The most common Russian surnames end in "-ov", "-ev". Do you know how many indigenous people in the country wear them? Up to 60-70%. The second place in popularity is occupied by Russian surnames on "-yn", "-in". This is almost 30% of the population. When did the first surnames appear, and why are they based on different suffixes?
A bit of history
Until the 13th century there were no surnames in Rus', but patronymics began to be used to distinguish people with the same names. So, Ivan, the son of Peter, could be called Ivan Petrov. Mikhail, son of Semyon, by Mikhail Semyonov.
With the introduction of surnames, they began to be given not by the father, but by the oldest in the family: Fedorov is both the great-grandson, and the grandson, and the son of Fedor.
The origin of the surname is a whole science. She began to be assigned to someone depending on the nickname: Bezusy - Bezusov. Someone - by occupation: a blacksmith - Kuznetsov, a priest - Popov, a potter - Goncharov.
The suffix "-ev" appeared in surnames if the name, profession or nickname ended in a soft consonant: Ignatius - Ignatiev, cooper - Bondarev.
Why do some surnames end in "-yn", "-in"? Their origin has the same explanation, but they are based on feminine names or words that end in "-ь", or masculine (feminine) gender - on "-a", "-ya". For example, Ilya - Ilyin, Foma - Fomin, bird - Ptitsyn, squirrel - Belkin, silence - Tishin.
Have you ever wondered the origin of your last name? In fact, this is very interesting, because the surname makes it possible to find out the nationality, the roots of a person. To figure out what nationality this or that 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”, “-point” (Belebeiko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is “-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames one 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”, “-ih”, “ th”. It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh.
Polish surnames most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-ck”, as well as the endings “-y”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often meet Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz).
English surnames often come from the name of the area where the person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet).
Before many French surnames there is an insert “Le”, “Mont” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen).
German surnames most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Vernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Muller - miller).
Tatar surnames come from Tatar words and such 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 most often found: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez).
Norwegian surnames are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix (Per, Morgen) are also popular. Surnames are often formed from the name natural phenomena or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan).
Swedish surnames most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-steady”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).
At Estonians by last name you will not be able to understand, male or feminine in humans (Simson, Nahk).
At Jewish surnames There are two common roots - Levy and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed with the help of suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).
Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, -ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kukharchik ).
Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, –ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekindzhi).
Almost all Bulgarian surnames formed from names with the help of suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).
Men's Latvian surnames end in “-s”, “-is”, and female - in “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Brother-in-law).
And men's Lithuanian surnames end with “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aitis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Feminine ones end in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinuven). In surnames unmarried girls contains a particle of the father's surname and the suffixes "-ut", "-polyut", "-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, Gvishian).
Greek surnames the endings “-idis”, “-kos”, - “pulos” (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis) are inherent.
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 surnames. different nationalities and peoples!
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Surname - the name of the family, which a person receives by inheritance. Many people for a long time live and do not even think about what their last name means. Thanks to the surname, one can not only determine who the great-grandfathers were, but also determine the nationality of its owner. In the article we will try to figure out which 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 one can single out the determination of the origin by the endings of surnames.
Surname endings
With the help of certain endings, you can find out what nationality the surname belongs to:
- English. It is very difficult to single out certain endings indicating the English. Most of the surnames are derived from English words, indicating the place of residence: Wales, Scott, or the profession of a person: Smith is a blacksmith, Cook is a cook.
- Armenians. Most of the Armenian surnames end in -yan: Aleksanyan, Burinyan, Galustyan.
- Belarusians. Belarusian surnames end in -ich, -chik, -ka, -ko: Tyshkevich, Fedorovich, Glushko, Vasilka, Gornachenok.
- Georgians. It is very simple to identify a person of Georgian nationality, their surnames end in - shvili, - dze, - ah, - wah, - ni, - li, - si: Gergedava, Geriteli, Dzhugashvili.
- Jews. If the surname has the root Levi or Cohen, then its owner belongs to Jewish nationality: Levitan, Koganovich. But you can also meet surnames with endings - ich, - man, -er: Kogenman, Kaganer.
- Spaniards and Portuguese have surnames with endings - ez, - from, - az, - from, oz: Gonzalez, Gomez, Torres. There are also surnames that indicate the character of a person: Alegre - joyful, Malo - bad.
- Italians. If we talk about Italians, then their surnames end in - ini, - ino, - illo, - etti, - etto, - ito: Puchinni, Brocki, Marchetti. The prefix di and da can indicate that the genus belongs to a certain territory: da Vinci.
- Germans. German surnames mostly 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; - ck; -y indicate the belonging of a person (or his ancestors) to the Polish nationality: Godlevsky, Kseshinsky, Kalnitsky, 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 formed from the name of the area where the family lives: White Lake - Belozersky.
- Ukrainians. To the endings that show that a person belongs to Ukrainian nationality, include: - ko, - uk / yuk, - un, -ny / ny, - tea, - ar, - a: Tereshchenko, Karpyuk, Tokar, Gonchar, Mirny. Surnames mainly show that the clan belongs to a certain 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 upon the history of their origin and transformation as a result of long-term use in the source language.
In Russia, there are many surnames that end in "-sky" or "-tsky". Curious, what are they talking about? It turns out that there are several versions of the origin of such surnames.
Polish surnames
According to one version, all surnames of this kind have Polish origin. That is, for example, those who bear the surnames Pototsky, Slutsky, Zabolotsky, Polyansky, Svitkovsky, Kovalevsky, Smelyansky, have Polish roots in the family.
"noble" surnames
One of the versions says that in Rus', boyars and representatives of the nobility received surnames with the suffixes "-sky / -sky" according to the names of their ancestral destinies - Vyazemsky, Dubrovsky, Baryatinsky and so on. Surnames became hereditary, passed from father to son as a symbol of territorial power. The Thousand Book for 1550 lists 93 princely names, of which 40 end in "-sky". By the way, it is believed that this tradition still came from Poland. The mentioned suffixes were a sign of belonging to the gentry - representatives of the Polish aristocracy. Gradually, this began to be practiced in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, also exclusively among representatives of the upper class.
An attempt to "improve" common surnames
Ethnographers suggest that there was also a tendency to improve common surnames by adding a suffix. This was especially common among Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians who lived on the same territory as the Poles. So, Borodin could turn into Borodinsky, Gatchin - into Gatchina, Zaitsev - into Zaychevsky.
"Geographical" origin
There is a version that today most of similar surnames, in the past was formed from the geographical names of settlements, rivers and lakes. So, a resident of Ryazan in another region was called "Ryazan", over time this could turn into a surname. The surname Verzhbitsky is quite common: settlements with this name existed in Poland, and in Russia, and in Ukraine, and in Belarus.
Jewish surnames
Another hypothesis says that at least some of the surnames beginning with "-sky" may have Jewish roots. Such surnames were given to Jews living in the territories of the Baltic and Slavic countries, also by the name of the area. For example, Antokolsky, Vilkomirsky, Gilichensky, Mirgorodsky.
"Spiritual" surnames
Graduates of theological seminaries in Russia were assigned new, beautiful, harmonious surnames that would fit their priestly rank. So there were Christmas, Ascension, Resurrection, Preobrazhensky, Trinity, All Saints. The surname Lebedinsky presumably also belongs to the “spiritual” ones: after all, the swan is a recognized symbol of spiritual purity, including in Orthodoxy.
Most likely, the surnames ending in “-sky” or “-tsky” are still completely different in origin, and only by the root one can sometimes guess where they could come from in principle.
IN Russian Federation every 10th marriage is mixed. This is due to demographic reasons and fashion trend enter into an alliance with a foreign citizen. Often legitimized between Russian and visiting students. But such mixed marriages are often doomed to a short existence. As a result, the owners of a “specific” surname may not always know their true roots, especially if the parents categorically do not want to raise the topic of kinship.
You can find out the nationality by last name. But this is a painstaking and long process that is best left to professionals. However, the origins of origin can be established by general rules.
The history of the surname
In past centuries, only aristocrats possessed a pedigree. To the common people it was not supposed to know one's origin, and therefore, to have a surname. Only during the reign of Vasily the First, peasants began to receive nicknames that resembled their real name: Semyon Cherny, monk Rublev and others.
The study of the pedigree is of great importance. It not only allows you to find out how to determine nationality by last name, but also conveys the historical past.
Since ancient times, the official surname served to identify a person and his family. Many marriages were and are interethnic in nature. The surname allows you to establish the degree of relationship, because it takes into account not only language features, but also a territorial feature with historical factors.
How to conduct an analysis?
To determine the nationality of a person by last name, you should remember school course Russian language. The word consists of a root, a suffix and an ending. allow you to calculate the first two items.
- In the surname, you need to highlight the root and suffix.
- Determine nationality by suffixes.
- If this is not enough, analyze the root of the word.
- Assess the name according to the degree of belonging to European origins.
In many surnames, not only the morphological features of the word are taken into account, but also the person's belonging to a certain group: by specialty, personal qualities, the name of an animal or bird.
Establishment of nationality by suffixes and the root of the word
Belonging to Ukrainian origins confirms the presence of suffixes:
- enko;
- eyko;
- point;
- ovsky.
Finding out nationality by last name from people with Jewish roots is not so easy. Its origin is influenced by many factors.
The surname can be based on the name of the profession, animal or bird. For example, Bondar, Gonchar are Ukrainian designations for a working specialty. Gorobets is a sparrow in Ukrainian. Just later this word was transformed into a surname.
You can often see surnames consisting of two words, such as Ryabokon, Krivonos and others. They testify to the presence Slavic roots: Belarusian, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian.
How to determine Jewish roots
Not always the suffix and the root of the word help to establish nationality by last name. This applies to Jewish origins as well. To establish kinship, 2 large groups are distinguished here:
- Roots "cohen" and "levi".
- Male names.
The roots "cohen" and "levi" indicate that the owner of the surname belonged to the Jews, whose ancestors had the rank of a clergyman. Among them you can find the following: Kogan, Kagansky, Kaplan, Levita, Levitin, Levitan.
The second group contains male names. These include the names of Solomon, Moses and others.
The Jewish people have one feature: during prayer, a person is called by the name of his mother. And nationality here is also given on the maternal side. This interesting historical fact led to the formation of surnames that are based on the feminine gender. Among them are Sorinson, Rivkin, Tsivyan, Beilis.
And the working specialty can give an answer to the question of how to determine nationality by last name. This also applies to Jewish roots. For example, the surname Fine in Hebrew means "beautiful" and characterizes the appearance of a person. And Rabin means "rabbi", that is, professional activity.
European roots
In Russia, one can often find English, French, German origins. To find out a specific nationality by last name, certain word-formation rules help.
French origin confirms the presence of prefixes De or Le in the surname.
The Germans were formed in three ways:
- from personal names - Walter, Peters, Werner, Hartmann;
- from nicknames (for example, Klein);
- associated with a specific profession (the most common is Schmidt).
Surnames English origin also have several ways of formation:
- depending on the place of residence - Scott, English, Irish, Welsh, Wallace;
- from professional activity human - Spooners, Carver, Butler;
- taking into account human qualities- Bad, Sweet, Good, Moody, Bragg.
A separate group is formed Polish surnames: Kovalchik, Senkevich, Novak. As a rule, they have suffixes -chik, -vich, -vak.
Lithuanian surnames have suffixes -kas, -kene, -kaite, -chus, -chene, -chite.
Features of the eastern origins
The formation of a surname is influenced by several factors:
- territorial affiliation of ancestors;
- occupation;
- personal human features;
- morphological components of the word.
In Eastern countries, in order to find out whose surname is by nationality, you need to analyze its suffixes and endings.
Chinese and Korean surnames are monosyllabic and short. The most typical of them are Xing, Xiao, Jiu, Layu, Kim, Dam, Chen.
Muslim surnames have suffixes, endings -ov, -ev (Aliev, Aushev, Khasbulatov, Dudayev and others). At Armenian people they end in -yan (Shiyan, Bordian, Porkuyan).
They have "incomparable" suffixes and endings: -shvili, -dze, -uri, -uli, -ani(ya), -eti(ya), -eni, -eli(ya).
All of these features allow you to find the true roots. But only a specialist will be able to tell you exactly how to find out nationality by last name. Sometimes this requires detailed analysis which takes into account many factors. A person is inextricably linked with his name, and it can really tell a lot about him and his family tree.
