The most common Czech surnames. Origin of Czech surnames

At birth, each person receives his personal name and family name (surname), indicating that he is the son (or daughter) of his father, grandson - grandfather, great-grandson - great-grandfather.

The surname can be rare and widespread, majestic or funny, but all of them can tell why the ancestors of a person began to be called that way.

Origin of Czech surnames

In the Czech Republic today there are over four tens of thousands of surnames, and the first of them appeared in the 14th century. At first, surnames were a kind of nicknames and may change throughout life. For example, Sedlak (peasant), Shilgan (oblique), Halabala (loafer). Moreover, each family member could have his own nickname. These middle names helped to better identify people, more precisely to register them. And to prevent unrest in the collection of taxes, future surnames began to be inherited. In 1780, the Czech Emperor Josef II legalized the use of generic names.

The writer Božena Němcová is the most famous bearer of a common Czech surname.

Czech surnames sometimes corresponded to the occupation of a person, for example, Mlinarzh (miller), Sklenarzh (glazier), and coincided with his own name or the name of his father, for example, Janak, Lukas, Alesh, Urbanek (remember Viktor Pavlik). The generic names of people living in the city and the village were also different. The surnames of the townspeople sometimes corresponded to their belonging to a certain stratum of society. As a rule, the place of residence of the clan was added to the noble family name. For example, Kozheshnik from Trotsnow, Lansky from Lobkowitz. The nobles, much earlier than the commoners, began to pass on generic names by inheritance, thus showing his noble origin. One of the oldest noble families in the country is the Chernin family (11th century).

Vladimír Mlynář is a famous Czech politician and financier. With us, he would be Vladimir Melnik.

Surnames such as Knedlik, Kolash (pie), Cibulka (onion) make it clear that Czechs have always been great gourmets, and nature served as a source of inspiration for them (Brzhiza - a birch, Gavranek - a crow, Shipka - a wild rose, Vorzhishek - a mongrel, etc.). Czech generic names were used, which reflected religion: Krzhestyan (Christian), Lutrin (Lutheran).

Alexey Mlinarzh - Russian master table tennis with the same speaking Czech surname. And after all, no miller.

Appeared funny surnames , which were called representatives of religions that are non-Catholic (Pogan - pagan), or who spoke about some quality of a person's character (Sodomka - from Sodom known from the Bible). And apparently due to the fact that the ancestors of modern Czechs with humor were fine, there are such family names as Geysek (dandy), Beran (ram), Tsisarzh (emperor), Voganka (tail), Pletiha (gossip), Brzhikhachek ( pot-bellied) and others.

Today, some Czechs go to the registry offices with a request to change the names that seem to them funny or even obscene. And the employees of these institutions, as a rule, go towards citizens who want to get rid of such generic names as Graysemnou, which means "play with me", Vratsesase, which translates as "come again", Vrazhdil - "killed", Vitamvas, meaning greetings.

If you got here for a reason, but with serious intentions, for example, you set yourself the goal of moving there for permanent residence, then we have a couple more articles for you. In learning a language, it is worth starting with the basics, that is, with the Czech alphabet - - it turns out that it is not at all so simple, and the letters in it are apparently invisible.

The most common surnames in the Czech Republic

If you look at the list of Czech surnames, the most common one will be the generic name Novak. This equivalent of the surname Ivanov is a "family" symbol of the country, and its bearer is the hero of numerous Czech jokes. Today, more than 70 thousand men and women in the Czech Republic bear the surnames Novak and Novakov. This suggests that the ancestors of the Czechs often changed their place of residence, and when they arrived in another city or village, they became newcomers - Novaks. If such a "tumbleweed" was also low, it was called Novachek.

There are slightly fewer Czech citizens with the surname Svoboda, from which the generic names Svobodnik, Svobodny, etc. were formed. The third place in the list of Czech surnames is Novotny, as a derivative of Novak, and the fourth is Dvořák (everyone who knows and loves music knows this famous surname ).

Karel Svoboda - Czech composer - it was he who wrote famous song to the cartoon "The Adventures of Maya the Bee". His surname is one of the most common in the Czech Republic.

Not the most common, but certainly the most famous, is the name of the Czech Czapek. Writer Karel Capek and composer Antonin Dvorak really need no introduction. It is believed that the surname Chapek comes from the word "chap", which means "stork" in translation. Maybe the writer's ancestors had long legs, or maybe they had a long nose, or maybe a stork was depicted on their house.

And since we are talking about music, let us note that the Czech Republic is very musical country, and on our website there is one dedicated to her. Great composers and street ensembles, the well-known organ-grinder in a hat on Charles Bridge and the player on crystal glasses on Republic Square. Or maybe organ music? Shall we go to church?

Features of the formation of Czech surnames

If we compare Russian surnames with Czech ones, it is clearly seen that most Russian generic names answer the question: “whose?” (Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov), and Czech, like English, German, etc., directly call a person (Smith, Hess, Novak, Nedbal, Smolarzh).

And in the Czech language, despite the fact that it is also Slavic, there is a different attitude in grammar to the words of masculine and female. As a result, the formation of a female surname from a male one occurs by adding the suffix "-ova". For example, Novak - Novakova, Shpork - Shporkova. Moreover, Czechs also incline foreign female surnames without regard to meaning. It turns out sometimes very interesting, if not funny. For example, Smirnov - Smirnovova, Beckham - Beckham, Putin - Putinova. In the Czech periodical press one can read: Demi Murova, Sarah-Jessica Parkerova, Sharon Stounova. Known fact that Kylie Minogue did not go to the Czech Republic after learning that her name looked like Kylie Minogue on posters. True, there are female surnames to which the named suffix is ​​\u200b\u200bnot added, these are Nova, Krasna, Stara and others denoting an adjective.

Some representatives of the weaker sex say that adding the suffix "-ova" to the male surname to form a female one shows the woman's dependence on the man, her subordinate role. Some Czechs believe that it would be more logical to use male form Czech female surname due to the fact that people today travel a lot abroad. In the Senate, there was even a proposal from the Civic Democrats to allow women to “stop” their surnames. But the project was not approved so as not to speed up the natural development process Czech language. True, the Institute of the Czech Language recommended tolerating women who prefer to introduce themselves by giving the male form of their surnames, which does not apply to official documents.

Anyone who has read the article almost to the end will definitely be interested in learning more about the most popular and rare names in the Czech Republic. This girl's name is Petra. Isn't it a beautiful name? By the way, she is a famous Czech model. An article about names is being prepared and we will publish it soon. Follow us.

The surname is one of the most important components of a person's identity. History knows the facts of renaming a person who became a slave. And the declension of female surnames is part of the Czech identity. Perhaps this is what makes patriots perceive the desire of some citizens to violate Golden Rule Czech grammar as a great loss of the Czech language.

The oldest layer of Czech names - Slavic names, which fall into three types: 1) single-membered, simple names; 2) complex; 3) abbreviations and derivatives. While complex names were mostly worn by persons belonging to government circles and the nobility, single-membered names belonged to representatives of a simple class. Many Old Slavic names seem strange at first glance. The origin of many of them can be explained through the prism protective function- after all, the names reflect representations ancient man about the magical power of the word. Many one-member names arose from the need to protect a person (especially in infancy) from evil spirits. Hence the negative names: Nemil, Nedrah, Nelub, Nemoj. The same role was played by the names of animals and plants: Bobr, Kozel, Sobol, Tur, Sokol, Vran, Kalina, etc.

A variety of common words were used to form complex names. Here is a small list of them with examples of names:

bor: Borivoj, Dalibor, Ratibor
buď: Budivoj, Budislav/a
boh: Bohuslav/a, Bohdan, Bohuchval
čest: Čestmír/a, Ctibor/a, Ctislav/a
mil: Miloslav/a, Bohumil/a
mir: Miroslav/a, Jaromír/a, Vladimir/a
mysl: Premysl, Kresomysl
rad: Radoslav/a, Radomír/a, Ctirad/a
slav: Slavomir/a, Stanislav/a, Vladislav/a
vit: Hostivit, Vitězslav
vlad: Vladislav/a, Vladimir/a
voj: VojtEch, Borivoj

Here is a wider list of Old Bohemian male and female names.

Men's

Bezděd, Bezprym, Bohuň, Bohuslav, Boleslav, Bořiš, Bořivoj, Božata, Břetislav, Budislav, Budivoj, Bujín, Ctibor, Ctirad, Čajka, Černín, Dlugoš, Drahoš, Holáč, Hostislav, Hostivít, Hovora, Hroz nata, Jaromir, Jaroslav, Jaroš, Jurata, Kazimír, Kocel, Kochan, Kojata, Koša, Křesina, Květek, Lestek, Lešek, Měšek, Mikuš, Milhošt, Miloň, Miroslav, Mnata, Mojmír, Mstiš, Mulina, Načerat, Nakon, Neklan, Nerad, Nezamysl, Ojíř, Oneš, Ostoj, Prkoš, Přemysl, Přibík, Příbram, Přibyslav, Přivitan, Radek, Radim, Rastislav, Ráž, Rostislav, Rozroj ,Sezema, Slavek, Slavibor, Slavitah, Slavník, Slopan, Soběbor, Soběslav, Spyti hnev, Stanoslav, Stojan, Strojmír, Stromata, Střezimír, Svatobor, Svatopluk, Svojen, Svojslav, Svojšek, Vacek, Vacena, Václav, Vít, Vítek, Vitislav, Vladislav, Vladivoj, Vladoň, Vladota, Vlastislav, Vojen, Vojtěch, Vratislav, Vra Zek, Všebor, Zbyhněv, Zderad, Zlatoň, Zlatoslav, Znanek

Women's

Blažena Bohuna Bohuslava a, Nětka, Pluhava, Radoslava, Svatava, Trebava, Václava, Vendula, Vlastěna, Vojtěcha, Vratislava, Zdislava, Zořena, Zizňava

In the 9th century, when the Christian religion began to spread in the Czech lands, international trade relations developed, and various wars took place, names of other than Slavic origin began to appear. So, on the territory of the Czech Republic, Jewish names began to be used more and more often, as Adam, Jan, Jakub, Tomas, Josef, Michal, Daniel, Anna, Eva, Greek like Filip, Stepan, Jiří, Barbora, Irena, Kateřina, Lucie, latin like Marek, Martin, Lukasz, Pavel, Clara, Magdalena, Germanic (these names were brought, first of all, by the German wives of the Přemyslids, German monks and knights), as Jindřík, Oldřich, Wilem, Karel, Otakar, Gedvika, Amalia and others. Many of these names were written and pronounced differently in the original language, but the Czechs adapted them to their requirements.

In the 14th century, during the Gothic era, Christian church names. Parents gave their children the names of saints so that they would protect them. Saints also became patrons of various professions, for example, Barbor - miners, Hubert - hunters. Vaclav becomes the patron of the Czech people. The penetration of Christian names into the Czech Republic ended in the Baroque era in the 18th century. Then, under the influence of the cult of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, these two names became quite popular among the Czechs, like Frantisek and Antonin - the names of saints who were canonized precisely in the Baroque era.

Each name, of course, formed its abbreviations or diminutive forms. For example, a very popular name Jan also used as Enik, Enichek, Yenda, Yenya, Janek, or Gonza, Gonzik, Gonzichek(according to the German example from the home form Hans).

In the 16th century, the choice of a name depended on belonging to a certain social stratum. For example, counts and nobles bore names like Wilem, Yaroslav, Friedrich, soldiers - Hector, Jiri, Alexander. Village girls from the 14th to the 18th centuries bore, most often, names like Katerzhina, Anna, Barbora, Dorota, Marketa, common names of city girls from high society were Philomena, Eleanor, Anastasia, Euphrosyne and others.

During the communist era, parents had to get permission if they wanted to give a name that was not on the Czech calendar. Since 1989, parents have the right to give the name whatever they want, as long as it is used somewhere in the world and is not offensive or derogatory. However, it is common practice to look up the name in the book "Jak se bude vaše dítě jmenovat?" ("What to name the child?"), which is a semi-official list of "allowed" names. If the name is not found there, the registry office does not want to register this name of the child.

Throughout history, names have been subjected to a wide variety of influences - church, educational, socio-political, they were used in honor of prominent personalities - actors, athletes, politicians, or simply adapted to fashion trends at a given time.

The Czech Statistical Office has posted data on the most frequent names on its website since 1999. At the beginning of the year, these are the first ten names, then a list of the first fifty names is added (separately for male and female newborns). In this case, only the names that are registered in the month of January are given, which cannot but cause some surprise. After all, the Czech Republic is a country in which the positions of various kinds of calendars are strong (Catholic, in the communist period there was also a mandatory calendar of names). That's why overall picture for a year, obviously, is somewhat different from the picture for one month. However, the dynamics of changes in the choice of names from year to year, such statistics show well. In addition, the website of the statistical office also provides statistics on the names of fathers and mothers of newborns. You can also find summary data for several years, and the names of grandparents are added to the names of the parents of newborns.

I will give the official statistics of the most frequent 50 male and female names of newborns in the Czech Republic in 2009.

Male names Jakub Tomas Lukas Philip David Ondrej MatJ Vojtech Martin Dominic Matyas Daniel Marek Michal Štěpan Vaclav Joseph Simon Patrick Pavel Frantisek Krystof Antonin Tobias Samuel Miroslav Tadeas Sebastian Richard Jaroslav Karel Aexandr Matous Oliver Radek Michael Milan Nicoias Christian Victor Denis Mikulas Nicholas Roman Jachym

Women's names Tereza Natalie Eliska Karolina Adela Katerina Barbora Kristyria Lucie Veronica Nikola Klara Michaela Viktorie Marie Aneta Julie Zuzana Marketa Vanesa sophie Andrea Laura Amalie Alzbeta Daniela Sabina Denisa Magdalena Nicol Linda Valerie Yendula Simona Anezka Rosalie Gabriella Petra Adriana Dominica Lenka Martina

As in other countries, in the Czech Republic there are some differences in the popularity of certain names between regions. For example, let's give five most frequent names in all fourteen administrative regions of the country in 2007. At the same time, again we are talking data for January only.

Women's

Liberec region: Tereza, Natalie, Anna, Eliska, Karolina
Ustesky region: Tereza, Anna, Katerina, Lucie, Karolina
Central Bohemian region: Tereza, Adela, Anna, Eliska, Natalie
South Bohemian Region: Katerina, Tereza, Anna, Natalie, Adela
Pilsen region: Tereza, Adéla, Natálie, Kristýna, Anna
Vysochina: Tereza, Karolina, Natalie, Nikola, Barbora
Pardubice region: Tereza, Adela, Karolina, Katerina, Nikola
Hradec Kralove Region: Karolina, Katerina, Adela, Anna, Eliška
South Moravian Region: Veronika, Karolina, Tereza, Natalie, Anna
Olomouc region: Tereza, Adela, Eliška, Anna, Karolina
Zlin region: Eliska, Tereza, Barbora, Veronika, Karolina
Moravian-Silesian Region: Tereza, Karolína, Natálie, Kristýna, Eliška
Karlovy Vary Region: Natalie, Karolina, Tereza, Adela, Anna
Prague: Anna, Eliska, Tereza, Karolina, Marie

Men's

Liberec region: Filip, Tomas, Adam, Jan, Lukas
Ustesky region: Jan, Jakub, Lukas, Adam, Matěj
Central Bohemian region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Tomas, Martin
South Bohemian Region: Jakub, Jan, Matěj, Tomáš, Lukáš
Pilsen region: Jakub,Lukas, David, Adam, Daniel
Vysochina: Jan, Jakub, Tomas, Ondrej, Adam
Pardubice region: Jan, Matěj, Jakub, Ondřej, Filip
Hradec Kralove Region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Ondřej, Vojtěch
South Moravian Region: Jakub, Jan, Ondřej, Martin, Matěj
Olomouc region: Jakub, Jan, Tomáš, Adam, Vojtěch
Zlin region: Jakub, Tomas, Adam, Jan, Ondrej
Moravian-Silesian Region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Ondrej, Filip
Karlovy Vary Region: Jan, Jakub, Ondřej, Adam, Frantisek
Prague: Jan, Jakub, Vojtěch, Ondřej, Adam

Sources for writing this article:

Koporsky S. A. On the history of personal names in Old Czech and others Slavic languages(review) // Bulletin of Moscow State University. Series X, Philology, No. 3, 1967. Pp. 67–71.

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

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

And the first surnames appeared in the 14th century.

More often surnames were formed from the name. For example, quite common Urban, Urbanek, Lukash, Lukashek, Kashpar, or on behalf of Jan - several at once - Janak, Yandak, Yanda, Yanota. I think many people feel embarrassed when a person's name is Vaclav Havel, Vasek Zygmund or Ota Michal, Jakub Petr, Mikulas Alesh. Try to guess which is the first name and which is the last name.

More surnames were often given depending on the type of activity. So live in the world Kolarzh (wheel craftsman) and Truglarzh (carpenter), Tesarzh (carpenter) and Sklenarzh (glazier). The surnames Bednarzh (cooper), Kovarzh (blacksmith), Mlinarzh (miller) were often met.

Czech surnames mostly arose in connection with the need to better identify people. The first similarities of surnames, most often, reflected certain traits of the character or appearance of the person, and often were ironic, derisive or even offensive. These include, for example, Zubaty (toothy), Nedbal (careless), Halabala (loafer) and others. They can't be named yet. classic surnames, these were rather nicknames or nicknames that could change throughout the life of one person. Father and son could have different "surnames" depending on their occupation, appearance, or typical character traits.

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

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

The surnames of urban and rural residents were different. In cities, people often received surnames depending on the social stratum to which they belonged, or on the place where they lived. In the 18th century, not numbers but names were used for orientation on the streets, for example, the house "At two suns", "At the golden snake", "At the black Mother of God" and so on. Accordingly, if someone had, for example, the surname Vodslon, then it was a man “from an elephant”, that is, he lived in the house “At the elephant”.

It was pretty clear the difference between the surnames of nobles and ordinary people . Noble names usually consisted of several godnames, a surname, and also a nickname, which, most often, denoted the place of residence of this family. For example, Jan Zizka from Trocnov, Kryshtof Garant from Polzhytsy and Bezdruzytsy, Bohuslav Gasishteinski from Lobkowitz. Among the nobles, surnames were inherited earlier than among ordinary people. This is understandable, since it was in the interests of the nobles themselves that their children bear a family name that would immediately speak of their noble origin, position in society and the wealth of their family. To the oldest Czech noble families the genus Chernin belongs (from the 11th century).

For ordinary people, surnames were most often associated with their occupation., for example, Bednarzh (carpenter), Tesarzh (carpenter), Kozheshnik (furrier), Sedlak (peasant), Vorach (plowman), Nadenik (farm laborer), Polesny (forester), Lokai (footman) and others. The surnames of villagers often testified to the size of the property of a given person. For example, Pulpan (the exact translation means “half master”) was the owner of half the field, Lansky was already becoming the owner of the whole field, and the man with the surname Bezzemek was a landless peasant.

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

It should be noted that humor was reflected in the formation of many Czech surnames. Many of them testify that the ancestors of modern Czechs were real merry fellows. They made fun of people top position, using their titles and titles, both secular and ecclesiastical, to designate their fellow citizens. Until now, you can meet with such surnames as Tsisarzh (emperor), Kral (king), Veyvoda (duke), Prince or even Papezh (dad), Biskup (bishop), Opat or Vopat (abbot) and others. Mocking surnames were also formed based on the mental or physical qualities of their carriers, for example Geysek (dandy), Pletikh (gossip), Zagalka (idleness), Smutny (sad), Gnevsa (evil), Krasa (beauty), and such a title could express either reality or irony.

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

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

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

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

Mother nature was an inexhaustible source for surnames.. Golub, Mouha - understandable without translation, by the way, Alfons Mucha is a famous Czech artist. Gavranek is a crow, Vorlichek is an eaglet, Vorzhishek is a mongrel, Kohout is a rooster. Brzhizy (birches) and Oaks (oaks), Linden and Shipki (rose hips), Cibulka (bulbs, and if you continue to translate into other languages ​​- natural Chipolino) walk on the Czech land.

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

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

The origin of the most common Czech surnames

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

Therefore, if you have a friend in the Czech Republic, and you want to find him, but you only know about him that he is Novak, consider that you are very unlucky. But if you meet a Czech in your area, you can safely turn to him with the words: “Pan Novak! How do you like it with us?" The probability that you will make a mistake with the surname is small.

Last name Novak is the Czech equivalent of the Russian surname Ivanov. Moreover, it is, if I may say so, the "family" symbol of the Czech Republic. Novak is national hero jokes, as once in the Soviet Union - Vasily Ivanovich Chapaev with Petka. The surname Novak is the most common in the Czech Republic. Statistics show that in 2001 more than 34,000 men with the surname Novak and more than 36,000 women with the surname Novakov lived in the Czech Republic.

How did the Czechs come to such a life that everywhere you look - Novakovs are everywhere? The history of the origin of this surname is simple. Well, the ancestors of the modern Novakovs did not like to sit in one place, they liked to move from village to village. They will move to another village - here they are, newcomers there. The head of the family was immediately nicknamed and received - Novak. They moved not only because of the love of travel or in search of something new, special. Circumstances often compelled: the Thirty Years' War, for example. To be fair, it should be noted that sometimes newcomers in the village were nicknamed Novotny, and therefore today this surname is in third place in terms of prevalence. So, if you make a mistake by calling an unfamiliar Czech Novak, do not be embarrassed, but say: “Sorry, Mr. Novotny, I mixed it up.” Novotny - men and women together - more than 51 thousand live in the Czech Republic. Yes, so that you do not think that the Czechs only did what they moved back and forth, you need to mention the second reason for the widespread use of the Novak surname. Czech shoes were once very popular in the Soviet Union, and the name of Tomas Bata, a Czech shoemaker and businessman, is known all over the world. Czechs' love for domestic good comfortable shoes passed down from generation to generation, one might say, absorbed with mother's milk. And since ancient times, shoemakers, shoemakers, it goes without saying - new ones - were called Novaks.

Interestingly, if Pan Novak failed in growth, and his offspring too, then either he himself or his heir was already called Novachek.

If you made the mistake of referring to your new Czech friend as "Pan Novak", then his name is most likely "Pan Liberty». Beautiful surname, Truth? And in general, it immediately becomes clear how it arose - the ancestors of today's Pan Svoboda loved free will. But not only. It turns out that freedom is different freedom. Of course, such a surname was actually given to people who were ready for anything for the sake of freedom. But also the surname Svoboda was given to free - that is, not serfs - peasants. They did not depend on anyone, but did not own title of nobility. Exactly the same surname was given to those who enjoyed only one kind of freedom, for example, freedom of movement. From the surname Svoboda, as in the case of Novak, similar surnames were formed - Svobodnik, Svobodnichek and Svobodny. According to the 1999 census, more than 25,000 men with the surname Svoboda and 27,000 women with the surname Svoboda lived in the Czech Republic. And if you look again at the Prague Yellow Pages telephone directory, you will find 30 columns with Svoboda telephones there.

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

Fourth on the list of the most common surnames in the Czech Republic is a very famous surname, which at least all lovers know classical music- This Dvorak(famous Czech composer Antonin Dvorak). There are 22,000 men and almost 24,000 women with this surname in the Czech Republic (don't forget that in Czech surnames in the feminine gender, the ending -ova always appears. Dvorak - Dvorakova). There are several versions about the origin of this surname.

First - they could be free peasants, literally - the owners of a large yard. The second - Dvoraks were called people who were hired to work in such large farms, "yards". The third - they also called those who lived at the "court" - a royal, noble castle or city, that is, servants of a higher and lower rank. Fourth - Dvorak received a surname from the word "dvorzhan" - a polite, well-mannered person.

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

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

Surnames formed from god names are also very common, such as Havel, Krishtof, Pavel, Shimon, Vaclav and others. Many surnames of this type originated from a diminutive form of the name, for example, Matysek, Mateychek, Mateyichek, Mateyik, Mateyko and others.

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

Everyone knows that the name of the singer Lucia Biloy is an alias. Her civil name is Gana Zanyakova. Why did the Czech pop star choose the surname Bila? Maybe because the adjective "white" stood in opposition to her black hair - the legacy of her gypsy origin. People with the surname Beela probably had unusually white skin or white hair (they might have been albinos). Later, such a surname was also worn by those who received it by their origin, or by name. locality, where they lived. In the Czech Republic, we can often meet such cities and villages as, for example, Bilina, Bilovka, Bilka, Bilek and so on. In connection with the name of the town of Bilek, we must also remember the famous Czech architect Frantisek Bilek. His surname was formed from the stem bil, meaning the word "white", with the help of the diminutive suffix -ek.

Surname of the singer Karel Gott everyone associates with the German word "gott", which means - god. Yes, probably, many fans of the Czech nightingale consider him a god among singers. But, in fact, this surname was formed from another German word - gote, gotte - baptized child, godfather, godson. This means that neither the divine voice nor the surname Gott in any way indicate an unearthly origin.

"Second Lieutenant Oak suddenly turned into small child: took Kunert by the hand, examined his palm for a long time, assuring that he would guess the name of his future wife from it.
- What's your last name? Take out a notebook and a pencil from the breast pocket of my uniform. So your last name is Kunert. Come back in a quarter of an hour, and I'll leave you a piece of paper with the name of your future wife.
Having said this, he began to snore, but suddenly woke up and began to scribble something in his notebook, then tore out the scribbled sheets and threw them on the floor. Putting his fingers meaningfully to his lips, he whispered in a tangled tongue:
- Not yet, but in a quarter of an hour ... It's best to look for a piece of paper blindfolded.
Kunert was so stupid that he actually came in a quarter of an hour and, unfolding the paper, read the scribbles of Second Lieutenant Oak: "The name of your future wife is Mrs. Kunertova."

These talented lines were written by Yaroslav Gashek. If you haven't read it, I advise you to read it. Schweik deserves to be read.
Married Czechs have long been amusing the whole world with their surnames. Well, if the husband's surname is Kunert. Then his wife is just Kunertova. And if he is Petrov, then she is Petrov. By the way, former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (Czech) is in Albright's homeland...
All sorts of "Petrovs" have long been talking about the fact that the number of linguistic absurdities should have been reduced long ago. Most recently, a group of senators from the Civic Democrats came forward with this initiative. Like, if the husband is Mr. Kunert, then let the wife also be Mrs. Kunert or something ...
However, the Senate did not approve of such free-thinking. No one was very upset, and the news did not reach the front pages of the newspapers. The fact is that this attempt to make women's surnames more sane in their sound is far from the first.
For today, the way out for those who do not want to be "-ov" is a change of nationality. So since 2005, Russian women who came to live in the Czech Republic have been gifted with a great state favor. They were allowed not to be Ivanovs, but to live with a “cut off” end.
By the way, the current "family riots" are associated not so much with phonetic absurdity (we have long been accustomed to it), but with the European wave of tolerance. How! If in neighboring countries already with might and main replace the words "mom" and "dad » into “parent One” and “parent Two”, then why should Czechs so clearly demonstrate their dependence on a male surname ...
But do not think that all Czechs are unanimously trying to emancipate themselves in this way. For example, Elishka Vagnerova, chairman of the Constitutional Commission of the Senate, answered briefly: “Such wishes are the whim of only a few women, no more.” The argument for keeping the Czech language pure is also quite common. Yes, and many men who take part in Senate voting also believe that “-ovs” sound familiar and natural to their ears. And if so - why drive a wave?
Eh ... We would have their problems ...

View of the old part of Prague

The oldest layer of Czech names is Slavic names, which fall into three types: 1) single-membered, uncomplicated names; 2) complex; 3) abbreviations and derivatives. While complex names were mostly worn by persons belonging to government circles and the nobility, single-membered names belonged to representatives of a simple class. Many ancient Slavic names seem strange at first glance. The origin of many of them can be explained through the prism of a protective function - after all, the names reflect the ideas of an ancient person about the magical power of a word. Many one-member names arose from the need to protect a person (especially in infancy) from evil spirits. Hence the negative names: Nemil, Nedrah, Nelub, Nemoj. The same role was played by the names of animals and plants: Bobr, Kozel, Sobol, Tur, Sokol, Vran, Kalina, etc.

A variety of common words were used to form complex names. Here is a small list of them with examples of names:

bor: Borivoj, Dalibor, Ratibor
buď: Budivoj, Budislav/a
boh: Bohuslav/a, Bohdan, Bohuchval
čest: Čestmír/a, Ctibor/a, Ctislav/a
mil: Miloslav/a, Bohumil/a
mir: Miroslav/a, Jaromír/a, Vladimir/a
mysl: Premysl, Kresomysl
rad: Radoslav/a, Radomír/a, Ctirad/a
slav: Slavomir/a, Stanislav/a, Vladislav/a
vit: Hostivit, Vitězslav
vlad: Vladislav/a, Vladimir/a
voj: VojtEch, Borivoj

Here is a wider list of Old Bohemian male and female names.

Bezděd, Bezprym, Bohuň, Bohuslav, Boleslav, Bořiš, Bořivoj, Božata, Břetislav, Budislav, Budivoj, Bujín, Ctibor, Ctirad, Čajka, Černín, Dlugoš, Drahoš, Holáč, Hostislav, Hostivít, Hovora, Hroz nata, Jaromir, Jaroslav, Jaroš, Jurata, Kazimír, Kocel, Kochan, Kojata, Koša, Křesina, Květek, Lestek, Lešek, Měšek, Mikuš, Milhošt, Miloň, Miroslav, Mnata, Mojmír, Mstiš, Mulina, Načerat, Nakon, Neklan, Nerad, Nezamysl, Ojíř, Oneš, Ostoj, Prkoš, Přemysl, Přibík, Příbram, Přibyslav, Přivitan, Radek, Radim, Rastislav, Ráž, Rostislav, Rozroj ,Sezema, Slavek, Slavibor, Slavitah, Slavník, Slopan, Soběbor, Soběslav, Spyti hnev, Stanoslav, Stojan, Strojmír, Stromata, Střezimír, Svatobor, Svatopluk, Svojen, Svojslav, Svojšek, Vacek, Vacena, Václav, Vít, Vítek, Vitislav, Vladislav, Vladivoj, Vladoň, Vladota, Vlastislav, Vojen, Vojtěch, Vratislav, Vra Zek, Všebor, Zbyhněv, Zderad, Zlatoň, Zlatoslav, Znanek

Blažena Bohuna Bohuslava a, Nětka, Pluhava, Radoslava, Svatava, Trebava, Václava, Vendula, Vlastěna, Vojtěcha, Vratislava, Zdislava, Zořena, Zizňava

In the 9th century, when the Christian religion began to spread in the Czech lands, international trade relations developed, and various wars took place, names of other than Slavic origin began to appear. So, on the territory of the Czech Republic, Jewish names began to be used more and more often, as Adam, Jan, Jakub, Tomas, Josef, Michal, Daniel, Anna, Eva, Greek like Filip, Stepan, Jiří, Barbora, Irena, Kateřina, Lucie, latin like Marek, Martin, Lukasz, Pavel, Clara, Magdalena, Germanic (these names were brought, first of all, by the German wives of the Přemyslids, German monks and knights), as Jindřík, Oldřich, Wilem, Karel, Otakar, Gedvika, Amalia and others. Many of these names were written and pronounced differently in the original language, but the Czechs adapted them to their requirements.

In the 14th century, during the Gothic era, Christian church names became widespread in the Czech Republic. Parents gave their children the names of saints so that they would protect them. Saints also became patrons of various professions, for example, Barbor - miners, Hubert - hunters. Vaclav becomes the patron of the Czech people. The penetration of Christian names into the Czech Republic ended in the Baroque era in the 18th century. Then, under the influence of the cult of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, these two names became quite popular among the Czechs, like Frantisek and Antonin - the names of saints who were canonized precisely in the Baroque era.

Each name, of course, formed its abbreviations or diminutive forms. For example, a very popular name Jan also used as Enik, Enichek, Yenda, Yenya, Janek, or Gonza, Gonzik, Gonzichek(according to the German example from the home form Hans).

In the 16th century, the choice of a name depended on belonging to a certain social stratum. For example, counts and nobles bore names like Wilem, Yaroslav, Friedrich, soldiers - Hector, Jiri, Alexander. Village girls from the 14th to the 18th centuries bore, most often, names like Katerzhina, Anna, Barbora, Dorota, Marketa, the common names of urban girls from high society were Philomena, Eleanor, Anastasia, Euphrosyne and others.

During the communist era, parents had to get permission if they wanted to give a name that was not on the Czech calendar. Since 1989, parents have the right to give the name whatever they want, as long as it is used somewhere in the world and is not offensive or derogatory. However, it is common practice to look up the name in the book "Jak se bude vaše dítě jmenovat?" ("What to name the child?"), which is a semi-official list of "allowed" names. If the name is not found there, the registry office does not want to register this name of the child.

Throughout history, names have been subjected to a wide variety of influences - church, educational, socio-political, they were used in honor of prominent personalities - actors, athletes, politicians, or simply adapted to fashion trends at a given time.

The Czech Statistical Office has posted data on the most frequent names on its website since 1999. At the beginning of the year, these are the first ten names, then a list of the first fifty names is added (separately for male and female newborns). In this case, only the names that are registered in the month of January are given, which cannot but cause some surprise. After all, the Czech Republic is a country in which the positions of various kinds of calendars are strong (Catholic, in the communist period there was also a mandatory calendar of names). Therefore, the overall picture for the year, obviously, is somewhat different from the picture for one month. However, the dynamics of changes in the choice of names from year to year, such statistics show well. In addition, the website of the statistical office also provides statistics on the names of fathers and mothers of newborns. You can also find summary data for several years, and the names of grandparents are added to the names of the parents of newborns.

I will give the official statistics of the most frequent 50 male and female names of newborns in the Czech Republic in 2009.

Male names Jakub Tomas Lukas Philip David Ondrej MatJ Vojtech Martin Dominic Matyas Daniel Marek Michal Štěpan Vaclav Joseph Simon Patrick Pavel Frantisek Krystof Antonin Tobias Samuel Miroslav Tadeas Sebastian Richard Jaroslav Karel Aexandr Matous Oliver Radek Michael Milan Nicoias Christian Victor Denis Mikulas Nicholas Roman Jachym

Women's names Tereza Natalie Eliska Karolina Adela Katerina Barbora Kristyria Lucie Veronica Nikola Klara Michaela Viktorie Marie Aneta Julie Zuzana Marketa Vanesa sophie Andrea Laura Amalie Alzbeta Daniela Sabina Denisa Magdalena Nicol Linda Valerie Yendula Simona Anezka Rosalie Gabriella Petra Adriana Dominica Lenka Martina

As in other countries, in the Czech Republic there are some differences in the popularity of certain names between regions. For example, let's give five most frequent names in all fourteen administrative regions of the country in 2007. In this case, again, we are talking about data only for January.

Liberec region: Tereza, Natalie, Anna, Eliska, Karolina
Ustesky region: Tereza, Anna, Katerina, Lucie, Karolina
Central Bohemian region: Tereza, Adela, Anna, Eliska, Natalie
South Bohemian Region: Katerina, Tereza, Anna, Natalie, Adela
Pilsen region: Tereza, Adéla, Natálie, Kristýna, Anna
Vysochina: Tereza, Karolina, Natalie, Nikola, Barbora
Pardubice region: Tereza, Adela, Karolina, Katerina, Nikola
Hradec Kralove Region: Karolina, Katerina, Adela, Anna, Eliška
South Moravian Region: Veronika, Karolina, Tereza, Natalie, Anna
Olomouc region: Tereza, Adela, Eliška, Anna, Karolina
Zlin region: Eliska, Tereza, Barbora, Veronika, Karolina
Moravian-Silesian Region: Tereza, Karolína, Natálie, Kristýna, Eliška
Karlovy Vary Region: Natalie, Karolina, Tereza, Adela, Anna
Prague: Anna, Eliska, Tereza, Karolina, Marie

Liberec region: Filip, Tomas, Adam, Jan, Lukas
Ustesky region: Jan, Jakub, Lukas, Adam, Matěj
Central Bohemian region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Tomas, Martin
South Bohemian Region: Jakub, Jan, Matěj, Tomáš, Lukáš
Pilsen region: Jakub,Lukas, David, Adam, Daniel
Vysochina: Jan, Jakub, Tomas, Ondrej, Adam
Pardubice region: Jan, Matěj, Jakub, Ondřej, Filip
Hradec Kralove Region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Ondřej, Vojtěch
South Moravian Region: Jakub, Jan, Ondřej, Martin, Matěj
Olomouc region: Jakub, Jan, Tomáš, Adam, Vojtěch
Zlin region: Jakub, Tomas, Adam, Jan, Ondrej
Moravian-Silesian Region: Jan, Jakub, Adam, Ondrej, Filip
Karlovy Vary Region: Jan, Jakub, Ondřej, Adam, Frantisek
Prague: Jan, Jakub, Vojtěch, Ondřej, Adam

Sources for writing this article:

Koporsky S. A. On the history of personal names in Old Czech and other Slavic languages ​​(review) // Bulletin of Moscow State University. Series X, Philology, No. 3, 1967. Pp. 67–71.