Since ancient times, family nicknames and names have been used to emphasize a person’s belonging to his family. Previously, it could denote professional activity, characteristic features of the 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 the modern sense 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 archives containing large lists detailing the supposed location, cause and approximate time of origin, down to 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 on this topic.
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 nicknames, since it is impossible to attribute them to the modern definition of a surname. 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 acquired words 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, into everyday use. 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 the entire existence of the Russian Empire.
Remember the works of Russian classics. There are never any indications or information about the surname of the serfs. Let’s take Gogol’s “Dead Souls” as an example. 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.
- By place of residence or geographical names: Belozersky, Kareltsev, Sibiryak, Vyazemsky, Donskoy, Bryantsev.
- By the names of ancestors: Fedotov, Ivanov, Fedorov.
- By the name of the religious holidays during which the child was born: Preobrazhensky, Assumption, 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 - the 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 seminarian 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 can be an impetus for your future career and determining your life path. 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. On the Internet, opportunities are also limited, since resources that offer to find out the history of a family by name for free online do not have a complete list of 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 surnames that representatives of different professions and classes in Rus' bore:
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 that received the title in the period before the second half of the 17th century: 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 in government service also enjoyed special status 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 17th - 18th centuries. 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 surnames of serfs emphasized their low 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. For women, it is especially important to find out their maiden names, which they had before marriage.
Getting to know the history of your family is a great opportunity to get together and feel the unity of family members.
The science of the origin of people's names and surnames. Anthroponymy Genealogy The science that elucidates the origin of clans, families and individuals, their family ties. There are many sciences that help historians explore the past development of society. And among them, two are related to human family relationships.
What can a person's name tell you? When in ancient times people lived in small groups of relatives of several dozen people, names were not needed. Everyone knew each other well by sight and in conversation called familiar people by generally accepted nicknames that were assigned to each person.
What can a person's name tell you? As clans united into tribes, tribes into unions, people appeared whom everyone should have known. Such people were leaders, high priests and their close assistants. Not everyone could already know them by sight. Therefore, the orders of the leader or the predictions of the priest were transmitted on their behalf. Such people were called noble - that is, known to everyone.
What can a person's name tell you? It happened not very long ago by historical standards. For a long time, only a few people per large group had them. The appearance of names is associated with serious changes occurring in society with the formation of large groups from many tribes. Noble people stand out and begin to manage public affairs.
What can a person's name tell you? Male names appear earlier. When female names later appeared, they were often derived from earlier male ones. This was the case, for example, with the ancient Romans. Think about what male names the female names Victoria Yulia Valeria Victor Julius Valery came from. This suggests that in conditions when the survival of society depended on hard physical labor and successful war, men played a leading role in society. Such a society is called patriarchal (from the Latin word pater - father)
What can a person's name tell you? 988 Vasily Georgy Dmitry Alexander They were often given to princes - the children of princes, as they meaningfully suited their role in society. In Rus', names appear that were given at the baptism of a child in honor of Christian saints. They were often Greek, because came to us from Byzantium. - ruler - awake - from Demeter - protector
What can a person's name tell you? There were also names that sounded alien to the Russian language; Russian people remade them in their own way. Ioannikiy (in Rus' - Anikey), Polievkt (in Rus' - Poluekt), Falaley (in Rus' - Faley). For more than two centuries, it was typical for Russian princes to have two names - one Christian, Greek, and the other - Old Russian, rooted in pre-Christian times. Moreover, it was the latter that was used more often. This tells us that the Christian faith was established in ancient Russian society not immediately, but for quite a long time.
Ordinary people - peasants and city dwellers, also received foreign names of Christian saints at baptism, but in life they called each other by nicknames. What can a person’s name tell about? The boyars and nobles also usually had two names: one was Christian, and the other, the common one, was Old Russian. Such names are found even in historical documents. Menshik Tretyak (third child) Zamyatnya (restless) Molchan Sample Not good Anokha (simple, not very smart) Vereshchaga (talker) Lie down (lounger) Fly (fast, agile) Kokor (stingy, thrifty).
Patronymic A nickname could be added to the name and patronymic, indicating appearance, character traits, and accomplished deeds, Prince Ivan Danilovich “Kalita.” Do you know why they received such nicknames? Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy
Patronymic In official documents, petitions and other non-noble people: merchants, townspeople, service people were named with the addition of the father's name, but without the prefix -vich Ivashka, son Danilov Nikitka Trofimov son Scriabin Olena Timofeeva daughter Naming with the prefix -vich was granted to such people by royal decree for special merits The surname in the modern sense appeared among ordinary people after the abolition of serfdom in 1861.
In Iceland, to this day, a named person is limited to his first and patronymic names. For example, if a man is named Svein, and his father's name was Bjorn, then the full name will sound like Svein Bjornson, which literally means “Svein, son of Bjorn.” In Icelandic society, surnames as we understand them never arose. Surname
Surname In Rus', surnames began to appear: 500 years ago, in the 16th century - among noble people (boyars and nobles). is no longer enough. In order to perform service and receive an inheritance, it was necessary to accurately determine whether a serving person belonged to a certain family. This affiliation, that is, the presence of one male ancestor for all its bearers, is indicated by the surname, which, unlike names and patronymics, passed from fathers to children unchanged. That is, remembering your male ancestors - father, male grandfather, and so on, you could find the person who first began to bear this surname. Surnames could arise from given names, patronymics, nicknames associated with appearance, character or occupation, or position in society. So, for example, the princely families of Shuisky (once the owners of the city of Shuya), Belsky (who owned the city of Belev), Vorotynsky (from the city of Vorotynsk) appeared. The boyars often had not only a patronymic, but also an indication of the grandfather’s name. For example, Nikita Romanovich Yuryev: Nikita is a first name, Romanovich is a patronymic, Yuryev is an indication of the grandfather’s name. His son was already styled as Fedor Nikitich Romanov, but his son was no longer called Mikhail Fedorovich Nikitin, but as Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov. So the indication of the grandfather’s name became a surname.
Surname In Rus', surnames began to appear: 350 years ago, in the 17th century - among townspeople and peasants. Derived from professions, occupations, place of residence, owner (among serfs): Kuznetsovs (from the profession of blacksmiths), Shaposhnikovs (craftsmen who made hats), Kravtsovs (from the word “kravets” - tailor), Rybakovs (engaged in fishing)
Surname In Rus', surnames began to appear: 200 years ago, at the end of the 18th century - among church ministers. Often they were derived from the names of church holidays or names of saints: Rozhdestvensky (in honor of the Nativity of Christ) Nikolsky (in honor of St. Nicholas of Myra) Peter and Paul (in honor of the apostles Peter and Paul)
Genealogy Genealogy is the history of a clan, the origin of clans, families and individuals, their family ties. Connections are depicted in the form of a family tree (tree), in which representatives of the family who lived earlier are located above those who lived later, and lines connecting names (possibly with portraits or photographs) indicate a direct relationship between them (that is, the names of people are connected who were in a parent-child relationship).
Genealogy Genealogy as a special occupation and field of knowledge in Russia arose more than 500 years ago. Boyars and nobles enjoyed honor and respect, received higher and more profitable positions in the service of the great princes and kings, depending on the antiquity of the family, belonging to one or another of its branches - this was called localism.
Materials used 1. Film “Peter the Great” dir. V. Petrov 2. Module “Study of names and genealogy” Republican Multimedia Center 3. Final document of the September “search” of 1698. Moscow “pandemonium” of the end of the 17th century // Archive of Russian History, Vol. 2, From the first petition of Semyon Dezhnev (1662) Reader on the history of the Middle Ages. T. 3. M Interrogation speeches of captured Razinites (years) 6. Encyclopedia for children. T. 5, part 1. History of Russia and its closest neighbors / Comp. S. T. Ismailova. M.: Avanta+, Non-historical disciplines
In the life of every person, everything connected with his past and the history of his family is very important, even if we do not remember every day how many destinies and stories lie behind the shoulders of our family, but for us it is our last name is a very significant part of one’s own individuality.
The surname, like a person’s name, reflects the tribute to our ancestors that we pay, passing on the memory of our own family from generation to generation.
Until the middle of the 19th century most Russian people didn't use surnames. The origin of surnames is of great interest, because at first they were used only by feudal lords, and only later they began to be used by peasants and commoners. In addition, in addition to names, patronymics and nicknames were previously used to replace them.
With the abolition of serfdom, a very difficult task arose, the solution of which took quite a lot of time: it was necessary to give yesterday's serfs surnames that recently only belonged to the upper strata of society. This is where their story begins.
Word "surname" It has Latin origin. In ancient Rome it applied only to slaves. But in Europe this word has spread with the meaning of “family”, “spouses”. In Slavic countries this word was first also used as “family”.
Having learned and remembered their last name for the rest of their lives in childhood, many perceive it simply as a given and very significant for us. A very popular question is what meaning does this or that carry, how does it influence its bearer and how significant is such an influence in life.
This thematic section provides a list popular surnames, which may not be exhaustive, but can certainly help shed light on what lies within their diversity.
The key is the ability to avoid cliches and hackneyed formulations. Because at this stage there is a lot of information that can hardly be called sufficiently reliable and accurate.
After all a surname is a legacy that a person carries throughout his life and passes on to his children, giving them a connection with the history of their ancestors over several generations.
Also, the surname is what we use when an official tone is needed in communication and more accurate identification of a particular person. The wife takes it from her husband, for her it is an expression of the promise of fidelity and trust in the chosen man. The diversity of surnames is a direct reflection of the culture of a nation, the breadth of development of its representatives and society.
Many people are interested in the question of how to find out their family and family history for free. In fact, there is nothing complicated about this, since there are various services, mainly open databases. The information contained in them is enough to “find” your distant relatives and find out when they lived and what they did.
You can find information about your ancestors on the Internet.
The origin of the surname can also be found using the Internet. The most important thing is to have clear instructions to guide you during your search. It is necessary to take into account that many sites contain simply unreliable information, so not every source can be trusted.
Also, when searching independently You might run into scammers. A user who is interested in the history of his surname and the origin of his ancestors may be asked for a phone number, to which an “activation code” will subsequently be sent. This is a basic scheme that helps withdraw money from the accounts of gullible people.
Fraudsters are capable of creating duplicate sites (i.e., one-page copies of real-life resources). Some browsers have built-in protection that deliberately warns the user if they try to access an unsafe site.
How to find out your family tree: simple ways
Certainly, the easiest option is to ask older and distant relatives, If there are any. As a rule, every family has its own secrets or simply understatements.
Another option is to delve into documents, old photographs, which are usually stored in the attic or on a dresser. Almost every home has dusty drawers containing various things that were “a hundred years old” ago. The documents and photographs may contain the names of distant relatives, which will greatly facilitate further searches.
Such photographs are often a treasure trove of valuable information. If you have the opportunity to access family archives, feel free to use it.
Data received from family members should be recorded in a notebook or notebook. Any information will be useful - dates of birth, number of children, full names, job titles. Subsequently, it will be possible to conduct a small investigation using not only electronic but also paper archives.
Of course, this is all quite tedious. But sometimes, knowing only the profession and name of a person, you can establish his identity. It’s elementary - go to an enterprise where a relative was listed as an employee and pull up old archives.
Finding the Roots of the Family Tree
A free way to find out your family tree via the Internet
Digital archives often provide comprehensive information, but you need to know how to use them. As a rule, effective websites are created by individual organizations (for example - family tree center). They are absolutely safe and reliable.
The first site that will be considered: http://rosgenea.ru/ - TsGI. The resource was created for those who want to find their relatives. It has several significant advantages:
In this case, the surname “Volkov” was entered, but the filter was “inaccurate”, so the result was a whole list of the same root and similar surnames.
It was said earlier that absolutely any information about a relative will be useful. And this is true, since it is the small details of the biography that help well in the search.
Instructions for the site
First you need to enter your last name in the search bar. As previously shown on the screen, if the filter is “inaccurate”, the service provides a lot of options. And here you need to remember or try to establish the surname of the relative, since otherwise the search will take a lot of time.
So now on a specific example We will look at how to use the site and what tricks you can use:
Press the combination on the keyboard CTRL + V, after which a new window appears. With his help we will look for the right person. Simply enter additional information.
In this case, we entered “Perm” as a place of residence, and already received the result on page 1 - Full name and address of the person who is someone's relative.
Unfortunately, the site itself does not provide the ability to enter additional information (besides the last name) in the search bar in order to immediately get the desired results. Therefore, you will have to examine all the pages.
It’s very strange, but few people know about this method, so the portal is considered relatively useless - after all, finding the right person takes too much time. This instruction shows how to reduce this time several times. In this case, enter after the combinationCTRL + Vyou can do anything: address, year of birth, name, and even everything combined.
If you are looking for several people at once, it is better to draw a family tree in advance. This "school trick" actually works great because it helps keep the genealogical "threads" clearly traced.
Make your own family tree!
There are several ways to create a family tree. This video describes the most effective methods.
Family history
It is at least interesting to know the history of your own surname. But, alas, this information is provided mainly by controversial sources. The biggest problem is that literally on every corner of the user scammers are waiting. Since the format “send us your last name via SMS and we will tell its story” very popular among small Internet pests.
The history of a surname, or rather its meaning, can be calculated independently using logic. The main meaning lies in the prefix. For example: Volkov - Wolf, belongs to the group of so-called “animal” surnames. The same can be said about Medvedev. Sometimes you need to choose words that are consonant with the surname, since this also has a special meaning.
It is the history of the surname that is not only the totality of the meaning invested in it, but also the origin, and the presence of great ancestors - commanders, rulers, heroes. Often people attach some significance to the characteristics of the surname and look for parallels with their own character.
It is believed that surnames with the suffixes “-ov” or “-ev” are mainly of family origin. At first they came from patronymics. For example, Peter, the son of Ivan, was called Peter Ivanov. After surnames came into official use (and this happened in Rus' in the 13th century), surnames began to be given by the name of the eldest in the family. That is, Ivan’s son, grandson, and great-grandson already became Ivanovs.
But last names were also given by nicknames. So, if a person, for example, was nicknamed Bezborodov, then his descendants received the surname Bezborodov.
They often gave surnames based on their occupation. The son of a blacksmith bore the surname Kuznetsov, the son of a carpenter - Plotnikov, the son of a potter - Goncharov, the son of a priest - Popov. Their children also received the same surname.
Surnames with the suffix “-in”, or, less commonly, “-yn” could also come from the names and nicknames of ancestors, from the names of their professions, and in addition, from words ending in “-a”, “-ya” and from feminine nouns ending in a soft consonant. For example, the surname Minin meant: “son of Mina.” The Orthodox name Mina was widespread in Rus'. And in our time, the surnames Ilyin, Fomin, Nikitin are common. The surname Rogozhin reminds us that this man’s ancestors sold matting or made it.
Where did the surnames derived from the names of animals come from - Volkov, Medvedev, Kozlov, Zaitsev, Orlov? Genealogists believe that many “animal” surnames could come from secular names that were given to children in the pre-Christian era. By giving the child the name of this or that animal, parents hoped that this would give him the traits inherent in this animal. So, the name Bear was supposed to bestow strength, Wolf - courage, Fox - cunning, Boar - power and stubbornness, Goat - fertility, Crow - wisdom, Swan - beauty and fidelity, Nightingale - the ability to sing well. Subsequently, from these names came the Medvedevs, Volkovs, Lisitsyns, Kabanovs, Kozlovs, Voronins, Lebedevs, Solovyovs.
The origin of “animal” surnames could also be connected with a person’s occupation. Thus, a fan of chasing pigeons was called Golub, and his descendants were subsequently given the surname Golubev.
