The first surnames among Russians appeared in the 13th century, but most remained “nicknameless” for another 600 years. Enough name, patronymic and profession.
When did surnames appear in Rus'?
The fashion for surnames came to Rus' from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. As early as the 12th century, Veliky Novgorod established close contacts with this state. Noble Novgorodians can be considered the first official owners of surnames in Rus'. 
In various social strata, Russian surnames appeared in different time. The first in the Russian lands to acquire surnames were citizens of Veliky Novgorod and its vast possessions in the north, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains. Novgorod chroniclers mention many surnames-nicknames already in the 13th century. So, in 1240, among the Novgorodians who fell in the Battle of the Neva, the chronicler mentions the names: "Kostyantin Lugotinits, Gyuryata Pineshchinich, Namst, Wanking Nezdylov son of a tanner..."(The first Novgorod chronicle of the senior version, 1240). Surnames helped in diplomacy and in accounting for the troops. So it was easier to distinguish one Ivan from another.
Somewhat later in the XIV-XV centuries generic names appeared among princes and boyars. The princes were called by the name of their inheritance, and the moment when the surname appeared was the moment when the prince, having lost his inheritance, nevertheless retained his name as a nickname for himself and his descendants: Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Obolensky, Vyazemsky, etc. A smaller part princely families comes from nicknames: Gagarins, Humpbacked, Eyed, Lykovs, etc. Surnames like Lobanov-Rostovsky combine the name of the reign with the nickname.
Boyar and princely families
Boyar and noble Russian surnames were also formed from nicknames or from the names of the ancestors. The process of the formation of boyar surnames from hereditary nicknames is well illustrated by the history of the boyar (later royal) family of the Romanovs.
At the end of the 15th century, the first surnames appeared among the Russian nobles. foreign origin, first of all, the names of Polish-Lithuanian and Greek (for example, Philosophers) immigrants; in the 17th century, such surnames of Western origin as the Fonvizins and Lermontovs were added to them. The surnames of the descendants of Tatar immigrants reminded of the names of these immigrants: Yusupov, Akhmatov, Kara-Murza, Karamzin (also from Kara-Murza).
But it should be noted that the eastern origin of the surname does not always indicate eastern origin its bearers: sometimes they come from Tatar nicknames that were in vogue in Muscovite Rus'. Such is the surname of the Bakhteyarovs, which was worn by the branch of the Rostov princes-Rurikovich (from Fyodor Priimkov-Bakhteyar), or the surname of the Beklemishevs, derived from the nickname Beklemish (Turkic - guarding, guarding), which was worn by Fedor Elizarovich, the boyar of Vasily I. 
In the XIV-XV centuries, Russian princes and boyars began to take surnames. Surnames were often formed from the names of lands. Thus, the owners of the estate on the Shuya River became Shuisky, on Vyazma - Vyazemsky, on Meshchera - Meshchersky, the same story with Tversky, Obolensky, Vorotynsky and other -skys.
It must be said that -sk- is a common Slavic suffix, it can also be found in Czech surnames(Komensky), and in Polish (Zapototsky), and in Ukrainian (Artemovsky).
The boyars also often received their surnames from the baptismal name of the ancestor or his nickname: such surnames literally answered the question “whose?” (meaning “whose son?”, “what kind?”) and had possessive suffixes in their composition.
The suffix -ov- joined worldly names ending in hard consonants: Smirnoy - Smirnov, Ignat - Ignatov, Petr - Petrov.
The suffix -Ev- joined the names and nicknames that have at the end soft sign, -y, -ey or h: Medved - Medvedev, Yuri - Yuryev, Begich - Begichev.
The suffix -in- received surnames formed from names with vowels "a" and "ya": Apukhta -Apukhtin, Gavrila - Gavrilin, Ilya -Ilyin.
Why Romanovs - Romanovs?
The most famous surname in Russian history is the Romanovs. Their ancestor Andrei Kobyly (a boyar from the time of Ivan Kalita) had three sons: Semyon Zherebets, Alexander Elka Kobylin and Fedor Koshka. The Zherebtsovs, Kobylins and Koshkins, respectively, descended from them. The descendants of Fedor Koshka for several generations bore the nickname-Surname Koshkins (not all: his son Alexander Bezzubets became the ancestor of the Bezzubtsevs, and the other son Fyodor Goltai became the ancestor of the Goltyaevs). His son Ivan and grandson Zakhary Ivanovich were called Koshkins.
Among the children of the latter, Yakov Zakharovich Koshkin became the founder of the noble family of the Yakovlevs, and Yuri Zakharovich began to be called Zakharyin-Koshkin, while the son of the latter was already called Roman Zakharyin-Yuryev. The surname Zakharyin-Yuriev, or simply Zakharyin, was also worn by Roman's son, Nikita Romanovich (as well as his sister Anastasia, the first wife of Ivan the Terrible); however, the children and grandchildren of Nikita Romanovich were already called Romanovs, including Fyodor Nikitich (Patriarch Filaret) and Mikhail Fedorovich (Tsar).
Aristocratic surnames
The Russian aristocracy originally had noble roots, and among the nobles there were many people who came to the Russian service from abroad. It all started with surnames of Greek and Polish-Lithuanian origin at the end of the 15th century, and in the 17th century they were joined by the Fonvizins (German von Wiesen), Lermontovs (Scottish Lermont) and other surnames with Western roots.
Also, foreign-language bases for surnames that were given to illegitimate children noble people: Sherov (French cher "dear"), Amantov (French amant "beloved"), Oksov (German Ochs "bull"), Herzen (German Herz "heart").
Born children generally "suffered" a lot from the imagination of their parents. Some of them didn't bother to invent new surname, but simply shortened the old one: this is how Pnin was born from Repnin, Betskoy from Trubetskoy, Agin from Elagin, and the “Koreans” Go and Te came out of Golitsyn and Tenishev. The Tatars also left a significant mark on Russian surnames. That is how the Yusupovs (descendants of Murza Yusup), Akhmatovs (Khan Akhmat), Karamzins (Tatar. Kara "black", Murza "lord, prince"), Kudinovs (distorted Kazakh-Tatars. Kudai "God, Allah") and other.
Surnames of servicemen
IN XVIII-XIX centuries surnames began to spread among the employees of the merchants. At first, only the richest - "eminent merchants" - were honored with surnames. IN XV-XVI centuries there were few of them and mostly of Northern Russian origin. For example, merchants Merchant - in the old days: a wealthy merchant, the owner of a trading enterprise. The Kalinnikovs, who founded the city of Sol Kamskaya in 1430, or the famous Stroganovs. They, like the princes, were also often called according to their place of residence, only with the suffixes “simpler”: families living in Tambov became Tambovtsevs, in Vologda - Vologzhaninovs, in Moscow - Moskvichevs and Moskvitinovs. Some were satisfied with a “non-family” suffix denoting an inhabitant of this territory in general: Belomorets, Kostromich, Chernomorets, and someone received the nickname without any changes - hence Tatyana Dunay, Alexander Galich, Olga Poltava and others.
Among the surnames of the merchants, there were many that reflected the "professional specialization" of their bearers. For example, the surname Rybnikov, formed from the word rybnik, that is, "fishmonger". One can also recall the citizen Kuzma Minin - who, as you know, did not belong to the nobility. The nobility is one of the highest classes of feudal society (along with the clergy), which had privileges enshrined in law and inherited. The basis of economic and political influence nobility - ownership of the land. In 1762, the nobility achieved exemption from compulsory military and civil public service introduced by Peter I; the nobility was not subjected to corporal punishment, was exempted from recruitment duty, personal taxes. The letter of commendation (1785) of Catherine II (for the rights of liberty and advantages of the Russian nobility) established wide circle personal privileges of the nobility, introduced noble self-government. How the nobility was eliminated after October revolution., but having his own surname already at the end of the XVI, early XVII centuries.
Surnames of the clergy
Among the clergy, surnames began to appear only from mid-eighteenth century. Usually they were formed from the names of parishes and churches (Annunciation, Kosmodemyansky, Nikolsky, Pokrovsky, Preobrazhensky, Rozhdestvensky, Assumption, etc.). Prior to this, the priests were usually called Father Alexander, Father Vasily, Father or Pop Ivan, while no surname was implied. Their children, if necessary, often received the name Popov.
Some clergymen acquired surnames upon graduation from the seminary: Athensky, Dukhososhestvensky, Palmin, Kiparisov, Reformatsky, Pavsky, Golubinsky, Klyuchevsky, Tikhomirov, Myagkov, Liperovsky (from the Greek root meaning "sad"), Gilyarovsky (from the Latin root meaning "cheerful "). At the same time, the best students were given the most euphonious surnames and carrying a purely positive meaning, in Russian or Latin Formation literary language- 3-2 centuries BC: Diamonds, Dobromyslov, Benemansky, Speransky (Russian analogue: Nadezhdin), Benevolensky (Russian analogue: Dobrovolsky), Dobrolyubov, etc.; vice versa, bad students came up with dissonant surnames, for example Gibraltar, or formed from the names of negative biblical characters (Sauls, Pharaohs). The most amusing of them were those that were translated from Russian into Latin and received the "princely" suffix -sk-. So, Bobrov became Kastorsky (lat. castor "beaver"), Skvortsov - Sturnitsky (lat. sturnus "starling"), and Orlov - Aquilev (lat. aquila "eagle").
Peasant surnames
Russian peasants during this period usually did not have surnames, the function of such was performed by nicknames and patronymics, as well as the mention of their owner, since in the 16th century the peasantry of central Russia was subjected to mass enslavement. For example, in archival documents of that time one can find the following entries: “Ivan Mikitin is the son, and the nickname is Menshik”, an entry of 1568; "Onton Mikiforov's son, and the nickname is Zhdan", a document of 1590; “Luba Mikiforov, son of Crooked cheeks, landowner”, entry of 1495; "Danilo Snot, peasant", 1495; "Efimko Sparrow, peasant", 1495.
In those records, one can see indications of the status of still free peasants (landowner), as well as the difference between a patronymic and a surname (son of such and such). The peasants of northern Russia, the former Novgorod possessions, could have real surnames even in this era, since serfdom did not apply to these areas. Probably the most famous example this kind - Mikhailo Lomonosov. One can also recall Arina Rodionovna Yakovleva, a Novgorod peasant woman, the nanny of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Had surnames and Cossacks. Surnames were also given to a significant part of the population of the lands that were previously part of the Commonwealth - Belarus to Smolensk and Vyazma, Little Russia.
Under Peter I, by the Senate Decree of June 18, 1719, in connection with the introduction of the poll tax and recruitment duty, the earliest police records were officially introduced - travel letters (passports). The passport contained information: name, surname (or nickname), where he left, where he was going, place of residence, characteristics of his type of activity, information about family members who traveled with him, sometimes information about his father and parents.
By decree of January 20, 1797, Emperor Paul I ordered the compilation of a General Armorial of Noble Families, where more than 3,000 noble family names and coats of arms were collected. 
Back in 1888, a special decree of the Senate was published, which read:
As practice reveals, among persons born in a legal marriage, there are many persons who do not have surnames, that is, who bear the so-called surnames by patronymic, which causes significant misunderstandings, and even sometimes abuses ... To be called by a certain surname is not only a right, but the obligation of any full-fledged person, and the designation of the surname on some documents is required by the law itself.
The procedure for passing a law is established by the constitution. The law is the basis of the legal system of the state, has the highest legal force in relation to regulations other organs of the state. 
In central Russia, surnames were relatively rare among the peasantry before the 19th century. However, one can remember selected examples - famous Ivan Susanin.
The memory of Susanin was preserved in oral folk tales and legends. His feat is reflected in fiction and in Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin). A monument to Susanin was erected in Kostroma, who lived in XVI-XVII centuries. In addition, the names of some peasants are known - participants in various wars, campaigns, defenses of cities or monasteries and other historical cataclysms. However, in fact, until the 19th century, surnames did not have mass distribution among the peasants of Central Russia. But this is rather due to the fact that in those days there was no need to mention all the peasants without exception, and there are no documents in which the peasants were mentioned without exception or in the majority. And for the official document flow of those years, if a peasant was mentioned in it, it was usually quite enough to mention the village in which he lived, the landowner to whom he belonged, and his personal name, sometimes along with the profession. Most of the peasants of the center of Russia were officially endowed with surnames recorded in documents only after the abolition of serfdom.
In the 12th century, close in nature to serfdom was the exploitation of role (arable) purchases and smerds in corvee. According to Russkaya Pravda, a princely smerd is limited in property and personal rights (his escheated property goes to the prince; the life of a smerd is equated to the life of a serf: the same fine is imposed for their murder - 5 hryvnias). in 1861. 
Some surnames were formed from the surnames of landowners. Some peasants were given their full or changed surname former owner, a landowner - this is how entire villages of the Polivanovs, Gagarins, Vorontsovs, Lvovkins, etc. appeared.
At the root of the surnames of some lay the names settlements(villages and villages), where these peasants came from. Basically, these are surnames ending in - "sky", for example - Uspensky, Lebedevsky.
However, most surnames, by origin, are family nicknames, which, in turn, came from the “street” nickname of a family member. For the bulk of the peasants, it was precisely this “street” nickname that was recorded in the document, which a different family could have more than one. Nicknamed surnames appeared much earlier than universal surnames. These same family nicknames, sometimes rooted in the depths of many generations, actually served as surnames for the peasants of Central Russia - in everyday life, even before they were universally consolidated. It was they who first of all fell into the census lists, and in fact, surnames were simply writing down these nicknames in documents. 
Thus, endowing a peasant with a surname often came down simply to official recognition, legitimization, and fixing family or personal nicknames for their bearers. This explains the fact that in the era before the mass giving of surnames to the peasants of Central Russia - we still know the individual names and surnames of the peasants who took part in various important events. When it became necessary to mention the peasant in the annals or in the narrative of some event in which he was a participant - as his surname, the corresponding nickname was simply indicated - his own, or his family. And then, in the course of the universal assignment of surnames to the peasants of Central Russia, which occurred after the abolition of serfdom, these same nicknames were for the most part officially recognized and fixed.
Worldly surnames were formed on the basis of the worldly name. Worldly names came from pagan times, when church names did not yet exist or they were not accepted in common people. After all, Christianity did not immediately captivate the minds, and even more so the souls of the Slavs. Old traditions were kept for a long time, the covenants of ancestors were revered sacredly. In each family, they remembered the names of their ancestors up to the 7th generation and even deeper. Traditions from the history of the family were passed down from generation to generation. Instructive stories about the past deeds of the ancestors (ancestor - a distant ancestor, ancestor) were told at night to the young successors of the family. Many of the worldly ones were proper names (Gorazd, Zhdan, Lyubim), others arose as nicknames, but then became names (Nekras, Dur, Chertan, Malice, Neustroy). Here it should be noted that in old Russian system names, it was also customary to call babies protective names, amulets - names with a negative content - for protection, scaring away evil forces or for the reverse action of the name. This is how it is still customary to scold those who pass the exam, or wish the hunter "no fluff, no feather." It was believed that Dur would grow up smart, Nekras handsome, and Hunger would always be full. Security names then became accustomed nicknames, and then a surname.
For some, a patronymic was recorded as a surname. In the royal decrees on the conduct of the census, it was usually stated that everyone should be recorded "by name from the father and from the nickname", that is, by name, patronymic and surname. But in the XVII - the first half XVIII centuries peasants did not have hereditary surnames at all. The peasant surname lived only in the course of one life. For example, he was born in the family of Ivan Procopius, and in all metric records he is called Procopius Ivanov. When Vasily was born to Procopius, the newborn Vasily Prokopiev became, and not Ivanov at all.
The first census of 1897 showed that up to 75% of the population did not have a surname (however, this applied more to residents of the national outskirts than native Russia). Finally, the surnames of the entire population of the USSR appeared only in the 30s of the 20th century, in the era of universal passportization (the introduction of the passport system). 
After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the situation began to improve, and by the time of universal passportization in the 1930s, every inhabitant of the USSR had a surname.
They were formed according to already proven models: suffixes -ov-, -ev-, -in- were added to names, nicknames, habitats, professions.
The structure of Russian surnames 
Anthroponymy- a section of onomastics that studies the origin, change, geographical distribution, social functioning people's own names. surnames states that most often Russian surnames are formed from personal names through possessive adjectives. The bulk of Russian surnames have suffixes -ov / -ev, -in, from the answer to the question “whose?”. The difference is purely formal: -ov was added to nicknames or names with a hard consonant (Ignat - Ignatov, Mikhail - Mikhailov), -ev to names or nicknames with a soft consonant (Ignatius - Ignatiev, Golodyai - Golodyaev), -in to the bases on a, I (Way - Putin, Yeryoma - Eremin, Ilya - Ilyin). This also suggests that, for example, the surnames Golodaev and Golodyaev, which have the same root, are related, but Golodov, Golodnov, Golodny, outwardly similar to them, are not.
The vast majority of Russian surnames come from dedychestvo, the temporary surname of the father, that is, the name of the grandfather, thus fixing the hereditary name in the third generation. So it became easier to designate families of the same root. If the grandfather, whose name formed the basis of the established surname, had two names - one baptismal, the other everyday, then the surname was formed from the second, since the baptismal names did not differ in variety.
You should know that the name of the grandfather was recorded by Russian officials in late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century, and surnames for residents of the national outskirts, thus arose most of the surnames in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia.
Why and when did they change names?
When the peasants began to acquire surnames, for superstitious reasons, from the evil eye, they gave the children not the most pleasant surnames: Nelyub, Nenash, Bad, Bolvan, Kruchina. After the revolution, queues of those who wanted to change their surname to a more euphonious one began to form at the passport offices.
If earlier linguists, historians and ethnographers were mainly involved in the collection and analysis of family names, now Russian geneticists have also joined this business. Currently, in the laboratory of human population genetics of the State Medical Genetic scientific center The Russian Academy of Medical Sciences is actively engaged in the collection and genogeographic analysis of Russian surnames. First of all, geneticists are interested in the history of the formation of the Russian gene pool, and therefore they studied the distribution of tens of thousands of Russian surnames. This work has not yet been completed, but some results have already been summed up.
Since geneticists are interested in the past of the Russian gene pool, they explore the names of the indigenous inhabitants of the "original" Russian area, that is, the territory on which the formation of the Russian people took place: Central Russia and the Russian North. In this area, they identified eight regions grouped into five regions: Northern (Arkhangelsk region), Eastern (Kostroma region), Central (Kashinsky district of Tver region), Western (Smolensk region) and Southern (Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh regions). In each region, several rural areas were selected and the names of all their adult residents were examined. In total, the names of almost a million rural residents were taken into account and 67 thousand people were found. different surnames. But this list was curtailed by deleting the surnames supposedly brought into the "original" area by migrants. This was done as follows: those surnames were left out of sight, the number of carriers of which was less than three. Here I would like to note that if geneticists consulted with local linguists-dialectologists, then it would be possible to leave at least those surnames in the bases of which the words of local dialects can be traced. But be that as it may, after the elimination of the "stray" surnames, 14,428 remained. About 700 thousand out of a million wear them. These names are considered by geneticists as genetic markers in their population studies.
Study of the geography of Russian surnames
During the study of genetics, they made common list all surnames, arranged in descending order of frequency for each of the five regions, as well as a general list. Then we added material for the additionally surveyed Siberian region (Kemerovo region). As it turned out, 250 surnames are used everywhere. Below is just that list. Surnames are listed in descending order of frequency.
However, it should first be noted that Russian geneticists are not pioneers in the study of the geography of Russian surnames. Priority in this area belongs to the prominent Soviet onomatologist V.A. Nikonov (1904-1988). It was he who first discovered that the most frequent surnames of Russians are Smirnov, Ivanov, Popov, Kuznetsov, and outlined the main areas in which these surnames predominate. Of course, V.A. Nikonov studied the geographic distribution and many other surnames of more than 3 million people (he collected materials from the funds of 52 archives). You can read more about this in the book by V.A. Nikonov "Geography of Surnames" (Moscow, 1988).
The top lists of Russian surnames are also not new. The first such list was compiled by B.O. Unbegaun based on the St. Petersburg address book for 1910 ("All Petersburg"), containing almost 200 thousand names. He singled out in a separate list the 100 most frequent, the carriers of which were 31,503 people. This list reflects a mixed ethnic composition former Russian capital. In particular, the surname Schmidt is in 87th place, and Miller is in 75th. The list can be found in the Supplement to B.O. Unbegaun "Russian surnames" (Moscow, 1989).
There are two more frequency lists of Russian surnames, made on extensive material, and on the same one. First, V.A. Nikonov, and then V.A. Mitrofanov identified the frequency of surnames in the telephone directory of Moscow. Both released a list of the 100 most common surnames.
The results of V.A. Nikonov can be found in his article: Nikonov V.A. Russian surnames: Moscow XVI-XX centuries. // Ethnic groups in the cities of the European part of the USSR (formation, resettlement, culture dynamics), Moscow, 1987, pp. 5-15.
The results of V. A. Mitrofanov are contained in a much less accessible source, in his Ph.D. thesis: Modern Russian surnames as an object of linguistics, onomastics and lexicography, Moscow, 1995.
So, the list of surnames compiled by Russian geneticists:
1. Smirnov
2. Ivanov
3. Kuznetsov
4. Popov
5. Sokolov
6. Lebedev
7. Kozlov
8. Novikov
9. Morozov
10. Petrov
11. Volkov
12. Solovyov
13. Vasiliev
14. Zaitsev
15. Pavlov
16. Semenov
17. Golubev
18. Vinogradov
19. Bogdanov
20. Sparrows
21. Fedorov
22. Mikhailov 
23. Belyaev
24. Tarasov
25. Belov
26. Mosquitoes
27. Orlov
28. Kiselev
29. Makarov
30. Andreev
31. Kovalev
32. Gusev
33. Titov
34. Kuzmin
35. Kudryavtsev
36. Baranov
37. Kulikov
38. Alekseev
39. Stepanov
40. Yakovlev
41. Sorokin
42. Sergeev
43. Romanov
44. Zakharov 
45. Borisov
46. Queens
47. Gerasimov
48. Ponomarev
49. Grigoriev
50. Lazarev
51. Medvedev
52. Ershov
53. Nikitin
54. Sobolev
55. Ryabov
56. Polyakov
57. Flowers
58. Danilov
59. Zhukov
60. Frolov
61. Zhuravlev
62. Nikolaev
63. Krylov
64. Maksimov
65. Sidorov
66. Osipov
67. Belousov
68. Fedotov
69. Dorofeev
70. Egorov
71. Matveev
72. Bobrov
73. Dmitriev
74. Kalinin
75. Anisimov
76. Roosters
77. Antonov
78. Timofeev
79. Nikiforov
80. Veselov
81. Filippov
82. Markov
83. Bolshakov
84. Sukhanov
85. Mironov
86. Shiryaev
87. Alexandrov
88. Konovalov
89. Shestakov
90. Kazakov
91. Efimov
92. Denisov
93. Gromov
94. Fomin
95. Davydov
96. Melnikov
97. Shcherbakov
98. Pancakes
99. Kolesnikov
100. Karpov
101. Afanasiev
102. Vlasov
103. Maslov
104. Isakov
105. Tikhonov
106. Aksenov
107. Gavrilov
108. Rodionov
109. Cats
110. Gorbunov
111. Kudryashov
112. Bulls
113. Zuev
114. Tretyakov
115. Saveliev
116. Panov
117. Rybakov
118. Suvorov
119. Abramov
120. Ravens
121. Mukhin
122. Arkhipov
123. Trofimov
124. Martynov
125. Emelyanov
126. Gorshkov
127. Chernov
128. Ovchinnikov
129. Seleznev
130. Panfilov
131. Kopylov
132. Mikheev
133. Galkin
134. Nazarov
135. Lobanov
136. Lukin
137. Belyakov
138. Potapov
139. Nekrasov
140. Khokhlov
141. Zhdanov
142. Naumov
143. Shilov
144. Vorontsov
145. Ermakov
146. Drozdov
147. Ignatiev
148. Savin
149. Logins
150. Safonov
151. Kapustin
152. Kirillov
153. Moiseev
154. Eliseev
155. Koshelev
156. Costin
157. Gorbachev
158. Nuts
159. Efremov
160. Isaev
161. Evdokimov
162. Kalashnikov
163. Kabanov
164. Socks
165. Yudin
166. Kulagin
167. Lapin
168. Prokhorov
169. Nesterov
170. Kharitonov
171. Agafonov
172. Ants
173. Larionov
174. Fedoseev
175. Zimin
176. Pakhomov
177. Shubin
178. Ignatov
179. Filatov
180. Kryukov
181. Horns
182. Fists
183. Terentyev
184. Molchanov
185. Vladimirov
186. Artemiev
187. Guryev
188. Zinoviev
189. Grishin
190. Kononov
191. Dementiev
192. Sitnikov
193. Simonov
194. Mishin
195. Fadeev
196. Komissarov
197. Mammoths
198. Nosov
199. Gulyaev
200. Balls
201. Ustinov
202. Vishnyakov
203. Evseev
204. Lavrentiev
205. Bragin
206. Konstantinov
207. Kornilov
208. Avdeev
209. Zykov
210. Biryukov
211. Sharapov
212. Nikonov
213. Schukin
214. Dyachkov
215. Odintsov
216. Sazonov
217. Yakushev
218. Krasilnikov
219. Gordeev
220. Samoilov
221. Knyazev
222. Bespalov
223. Uvarov
224. Checkers
225. Bobylev
226. Doronin
227. Belozerov
228. Rozhkov
229. Samsonov
230. Butchers
231. Likhachev
232. Burov
233. Sysoev
234. Fomichev
235. Rusakov
236. Strelkov
237. Gushchin
238. Teterin
239. Kolobov
240. Subbotin
241. Fokin
242. Blokhin
243. Seliverstov
244. Pestov
245. Kondratiev
246. Silin
247. Merkushev
248. Lytkin
249. Turov
Scientists managed to compile a complete list of truly Russian surnames by region of the country: the Kuban turned out to be Russian
Unfortunately, the interpretations of family analysis that appeared in the media this summer (after the first publication of the data in a specialized scientific journal), could create a false impression of the goals and results of the enormous work of scientists, the main thing was not that the surname Smirnov turned out to be more common among Russian people than Ivanov, but that for the first time a complete list of truly Russian surnames was compiled by regions of the country. At the same time, scientists had to spend a lot of time collecting Russian surnames on their own.
The Central Election Commission and local election commissions flatly refused to cooperate with scientists, arguing that only if the voter lists are secret can they guarantee the objectivity and honesty of elections to federal and local authorities. The criterion for inclusion in the list of a surname was very lenient: it was included if at least five carriers of this surname lived in the region for three generations.
First, lists were compiled for five conditional regions - Northern, Central, Central-Western, Central-Eastern and Southern. In total, about 15 thousand Russian surnames were accumulated in all regions, most of which were found only in one of the regions and were absent in others. When regional lists were superimposed on each other, scientists identified a total of 257 so-called "all-Russian surnames".
Interestingly, on final stage research, they decided to add the names of residents of the Krasnodar Territory to the list of the Southern Region, expecting that the predominance of Ukrainian surnames of the descendants of the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks evicted here by Catherine II would significantly reduce the all-Russian list. But this additional restriction reduced the list of all-Russian surnames by only 7 units - to 250. From which the obvious and not pleasant conclusion followed that the Kuban was inhabited mainly by Russian people. And where did the Ukrainians go and were there at all here - the big question.
An analysis of Russian surnames generally provides food for thought. Even the simplest action - searching it for the names of all the leaders of the country - gave an unexpected result. Only one of them was included in the list of top 250 all-Russian surnames - Mikhail Gorbachev (158th place). The surname Brezhnev takes 3767th place in the general list (found only in the Belgorod region of the Southern region). The surname Khrushchev is in 4248th place (found only in the Northern region, Arkhangelsk region). Chernenko took 4749th place (only the Southern region). Andropov - 8939th place (only the Southern region). Putin took 14250th place (only the Southern region). But Yeltsin was not included in the general list at all. Stalin's surname - Dzhugashvili - for obvious reasons was not considered. But on the other hand, the pseudonym Lenin got into the regional lists under the number 1421, second only to the first president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev.
250 MOST RUSSIAN SURNAMES
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What are the oldest surnames? Very interest Ask, I'll tell you. With the development of the economy, in certain countries there was a need for surnames. First of all, in order to recognize one or another person among the many names. Merchants from different countries could look for a person who wanted to purchase goods for many years. In order to speed up the search, surnames were invented. Each person had his own individual surname (each person had the right to choose a surname that he liked), by which he could be found! Despite the fact that many people assumed that each person would have their own last name, the number of people with the same last name increased every year. Some managed to convey their surname to our times, others have lost this value forever.
Today I am going to talk to you about the oldest surnames that were thought out many centuries earlier ...
According to historians, the most ancient surnames are Vyatsky. This merchant land became the founder of surnames. Here people first gave themselves surnames. Despite the fact that the first mention of surnames there dates back to the seventeenth century, the surnames themselves appeared much earlier. In ancient libraries, manuscripts of chroniclers were found, who wrote the words that every person in his family has a surname. From Vyatka, in turn, people left for other countries. The first people who have one of the most ancient surnames are Cheosim Perminov and Alexander Ryazantsev. People of different nationalities were in this country. To compile lists of people who lived in the city, special people were recruited. It was their responsibility to constantly update information about new names. These people enjoyed great respect, for which they received the name "Tolmachev".
One of the most ancient surnames is considered to be Golitsyn. Her roots, latest information grew in the fifteenth century. According to scientists, it originated from ancient word- "Galitsy", which then meant - "Leather mittens for work." It is still considered one of the oldest in the world. This surname has survived to this day. Many famous people now they bear the surname Golitsyn (for example, the editor of textbooks Yuri Golitsyn). The surname belonged to the noble family for a long time, but was soon borrowed by the boyars. Later, with the abolition of "serfdom", the surname was assigned to many peasants. After this moment, it spread greatly in Rus'.
There are a lot of surnames that happened a very long time ago. Most of the ancestors were from noble family. Now there is approximately one third of the number of surnames that was from the very beginning. Gradually, the surnames moved to the countries of Europe, Asia, and a few years later the New World was under their rule.
Another one ancient surname, originated in China. Min. It was this surname that most Chinese and Koreans had. It is very common in Asia only because of this fact. In the libraries of ancient Korea, information was found that the ancient emperor of the Ming dynasty had this surname as early as the sixteenth century.
One Russian surname is also one of the most ancient in the whole world. Kalita. Back in the seventeenth century given surname was known to most of the illiterate laborers. In ancient Rus' it has long been customary to celebrate winter holiday"Kalyatu". Men rode on sleighs, shouting "Kalyata-Kalyata", and women baked pies in order to appease the hard workers passing by. For diligence and kindness, many men called women the affectionate name "Kalyata". As a result, it became boring, and even later it became a surname.
Ancient surnames came to us from Italy. Some surnames are said to have existed there as early as the eleventh century. How reliable these data are, we do not know. The economic spheres of the country developed at a breakneck pace and all this prompted Italy to start giving people surnames. They made it clear what man goes speech. One of the oldest surnames in Italy is Rossi. Scientists say that the surname came from the word "Rose", which meant faith, renunciation of hell, etc. Later, this surname began to gain momentum, and by our time, about a million people bear this surname. According to historians, back in the twelfth century there were quite a lot of "Rossi". The surname was rapidly gaining momentum and went beyond the borders of the state.
One of the oldest surnames originated in Denmark. "Dani" - this is how the people who from time immemorial lived and worshiped the country were called. The approximate date of origin of the surname, the seventeenth century. Although some scientists do not agree with this belief. There is unofficial information that a certain Albama Dani ( major figure countries), lived as far back as the fifteenth century! But these data are not considered reliable, because there are no facts that this literature can be true, from the point of view of science.
One of the oldest surnames in Russia is Morozov. If you believe historical literature then, the Morozovs existed as early as the seventeenth century. This surname happened due to Russian frosts. Since it was the frosts that bothered the inhabitants of ancient Rus' most of all, this gave rise to the surname. The seventeenth centuries were especially cold, because then the well-known Issyrian global cooling occurred. Despite the fact that many scientists refute this theory, the fact is a fact. The surname Morozov appeared in the mid-thirties of the 17th century.
As one work colleague (Vladimir Kuvshinin) told me, according to Nizhny Novgorod historians, one of the oldest surnames is Konovalov and its derivatives. In ancient Rus' - approximately the twelfth century - there were estates that fiercely and violently discussed economic development countries. There was a so-called "irreligious" community that strongly rejected the version that our earth came into existence thanks to a being (God) whom we had never even seen. According to them, the reconstruction of the earth with the help of a heavenly spirit is not possible, and in order to take a step to a new stage of development, we had to immediately abandon stereotypes. They gave themselves the "surname" Konovalov (or rather Konvalov), which then meant "Renunciation of God." All members of this estate were later burned at the stake, so that the ideas that they propagated would slow down spiritual development countries. And the surname Konovalov in the process remained in Rus'. That's just for a long time no one dared to wear it (for obvious reasons).
One Italian last name, Ferrari, very old. It appeared around the thirteenth century (the exact date is being specified by historians). Until the eighteenth century, it was not very common, but later, almost all the people of Italy bore this surname. The roots have grown since the very times when Italy was a powerful power, with a powerful domestic market and army. Scientists still cannot say how this surname came about. Some argue that "Fera" is a spherical space (that is, our land), others generally say that this surname was formed from the nickname "Iferan", which then meant a tyrant. But such a version is almost impossible, rack given nickname It was only for a very small circle of people. Subsequently, memories of this nickname generally evaporated. Few knew about the existence of the nickname, which once again proves that the surname "Ferrari" originated in a different way.
Kuznetsov, oddly enough, is also old surname. Still would! This surname originated in ancient Rus', when working men were held in high esteem not only by the poor, but also by princes in general. The oldest profession that many men have tried to comprehend. The blacksmiths were masters of their craft. Their history goes back about five thousand years. Yes, don't be surprised. The times when people already forged iron, made fire-resistant swords and maces, have been known for a long time. The old and sought-after profession was always in fashion and enjoyed wild popularity. All this was enough to recreate the name Kuznetsov. The first data about this surname were available in the seventeenth century! For more than three hundred and fifty years the Kuznetsovs have been walking on our planet! It is still considered one of the oldest in all of Rus'. Historians will also agree with this fact - for many facts prove the depth of the growth of the roots of the surname - both from low level up to the highest level of knowledge.
Do you all know the famous Shapir uprising? These were people who fought for the freedom and ideals of their country. This story is as deep as the earth. More than one thousand five hundred years have already passed since the Shapirovites accepted the uprising. One could easily call her the oldest surname, if not for one thing! Is it even a surname? It is possible that the Protestants chose a certain indefinite nickname "Shapir" as their posthumous nickname, but can it be correlated with the surname? Perhaps, but it’s hardly possible to name a specific date from which the countdown to surnames began. If you choose that time, then the surnames are already more than one and a half thousand years old! True, scientists reject this version, because there are very few facts that would confirm the veracity of this theory.
In the annals of one thousand six hundred and thirty-three years, much attention was paid to the names of Fedorov. This year is considered the beginning of this family name. Why is this name so old? According to various sources, at that time in Rus' the nickname “Fedor” was widespread. At that time, this name was wildly popular. Many saints bore this surname, which gave rise to the formation of the Fedorov surname. It began to gain momentum in 1901, when the number of Fedorovs almost doubled in ten years! The roots of this surname grew almost four hundred years ago! Why not call this last name the oldest?
The surname Dzhunkovsky has very long roots. It was first mentioned in Mongolia. In the sixteenth century, a certain Khan "Junga" first laid the roots of this surname. This surname is very interesting story. Later, from Khan Jungi, the surname was passed on to his son. For people to grow up rich family who didn't need the money. Calling the court ladies to him, the khan quickly replenished his family. Later, this surname was mentioned on the territory of Ukraine (it did not exist directly then) in the seventeenth century. A few years later - in Slovenia, Yugoslavia, etc. Around the nineteenth century, the surname also appeared in Russia. These people were from a noble family, but not as cruel as the rest of the serfs. The Dzhunkovskys are creative people, which is why they were known. In the twentieth century, Sergiy Dzhunkovsky wrote a book about the "First World War", for which he was awarded a military award. Now there are very, very few people with this surname. There is evidence that people with this surname live on the territory of the Kazakh SSR. Despite such deep roots (fifteenth century), the surname did not spread widely enough. One might even say that it did not spread at all.
The concept of the meaning of the surname developed in the seventeenth century. Here is what was found in one of the libraries of Rus'. It talked about "The meaning of a different surname" ...
This is the surname, there is the generic name of the baby at his birth into the light of day. Passed down through hereditary blood from generation to generation.
Now it is difficult to imagine a world without surnames. A surname is something that will always be with you, from death itself. Like any value, it must be loved and respected, and most importantly, know about it!
Now let's talk about the surname, Gavrilov. People have long said a lot about people with this surname. Scientists believe that this surname appeared already in the seventeenth century. And, despite not belonging to any kind, type of activity, it was very popular. The first mention of this surname is set out in the annals, which speaks of one thousand seven hundred and twenty-second. And this is even earlier than, say, the surname Morozov or Kalyata. The surname Gavrilov appeared thanks to the name "Gavrila". Thanks to the common name, a patronymic appeared, and then, in turn, a surname. If you do not find reliable facts that the surname "Kalyata" was invented precisely at the beginning of the seventeenth century, then this surname can rightly be considered the oldest one that exists in Russia today.
The surname Marta originated about four hundred years ago. The country where this surname originates is France. This surname was given to all girls who were born in March. According to the latest data, people with this surname walked the earth at the very end of the fifteenth century, and to be precise, in the year 1598. After the country's economy developed strongly, France decided to follow the example of Italy. After this point, France already had its own surnames. But according to the latest data, as soon as the first hint of a surname appeared in Italy in the eleventh century, immediately after that, close countries received the right to choose their own surname. That's just where the gap of three hundred years came from, we do not know. If you dig a little more precisely into the information, then this question can be more accurately answered. But only France is not particularly open to other countries, and scientists are in no hurry to talk too much on this topic (although they offer solid money, new cooperation). There is an assumption that the surname Rossi, which was formed in Italy, was borrowed by Spain and France in particular. Later, Rossi in France became Rosy, with the accent on the second syllable. But after one internal crisis, all carriers of this surname were destroyed. Even if someone remained alive, they soon died of poverty and hunger. Recall that then this strange "crisis" almost undermined the French economy as a whole!
Even despite the fact that most of the Smiths live in America (and this is more than two million people), this does not at all prevent the surname from being old. After all, if you delve into history, then this surname was more likely invented in England than the colonies of America. If, nevertheless, the Americans became the founders of such a surname, then it will be difficult to attribute it to the old one, but if you trust the majority, then we can say with confidence that the roots of this surname grew in the seventeenth century. To be precise, in the seventies. If you find a couple of facts that confirmed the veracity of this theory, then you can safely attribute the name "Smith" to one of the oldest in the whole world.
The well-known surname Chan (which is carried by one hundred million people) occurred a very long time ago. Still, it's no wonder she's so popular. This surname appeared in the Sochuan province of China "Africa" (not to be confused with the mainland!). Being in the fourteenth century, Mr. "Chen", he thought that it would be nice to spread this nickname among the rest of the inhabitants of the province (so that he then sold clothes, but did not receive much). After he posted special flyers of their rice paper all over the area, his name became known as your ocean. This store was popular, and the name "Chen" wished to carry other residents of the province. After the thirties (the date may be slightly inaccurate) of the fourteenth century, the surname "Chan" became fashionable. Even then, the surname itself could not exist in principle, but there were more and more people who wanted to. The country's economy last years increased greatly. The export of goods to Europe also increased. China has become one of the leading places in the world. The economy was growing, which required an immediate decision to introduce surnames. One of the first surnames was "Chan". The approximate date is the fifteenth century, the beginning of the sixteenth. The surname is considered one of the oldest in the world. Despite this achievement, the surname is also the most common.
The surname "Li" was also very popular in Southeast Asia. Once the government decreed that every Chinese citizen should have their own last name, most people chose that last name. First, because of its simplicity and ease of pronunciation. Secondly, the meaning of the surname itself. Let me remind you that most scientists are inclined to the version that this surname was formed from the word "Lin", which meant cotton fabric. As a rule, people who worked on the creation of this fabric have always been held in high esteem, which made this surname very, very promising. After the sixteenth century, the surname became very popular, according to the Nizhny Novgorod historical club. But who knows when the very person who first decided to take this surname lived? Perhaps a hundred years earlier? Maybe more? It is a pity that many scientists cannot find the answer to this question.
As you have already noticed, the oldest surnames were usually worn by residents of East Asia and South-East Asia. But the next surname, which, according to the latest data, happened back in the seventeenth century, was born in the land of the rising sun. Japanese surname- "Jin". If you believe the chronicle of Igor Zlatoumov, written in the eighteenth century, then some residents invaded the possessions of the Russian principality. They were merchants from Japan. They were treated appropriately. Having learned that they had crossed the sea and crossed the entire border of China, our fellow countrymen decided to keep the data about the merchants forever. This is how the first data about the surname "Jin" appeared. One of the main merchants just bore this interesting surname. Perhaps the surname occurred earlier, but it is impossible to say for sure, because there are very, very few facts.
And the last surname that we will talk about is Zakharov. Can you imagine, this surname appeared even earlier than the surname - Romanov! The Zakharov dynasty, of course, was a very long time ago, and many historians from all over the world can confirm this fact. If we consider that the surname Romanov occurred in the seventeenth century, then the surname Zakharov occurred much earlier. Maybe three generations, maybe even four. The surname Zakharov - which has been living for more than four hundred years, came from the word "Witch Doctor". At that time in Rus' she was extremely famous. Thanks to many chronicles and information that scientists have collected, it can be said with confidence that the surname Zakharov is one of the oldest not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
It is not so easy to answer the question of when Russians got surnames. The fact is that surnames in Rus' were formed mainly from patronymics, nicknames or generic names, and this process was gradual.
Novgorod surnames
It is believed that the first in Rus' to bear the names of the citizens of Veliky Novgorod, which was then a republic, as well as residents of Novgorod possessions, stretching throughout the north from the Baltic to the Urals. It happened presumably in the XIII century.
So, in the annals for 1240, the names of the Novgorodians who fell in the Battle of the Neva are mentioned: “Kostyantin Lugotinits, Guryata Pineshchinich”. In the annals of 1268, there are the names of "Tverdislav Chermny, Nikifor Radiatinich, Tverdislav Moisievich, Mikhail Krivtsevich, Boris Ildyatinich ... Vasil Voiborzovich, Zhiroslav Dorogomilovich, Poroman Podvoisky." In 1270, according to the chronicler, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich went on a campaign against the Tatars, taking with him "Petril Lever and Mikhail Pineshchinich."
As you can see, these surnames had little resemblance to modern ones and were formed, most likely, by patronymics, family or baptismal names, nicknames or place of residence.
Come from the North
Perhaps the most ancient surnames should still be considered surnames ending in the suffixes -ih and -ih. According to experts, they appeared at the turn of I-II millennia and originated mainly from family nicknames. For example, members of the same family could be given nicknames such as Short, White, Red, Black, and their descendants were called in the genitive or prepositional: "Whose will you be?" “Short, White, Red, Black.” Doctor philological sciences A.V. Superanskaya writes: “The head of the family is called Golden, the whole family is Golden. A native or native of the family in the next generation - Golden.
Historians suggest that these surnames were born in the north, and subsequently spread to central regions Rus' and the Urals. Many such surnames are found among Siberians: this was associated with the beginning of the conquest of Siberia in the second half of XVI century. By the way, according to the rules of the Russian language, such surnames are not inclined.
Surnames from Slavic names and nicknames
There were also surnames that arose from ancient Russian secular names. For example, the surnames Zhdanov and Lyubimov later came from the Slavic proper names Zhdan and Lyubim. Many surnames are formed from the so-called "security" names: it was believed that if you give a baby a name with a negative connotation, it will scare him away dark forces and failure. So from the names-nicknames Nekras, Dur, Chertan, Malice, Neustroy, Hunger came the names Nekrasov, Durov, Chertanov, Zlobin, Neustroev, Golodov.
Noble families
Only later, in the XIV-XV centuries, surnames began to appear among princes and boyars. Most often they were formed from the name of the inheritance owned by the prince or boyar, and subsequently passed on to his descendants: Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Obolensky, Vyazemsky. Some of the noble families came from nicknames: Gagarins, Humpbacked, Eyed, Lykovs, Scriabins. Sometimes the surname combined the name of the inheritance with the nickname, such as Lobanov-Rostovsky. One of the most ancient noble families - Golitsyn - originates from old word"galitsy" ("galitsy"), which meant leather mittens used in various works. Another ancient noble family- Morozov. The first to wear it was Misha Prushanin, who distinguished himself in 1240 in the battle with the Swedes: his name was glorified in the Life of Alexander Nevsky. This clan also became known thanks to the famous schismatic - boyar Fedosya Morozova.
Merchant surnames
In the XVIII-XIX centuries, service people, clergy and merchants began to bear surnames. However, the richest merchants acquired surnames even earlier, in the 15th-16th centuries. Basically, these were again residents of the northern regions of Russia - say, the Kalinnikovs, Stroganovs, Perminovs, Ryazantsevs. Kuzma Minin, the son of the salt-worker Mina Ankudinov from Balakhna, received his own surname already at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Often, merchant surnames reflected the occupation of their owner. So, the Rybnikovs traded fish.
Peasant surnames
The peasants did not have surnames for a long time, with the exception of the population of the northern part of Russia, which once belonged to Novgorod, since there was no serfdom there. Take, for example, the "Arkhangelsk peasant" Mikhail Lomonosov or Pushkin's nanny, the Novgorod peasant woman Arina Rodionovna Yakovleva.
They had surnames and Cossacks, as well as the population of the lands that were formerly part of the Commonwealth: the territory of present-day Belarus to Smolensk and Vyazma, Little Russia. Most of the indigenous inhabitants of the black earth provinces had surnames.
Massively assigning surnames to peasants began only after the abolition of serfdom. And some even received surnames only during the years of Soviet power.
