLČEK
POLAC
MUSIL
ŠIMEK
KONEČNY
40. SMALL
ČECH
KADLETS
ŠTĚPANEK
HOLUB
STANĚK
ENOUGH
SOUKUP
ŠŤASTNY
MAREŠ
50. MORAVEN

Detailed presentation of the ten most popular Czech surnames

We present here still in more detail the ten most popular ones. The figures come from the year 2008 and something therefore may differ from the current one. But the stock must have a major trend.

Nováks are the winners

This surname ranks first among almost 70,000 Manufacturers in the Czech Republic. NOVAK means that someone new town or new house, built. This name was quite popular after the Thirty Years' War as it moved many people to new places.

Second place:’ and thus goes to the silver Svoboda family

At 52.000 "Freedom" of the piece landed on the Silver podium. Liberty means liberty and stems from the many citizens who were free in the Middle Ages. You were the king directly subordinate and freer than most inhabitants of the Czech Republic.

Bronze goes to Novotny

The meaning of the surname Novotny is the same as Nováks. Someone was new to the village, a person who came from another place. There are 49,600 Czech people with this name.

Dvorak grabs the fourth

Also Dvorak was originally free man, owned a farm. People, they were personally free, they were, perhaps, very proud. There are 45,600 Czechs with this surname.

The fifth is the family name Černy

One of oldest families at all, which is based on a person's appearance. Černy means black, so someone with black hair and dark skin appears. These were, as a rule, people who were tanned from the sun, Gypsy about. There is this surname 36.000 Residents of the Czech Republic.

Procházkas placed sixth

Roads meant walking and had the meaning of a traveling apprentice in the Middle Ages. Many artisans have left their ancestral homes, Learn more from a distance, their knowledge to expand, and their experience to expand. 32,700 Czech non-combatant citizens have these surnames today. Through his walks, this surname also spreads abroad, about in.

In seventh place: Kuchera

Additional name, It testifies to the property of a person. Coachman means Locke, usually someone with curly hair. There are about 30,900 people on the territory of the present Czech Republic who bear this surname.

The eighth member of the group - the surname is Vely

Vesely means, mutatis mutandis, that someone is happy and in good mood. Just a man, That always has a smile on his lips. This name is a little surprise in the Czech name space, Currently there are not many happy people. The distribution will however be quite large and with 26.600 Veselýs on the leaders the Czechs come to play in
eight.

The ninth are Horak

The Khorak originally came from the hills or mountains. Because “Mountain” means hill or mountains, Thus Har is a version name for a mountaineer. Today there are about 25,000 family members with the same names.

On a good tithe: Served

To complete the top 10 is one of the few Czech surnames where there is only one form for men and women. Krejci means Schneider, so the first owners were professional tailors. About 24,000 inhabitants of the Czech Republic are called Krejci.

All Prague 1 Prague 2 Prague 3 Prague 4 Prague 5 Prague 6 Prague 7 Prague 8 Prague 9 Prague 10

Currently in the Czech Republic there is more than 40 thousand names.

And the first surnames appeared in the 14th century.

More often surnames were formed from given names. For example, the quite common ones are Urban, Urbanek, Lukasz, Lukaszek, Kashpar, or from the name Jan - several at once - Yanak, Yandak, Yanda, Yanota. I think many people feel awkward when a person’s name is Vaclav Havel, Vasek Zigmund or Ota Michal, Jakub Petr, Mikulas Ales. Try to guess where the first name is and where the last name is.

More surnames were often given depending on the type of activity. So Kolář (wheelwright) and Truglar (carpenter), Tesarz (carpenter) and Sklenarz (glazier) live in the world. The surnames Bednarzh (cooper), Kovarzh (blacksmith), Mlinarzh (miller) were also common.

Czech surnames mostly arose out of the need to better identify people. The first similarities of surnames, most often, reflected certain character traits or appearance this person , and, often, were ironic, mocking or even offensive. These include, for example, Zubat (toothy), Nedbal (careless), Halabala (idler) and others. They cannot yet be called classic surnames; they were rather nicknames or nicknames that could change throughout the life of one person. Father and son could have different “surnames” depending on their occupation, appearance or typical character traits.

Over time, the feudal lords began to force their subjects to constantly use a second name to make citizen registration more accurate. So it was decided that middle names, that is, future surnames, will be inherited to avoid confusion, especially when collecting taxes.

In 1780, Emperor Joseph II legalized the use of family surnames.

The surnames of urban and rural residents were different. In cities, people often received surnames depending on the social class to which they belonged or the place where they lived. In the 18th century, for orientation on the streets, not numbers but names were used, for example, the house “At the Two Suns”, “At the Golden Snake”, “At the Black Mother of God” and so on. Accordingly, if someone had, for example, the surname Vodslon, it means that he was a person “from the elephant,” that is, he lived in the house “At the Elephant.”

It was quite clear difference between the surnames of nobles and ordinary people . Noble names usually consisted of several godnames, a surname, as well as a nickname, which, most often, designated the place of residence of a given family. For example, Jan Žižka from Trocnov, Krysztof Garant from Polżyce and Bezdrużyce, Bogusław Hasištejnski from Lobkowice. Among nobles, surnames began to be inherited earlier than among ordinary people. This is understandable, since it was in the interests of the nobles themselves that their children bear a family name, which would immediately speak of their noble origin, position in society and the wealth of their family. To the oldest Czech noble families belongs to the Chernin family (from the 11th century).

For ordinary people, surnames were most often associated with their occupation, for example, Bednarzh (carpenter), Tesarzh (carpenter), Kozheshnik (furrier), Sedlak (peasant), Vorac (ploughman), Nadenik (farmer), Polesny (forester), Lokai (footman) and others. Villagers' surnames often indicated the size of a person's property. For example, Pulpan (the exact translation means “half master”) was the owner of half a field, Lansky was already becoming the owner of a whole field, and a man with the surname Bezzemek was a landless peasant.

SomeCzech surnames reflect the spiritual sphere, primarily religion. Such surnames include, for example, Krzhestyan (Christian) and Pogan (pagan).
Even in this area, derisive surnames arose, such as Picart (a designation for a representative of the Czech Brethren, later Protestants) or Lutrin (Lutheran). Representatives of other, non-Catholic religions were scolded with such names in the Middle Ages. This group also includes surnames borrowed from the Bible, which expressed certain property of this person. There is the surname Sodomka from the biblical city of Sodom, destroyed by God because of the sins of its citizens, the surname Herodes, which denoted a bloodthirsty person, Pilate - an indecisive person, and the like.

It should be noted that humor influenced the formation of many Czech families. Many of them indicate that the ancestors of modern Czechs were real merry fellows. They ridiculed people of higher status, using their titles and titles, both secular and ecclesiastical, to designate their fellow citizens. You can still come across such surnames as Cisarzh (emperor), Kral (king), Vejvoda (duke), Prince or even Papež (pope), Biskup (bishop), Opat or Wopat (abbot) and others. Mocking surnames were also formed based on the mental or physical qualities of their bearers, for example, Geysek (dandy), Pletikha (gossiper), Zagalka (idleness), Smutny (sad), Gnevsa (evil), Krasa (beauty), and such a title could express either reality or irony.

Real qualities reflected such surnames as Kulganek or Kulgavy (lame), Shilgan or Shilgavy (oblique), Shiroki (wide), Bezruch (armless), Maly (small) and others.

They were quite popular surnames associated with some body part; in most cases they were ironic, for example, Glava (head), Tlamka (muzzle), Brzichachek (pot-bellied), Kostroun (like a skeleton) and the like. Sometimes the satire was so harsh that to indicate a certain person the name of a part of the animal body was used, for example, Kopeytko (hoof), Tlapa (paw), Pazour (paw), Voganka (tail) or Otsasek (tail).

Many Czech surnames are metaphorical, which means they arose on the basis of some similarity. This category includes, first of all, surnames associated with nature, with the names of plants, animals or natural phenomena such as Toad, Gad (snake), Beran (ram), Mraz (frost), Winter, Glina (clay) and others. And these surnames were often a kind of ridicule or curse.

Many Czech surnames are associated with the field of digestion, from which one can guess that the ancestors of the Czechs were passionate eaters. Such surnames include, for example, Pecen (loaf), Houska (bun), Bukhta (pie), Polivka (soup), Knedlik and others.

Mother Nature was an inexhaustible source for surnames. Golub, Mouha - understandable without translation, by the way Alphonse Mucha - famous Czech artist. Gavranek is a crow, Vorlichek is an eaglet, Vorzhishek is a mongrel, Kogout is a rooster. Walking across the Czech land are Břízy (birch trees) and Oaks (oak trees), Lindens and Šipki (rose hips), Cibulki (onions, and if you continue to translate into other languages ​​- natural Cipolino).

Of course, a person could receive a certain surname because of expressive character traits, appearance, or because of behavior: Tikha, Tlusty (fat), Grdina (hero), Prskavets (splashes with saliva when talking), Pobuda (tramp), or Neruda ( evil person, "radish" in the jargon of "Gentlemen of Fortune"). The famous Czech poet and writer Jan Neruda, most likely, was not evil - a poet cannot be evil.

Why do people change their last names? Because their last name sounds funny or even indecent. Who turns to the registry office for such help? For example, a certain gentleman Zřídkaveselý - in translation - occasionally cheerful - in the sense - “Princess - the foolish one” - he could easily ask to give him new surname. The registry office employees themselves decide who is allowed to change their last name and who is not, and do not require any evidence that the owner of such a last name is being laughed at or mocked. How, for example, could the surname Hrejsemnou (play with me) come about? According to etymologists, the person who received this surname must have been very fond of games, perhaps gambling, for example, with dice, or perhaps harmless ones - with children. You rarely see such surnames anymore; they disappear as they are no longer needed. But even at the beginning of the last century it was possible to meet Mr. Vraťsezase - come back, or come again. But Mr. Vítámvás - I greet you - is undoubtedly polite from birth, he never forgets to say hello, and, having said his last name, he invariably hears in response - And I you. Only a person with strong character may bear the surname Vraždil - Killed... And one travel lover traveled further - he was nicknamed Radsetoulal - Rádsetoulal - translated - loved to wander around different places..

Origin of the most common Czech surnames

The most common surname in the Czech Republic is the surname Novak, only in the Prague telephone directory "Yellow Pages" - more than 40 speakers with Novakovs' telephone numbers.

Therefore, if you have a friend in the Czech Republic and you want to find him, but you only know about him that he is Novak, consider yourself very unlucky. But if you meet a Czech in your area, you can safely turn to him with the words: “Pan Novak! How do you like it with us? The likelihood that you will get your last name wrong is low.

Last name Novak is the Czech equivalent of the Russian surname Ivanov. Moreover, this is, so to speak, a “family” symbol of the Czech Republic. Novak is a national hero of jokes, just like Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev and Petka were once in the Soviet Union. The surname Novak is the most common in the Czech Republic. Statistics show that in 2001, more than 34 thousand men with the last name Novak and more than 36 thousand women with the last name Novakova lived in the Czech Republic.

How did the Czechs get to the point where no matter where you look, Novakovs are everywhere? The origin story of this surname is simple. Well, the ancestors of the modern Novakovs did not like to sit in one place; they liked to move from village to village. They move to another village - so they are new there, newbies. The head of the family immediately received a nickname - Novak. They moved not only because of the love of travel or in search of something new and special. Circumstances were often forced: the Thirty Years' War, for example. To be fair, it should be noted that sometimes newcomers to the village were nicknamed Novotny, and therefore today this surname is in third place in terms of prevalence. So, if you make a mistake, calling an unfamiliar Czech Novak, do not be embarrassed, but say: “Sorry, Mr. Novotny, I got it mixed up.” More than 51 thousand Novots - men and women together - live in the Czech Republic. Yes, so that you don’t think that the Czechs did nothing but move here and there, we need to mention the second reason for the wide distribution of the surname Novak. Czech shoes were once very popular in the Soviet Union, and the name of Tomas Bati, a Czech shoemaker and businessman, is known all over the world. The love of Czechs for domestic, good, comfortable shoes is passed on from generation to generation; one might say, it is absorbed with mother’s milk. And since ancient times, shoemakers, masters of sewing shoes, of course, new ones, were called Novaks.

It is interesting that if Mr. Novak was not successful in growth, and his offspring too, then either he himself or his heir was already called Novacek.

If you made the mistake of addressing your new Czech friend as "Pan Novak", then his name is most likely "Pan Liberty». Beautiful surname, Truth? And in general, it immediately becomes clear how it arose - the ancestors of today’s Mr. Svoboda loved free will. But not only. It turns out that freedom is different from freedom. Of course, such a surname was actually given to people who were ready to do anything for freedom. But the surname Svoboda was also given to free - that is, not serfs - peasants. They did not depend on anyone, but did not own title of nobility. Those who enjoyed only one type of freedom, for example, freedom of movement, received exactly the same surname. From the surname Svoboda, as in the case of Novak, similar surnames were formed - Svobodnik, Svobodnichek and Svobodny. According to the 1999 census, more than 25 thousand men with the surname Svoboda and 27 thousand women with the surname Svoboda lived in the Czech Republic. And if you look again at the Prague telephone directory “Yellow Pages”, you will find 30 columns with Svoboda telephone numbers.

The third most common surname in the Czech Republic is surname Novotny. We mentioned the origin of this surname in connection with the surname Novak.

The fourth most common surname in the Czech Republic is very famous surname, which in any case all fans know classical music- This Dvorak(famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak). There are 22 thousand men and almost 24 thousand women living in the Czech Republic with this surname (just remember that in Czech surnames the ending -ova always appears in the feminine gender. Dvořák - Dvořákova). There are several versions about the origin of this surname.

The first is that they could be free peasants, literally the owners of a large courtyard. Second, Dvoraks were the name given to people who were hired to work in such large farms, “yards.” Third - the same name was given to those who lived at the “court” - the royal, noble castle or city, that is, servants of the highest and lowest rank. Fourth - Dvorak got his surname from the word “dvorzhan” - a polite, well-mannered person.

Be that as it may, the surname Dvorak is associated with all layers of feudal society. That is why today in the Czech Republic it is such a common surname.

Last name Chapek is not among the most common, but among the most famous names. After all, the whole world knows the name of Karel Capek, just like Antonin Dvorak. The most common version about the origin of this surname is that it was formed from the word “čap” - stork (in Czech), and “Čapek” is therefore a diminutive of “čapa”. It cannot be said that all the ancestors of today's Chapeks had long thin legs and, say, a long nose resembling a beak, which made them look like small storks, but this can, in any case, be assumed. There is another explanation. In the old days, before it was invented to give each house a serial number, in order to better navigate the houses, various signs or pictures were drawn. The most common source of inspiration was nature. So there were quite a few houses on which the stork was depicted (“čap”), and they were called “At the Stork” - in Czech “At the Chapa”. The owner of such a house could be nicknamed Chapek. Today, almost 7 thousand Chapkovs live in the Czech Republic.

Surnames formed from godfather names are also very common, such as Havel, Krystof, Pavel, Shimon, Vaclav and others. Many surnames of this type arose from the diminutive form of the name, for example, Matysek, Matejcek, Matejicek, Matejik, Matejko and others.

And finally, let's talk about modern Czech celebrities.

Everyone knows that the name of the singer Lucia Bila is a pseudonym. Her civilian name is Gana Zanyakova. Why did the Czech pop star choose the surname Beale? Maybe because the adjective “white” stood in contrast to her black hair - her inheritance gypsy origin. People with the surname Bila likely had unusually white skin or white hair (they may have been albino). Later, such a surname was also borne by those who received it by their origin, or by the name of the locality where they lived. In the Czech Republic we can often find cities and villages such as Bilina, Bilovka, Bilka, Bilek and so on. In connection with the name of the town of Bilek, we should also remember the famous Czech architect Frantisek Bilek. His surname was formed from the stem beat, meaning the word “white,” using the diminutive suffix -ek.

The last name of the singer Karel Gott everything is associated with the German word “Gott”, which means god. Yes, probably, many fans of the Czech nightingale consider him a god among singers. But, in fact, this surname was formed from another German word- gote, gotte - baptized child, Godfather, godson. So neither divine voice, nor the surname Gott in any way indicate an unearthly origin.