We are accustomed to the fact that surnames that end in -in and -ov are considered Russian by default. But in fact, their carriers may be representatives of the most different nations: from the Bulgarians and Macedonians in the west to the Buryats and Yakuts in the east. Among Ukrainians there are also many people whose last names have such endings. Affects general history and numerous connections between fraternal peoples. So, which Ukrainian surnames are easy to confuse with Russian ones?
Original Ukrainian surnames
Due to a number of factors, Ukrainians acquired surnames earlier than most Russians. The geographical location of the country and the influence of its western neighbors had an impact: mainly the Poles. This process in Ukraine took place in the XIV-XVI centuries. First, surnames appeared among the nobles, then they spread to the merchants and clergy. And although the peasants changed their family nicknames to official surnames a little later, still in the 17th century there was not a single Ukrainian left without this mandatory attribute of citizenship.
However, over time, the surnames of Ukrainians could change. Thus, when joining the Zaporozhye Sich, becoming a Cossack, a man often took a new first and last name to emphasize that he had finally broken with his former life.
Sometimes the son of a man known in Podolia as Petro Pavlyuk, after moving to the Dnieper region, could be recorded there as Pavlo Pavlyuchenko. Formation process Ukrainian surnames ended in the 19th century, when they were all officially assigned to each person.
And although the endings in -yuk (-uk) and -enko are the most common in this country, some surnames native to Ukraine end with the suffixes -ov (-ev) and -in. For example, Shinkarev, Pankov, Shugaev, Drahomanov, Khrushchev, Kostomarov, Brezhnev, Turchinov. It is quite easy to distinguish them from Russians. It is enough, as they say, to look at the root of the word. If a blacksmith in Ukraine was called a “koval,” then the surname Kovalev could originally only have come from here. Although this is not a reason to consider all its speakers Ukrainians. Over the centuries, various events have taken place: from the banal adoption of children to attempts to hide, getting lost in a neighboring country and “correcting” the surname.
If we talk about the ending -in, then Ukrainian origin indicates a more expansive form - ishin. Such surnames were formed from women's names or nicknames of residents of Transcarpathia and Galicia. For example, the son of Baba Fedorikha could receive the surname Fedorishin, and the son of Yatsikha could become Yatsishin. Likewise, if unmarried Vasilina gave birth to a baby, and the father did not recognize him as his son, then the boy was registered with the surname Vasylishin, formed on behalf of the mother.
Often women's nicknames came from the names of their husbands: Danilo - Danilikha - Danylyshyn; Pavlo – Pavlikha – Pavlyshyn; Roman - Romanikha - Romanishin, etc.
Ancient surnames
Since the stories of two fraternal peoples are closely intertwined, some Ukrainian surnames ending in -ov and -in were formed during the era Kievan Rus when ethnic division had not yet begun Eastern Slavs. It's about about representatives of the highest nobility who had surnames already in the 10th century.
For example, the peace treaty between the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus, concluded in 944, contains a list of very specific persons who signed it along with the legendary Prince Igor (son of Rurik). Among the well-born and influential persons who acted as guarantors of peace on the Kyiv side, in this historical document indicated: Karshev, Svirkov, Koloklekov, Voikov, Utin, Vuzlev and Gudov.
Which of the two nations did their descendants subsequently consider themselves to be? There is no longer an exact answer to this question. However, we can say with confidence that the surnames formed during the era of Kievan Rus may well be considered Ukrainian.
Forced Russified surnames
It should be recognized that some Ukrainian surnames were forcibly Russified. So, Romaniv could become Romanov, and Ivankiv could become Ivankov. This process also occurred in neighboring Belarus. During times Russian Empire some literate person - a county sexton who prepared documents - easily changed Ukrainian surnames just like that, without any malicious intent. Just so that the surname sounds “correct” in the opinion of a scribe transferred to some Kherson office from some Ryazan.
The famous Ukrainian philologist academician Alexander Ponomariv often notes in his journalistic speeches that in pre-revolutionary Russia mass Russification of Ukrainian surnames was carried out. And historian Alexander Paliy writes that their rewriting was often carried out in the army, including the Soviet one.
If a person lost his passport, for example, then when replacing it, only one or two letters were corrected. Often people, in response to complaints from official authorities, were told that this spelling of their surnames was more accurate, but previously it was written with an error. Thus, thousands of natives of Galicia, whose surnames are characterized by the ending -iv, lost their national identity.
And in neighboring Belarus, some Ivashevichs became Ivashevs, Lukasheviches - Lukashevs, etc.
"Remade" surnames
Sometimes the process of Russification occurred voluntarily. Usually, after moving to our country, many Ukrainians added the letter “v” to their surnames so as not to stand out from the bulk of the population. Porechenkov, Mishchenkov, Petrenkov, Dmitrenkov, Kovalenkov and other similar surnames retain a Ukrainian flavor; they are distinguished by the characteristic suffix “-enko”.
This was done both during the Russian Empire and during the USSR era; it was convenient for people to be considered Russian for many reasons: starting from advancement in career ladder and ending with the gossip of neighbors in the communal kitchen.
It is noteworthy that during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when part of Ukraine was part of this Polish-Lithuanian state, some people altered their surnames by adding the ending -sky. Thus, the Ukrainians wanted to emphasize their belonging to the gentry - the privileged class of that time.
Many families, after several generations of living in Russia, inevitably acquired Russian endings for their surnames. For example, the grandfather of the great writer Anton Chekhov bore the last name Chekh. However, this happened to almost everyone who moved to our country, because the owners of the surname Turnip here became Repins, and the Deineks became Denikins.
With each year of his life, a person increasingly expands his choice of communication, meeting new people. In order for a new acquaintance to contact you, you need to make a pleasant impression on him. To avoid uncomfortable situations, it is important to know what nationality the person in front of you is in order to behave in accordance with the moral and ethical standards of his country. By most surnames you can accurately determine the nationality of your friends, neighbors, business partners, etc.
Russians - use surnames with the suffixes -an, -yn, -in, -skikh, -ov, -ev, -skoy, -tskaya, -ikh, -yh (Snegirev, Ivanov, Voronin, Sinitsyn, Donskoy, Moskovskikh, Sedykh) ;
Belarusians - typical Belarusian surnames end in -ich, -chik, -ka, -ko, -onak, -yonak, -uk, -ik, -ski. (Radkevich, Dubrova, Parshonok, Kuharchik, Kastsyushka); many names in Soviet years were Russified and Polished (Dubrovsky, Kosciuszko);
Poles - most surnames have the suffix -sk, -tsk, and the ending -й (-я), indicating masculine and feminine gender (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Khodetsky, Wolnitskaya); There are also double surnames - if a woman, when getting married, wants to keep her surname (Mazur-Komorowska); In addition to these surnames, surnames with an unchanged form are also common among Poles (Nowak, Sienkiewicz, Wujcik, Wozniak). Ukrainians with last name endings ending in -y are not Ukrainians, but Ukrainian Poles.;
Ukrainians - the first classification of surnames of this nationality is formed using the suffixes -enko, -ko, -uk, -yuk (Kreshchenko, Grishko, Vasilyuk, Kovalchuk); the second series denotes the type of craft or occupation (Potter, Koval); the third group of surnames consists of individual Ukrainian words (Gorobets, Ukrainians, Parubok), as well as a merger of words (Vernigora, Nepiyvoda, Bilous).
Latvians - the peculiarity of the masculine gender is indicated by a surname ending in -s, -is, and in the feminine gender - with -a, -e (Verbitskis - Verbitska, Shurins - Shurin)
Lithuanians - male surnames end in -onis, -unas, -utis, -aitis, -enas (Pyatrenas, Norvydaitis), female surnames are formed from the husband's surname using the suffixes -en, -juven, -uven and the ending -e (Grinius - Grinyuvene), the surnames of unmarried girls contain the basis of the father's surname with the addition of the suffixes -ut, -polut, -ayt and the ending -e (Orbakas - Orbakaite);
Estonians - male and female genders are not differentiated by surnames, everyone foreign names(mostly German) were at one time Estonianized (Rosenberg - Roosimäe), this process continues to this day. for example, in order to be able to play for the Estonia national team, football players Sergei Khokhlov and Konstantin Kolbasenko had to change their surnames to Simson and Nahk;
The French - many surnames are preceded by the prefix Le or De (Le Pen, Mol Pompadour); basically, dissimilar nicknames and personal names were used to form surnames (Robert, Jolie, Cauchon - pig);
Romanians: -sku, -u(l), -an.
Serbs: -ich.
English - the following surnames are common: formed from the names of the place of residence (Scott, Wales); denoting profession (Hoggart - shepherd, Smith - blacksmith); pointing to appearance character and appearance (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet, Bragg - boastful);
Germans are surnames formed from personal names (Werner, Peters); surnames that characterize a person (Krause - wavy, Klein - small); surnames indicating the type of activity (Müller - miller, Lehmann - geomor);
Swedes - most surnames end in -sson, -berg, -sted, -strom (Andersson, Olsson, Forsberg, Bostrom);
Norwegians - formed from personal names using the suffix -en (Larsen, Hansen), surnames without suffixes and endings can be found (Per, Morten); Norwegian surnames can repeat the names of animals, trees and natural phenomena (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan, Furu - pine);
Italians - surnames are characterized by the suffixes -ini, -ino, -ello, -illo, -etti, -etto, -ito (Benedetto, Moretti, Esposito), can end in -o, -a, -i (Conti, Giordano, Costa ); the prefixes di- and - indicate, respectively, a person’s belonging to his clan and geographical structure (Di Moretti is the son of Moretti, Da Vinci is from Vinci);
Spaniards and Portuguese have surnames ending in -ez, -az, -iz, -oz (Gomez, Lopez), surnames indicating a person’s character are also common (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - gallant, Malo - horseless);
Turks - most often their surnames have the endings -oglu, -ji, -zade (Mustafaoglu, Ekindzhi, Kuindzhi, Mamedzade), when forming surnames they often used Turkish names or everyday words (Ali, Abaza - fool, Kolpakchi - hat);
Bulgarians - almost all Bulgarian surnames are formed from personal names and suffixes -ov, -ev (Konstantinov, Georgiev);
Gagauz: -oglo.
Tatars: -in, -ishin.
Greeks - the surnames of the Greeks cannot be confused with any other surnames, only they have the endings -idis, -kos, -poulos (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis);
Czechs - the main difference from other surnames is the obligatory ending -ova in female surnames, even if where it would seem inappropriate (Valdrova, Ivanovova, Andersonova).
Georgians - common surnames ending in -shvili, -dze, -uri, -ava, -a, -ua, -ia, -ni, -li, -si (Baratashvili, Mikadze, Adamia, Karchava, Gvishiani, Tsereteli);
Armenians - a significant part of the surnames of residents of Armenia have the suffix -yan (Hakopyan, Galustyan); Also, -yants, -uni.
Moldovans: -sku, -u(l), -an.
Azerbaijanis formed surnames by taking Azerbaijani names as a basis and attaching Russian suffixes -ov, -ev (Mamedov, Aliyev, Gasanov, Abdullaev) to them. Also, -zade, -li, ly, -oglu, -kyzy.
Jews - the main group consists of surnames with roots Levi and Cohen (Levin, Levitan Kagan, Koganovich, Katz); the second group came from male and female Hebrew names with the addition of various suffixes (Yakobson, Yakubovich, Davidson, Godelson, Tsivyan, Beilis, Abramovich, Rubinchik, Vigdorchik, Mandelstam); the third classification of surnames reflects the character of a person, his appearance or profession (Kaplan - chaplain, Rabinovich - rabbi, Melamed - pestun, Schwartzbard - black-bearded, Stiller - quiet, Shtarkman - strong).
Ossetians: -ti.
Mordva: -yn, -in.
Chinese and Koreans - for the most part these are surnames consisting of one, less often two syllables (Tan, Liu, Duan, Qiao, Tsoi, Kogai);
The Japanese are modern Japanese surnames are formed by merging two full-valued words (Wada - sweet voice and rice field, Igarashi - 50 storms, Katayama - hill, Kitamura - north and village); The most common Japanese surnames are: Takahashi, Kobayashi, Kato, Suzuki, Yamamoto.
As you can see, to determine a person’s nationality, it is enough to accurately analyze his last name, highlighting the suffix and ending.
WHAT DO SURNAMES WITH "-IN" MEAN? SURNAMES ENDING WITH -IN HAVE RUSSIAN ROOTS OR JEWISH ROOTS?
In the collection of the famous Slavic linguist B. O Unbegun “Russian Surnames” you can read that surnames ending with “in” are predominantly a Russian type of surname.
Why the ending "-in"? Basically, all surnames ending in “in” come from words ending in -а/-я and from nouns feminine ending in a soft consonant.
There are many examples of the erroneous addition of -in to stems with a final hard consonant: Orekhin, Karpin, Markin, where -ov should be. And in another case, -ov turned out to be in the place of -in: Shishimorov from the base of shishimora. Mixing of formants is possible. After all, among Russians -in and -ov have been semantically indistinguishable for more than a thousand years. The meaning of the difference has been lost in the common Slavic language; the choice of -ov or -in depends only remnantly on the phonetic feature of the stem (Nikonov “Geography of Surnames”).
Do you know how the surname of the famous leader of the people's militia of 1611-1612, Minin, came about? Minin bore the personal nickname Sukhoruk, he did not have a surname. And Minin meant “son of Mina.” Orthodox name"Mina" was widespread in Rus'.
Another old Russian surname is Semin, also a surname with “-in”. According to the main version, the surname Semin goes back to the baptismal male name Semyon. The name Semyon is the Russian form of the ancient Hebrew name Simeon, meaning “listening”, “heard by God”. From the name Semyon in Rus', many derivative forms were formed, one of which - Syoma - formed the basis of this surname.
The famous Slavic linguist B.O. Unbegaun in the collection “Russian Surnames” believes that the surname Semin was formed from the baptismal Russian name according to the following scheme: “Semyon - Syoma - Semin.”
Let's give another example of a surname that we examined in detail in the family diploma. Rogozhin is an old Russian surname. According to the main version, the surname preserves the memory of the profession distant ancestors. One of the first representatives of the Rogozhins could be engaged in the manufacture of matting or trade in fabric.
Coarse woven fabric made from wash tapes was called matting. In Rus', a matting hut (rogozhnitsy, matting) was a workshop where matting was woven, and a matting weaver or matting dealer was called a matting izba.
In his close surroundings Rogozhin's household was known as "Rogozhin's wife", "Rogozhin's son", "Rogozhin's grandchildren". Over time, terms denoting the degree of relationship disappeared, and the hereditary surname Rogozhin was assigned to the descendants of Rogozhin.
Such Russian surnames ending in “-in” include: Pushkin (Pushka), Gagarin (Loon), Borodin (Beard), Ilyin (Ilya), Ptitsyn (Bird); Fomin (from the personal name Thomas); Belkin (from the nickname "squirrel"), Borozdin (Furrow), Korovin (Cow), Travin (Grass), Zamin and Zimin (winter) and many others
Please note that the words from which surnames starting with “in” are derived mostly end in “-a” or “-ya”. We won’t be able to say “Borodov” or “Ilyinov”; it would be quite logical and more sonorous to say “Ilyin” or “Borodin”.
Why do some people think that surnames ending in "-in" have Jewish roots? Is this really true? No, this is not true; you cannot judge the origin of a surname by one ending. The sound of Jewish surnames coincides with Russian endings simply by pure chance.
You should always research the surname itself. For some reason, the ending “ov” does not cause us any doubts. We believe that surnames ending in “-ov” are definitely Russian. But there are also exceptions. For example, we recently prepared a beautiful family diploma for one wonderful family named Maksyutov.
The surname Maksyutov has the ending “ov”, which is common among Russian surnames. But, if you examine the surname more deeply, it turns out that the surname Maksyutov is derived from the Tatar male name “Maksud”, which translated from Arabic means “desire, premeditated intention, aspiration, goal”, “long-awaited, desired”. The name Maksud had several dialect variants: Maksut, Mahsud, Mahsut, Maksyut. This name is still widespread among the Tatars and Bashkirs.
"The surname Maksyutov is an old one princely surname Tatar origin. ABOUT ancient origin the names Maksyutov say historical sources. The surname was first documented in the 16th century: Maksutovs (Maksutovs, obsolete Maksutovs, Tat. Maksutovlar) - a Volga-Bulgar princely-Murzin family, descended from the Kasimov prince Maksut (1554), in the genealogical legend Prince Maksut was called an ulan and a descendant of the prince Kashima." Now there is almost no doubt about the origin of the surname.
How do you know if a surname ending in -in is of Jewish origin or is it an original Russian surname? Always analyze the word that underlies your last name.
Here are examples of Jewish surnames with the ending “-in” or “-ov”: Edmin (derived from the name of the German city of Emden), Kotin (derived from the Hebrew קטן- in the Ashkenazi pronunciation “kotn”, meaning “small”), Eventov (derived from Hebrew “even tov” - “precious stone”), Khazin (derived from the Hebrew “khazan”, in the Ashkenazi pronunciation “khazn”, meaning “person leading worship in the synagogue”), Superfin (translated as “very beautiful”) and many others.
The ending “-in” is simply an ending by which one cannot judge the nationality of a surname. You always need to research your surname, analyze the word that underlies it and try to look for the first mentions of your surname in various books and archival documents. Only when all the information has been collected will you be able to confidently determine the origin of your surname and find answers to your questions.
SURNAMES ENDING IN √ SKIY/-SKAYA, -TSKIY/-TSKAYA
Many Russians have a firm and unfounded belief that surnames in -skiy are certainly Polish. From history textbooks, the names of several Polish magnates are known, derived from the names of their estates: Potocki and Zapotocki, Zablocki, Krasinski. But from the same textbooks the surnames of many Russians with the same suffixes are known: Konstantin Grigorievich Zabolotsky, okolnichy of Tsar John III, late 15th - early 16th centuries; clerk Semyon Zaborovsky, early 16th century; boyars Shuisky and Belsky, close associates of Ivan the Terrible. Famous Russian artists are Levitsky, Borovikovsky, Makovsky, Kramskoy.
An analysis of modern Russian surnames shows that forms in -sky (-tskiy) exist in parallel with variants in -ov (-ev, -in), but there are fewer of them. For example, in Moscow in the 70s of the twentieth century, for every 330 people with the surname Krasnov/Krasnova, there were only 30 with the surname Krasnovsky/Krasnovskaya. But enough rare surnames Kuchkov and Kuchkovsky, Makov and Makovsky are represented almost equally.
A significant part of surnames ending in -skiy/-skaya, -tskiy/-tskaya are formed from geographical and ethnic names. In letters from our readers who want to know about the origin of their surnames, the following surnames in -sky / -tsky are mentioned.
Brynsky. The author of this letter, Evgeniy Sergeevich Brynsky, himself sent the story of his last name. We present only a small fragment from the letter, since it is not possible to publish it in its entirety. Bryn is a river in the Kaluga region, flows into a tributary of the Oka Zhizdra. In the old days, large dense Bryn forests stretched along it, in which the Old Believers took refuge. According to the epic about Ilya Muromets, it was in the Bryn forests that the Nightingale the Robber lived. Let us add that there are several settlements of Bryn in the Kaluga and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. The surname Brynski/Brynska, found in Poland, is derived from the names of two settlements Brynsk in different parts of the country and also, apparently, goes back to the names of the rivers Bryn and Brynica. There is no uniform interpretation of the names of these rivers in science. If the suffix -ets is added to the name of a populated place, then such a word denotes a person from this place. In Crimea in the 60s - 70s of the 20th century, winegrower Maria Bryntseva was well known. Her surname is derived from the word brynets, that is, a native of the city or village of Bryn.
Garbavitsky. This Belarusian surname corresponds to the Russian Gorbovitsky (in Belarusian language in place of the unstressed o the letter a is written). The surname is derived from the name of some settlement of Gorbovitsy. In the materials we have, there are only Gorbov, Gorbovo and Gorbovtsy. All these names come from the designations of the terrain: hump - a hillock, a sloping hill.
Dubovskaya. The surname is derived from the name of one of the many settlements: Dubovka, Dubovo, Dubovoe, Dubovskaya, Dubovsky, Dubovskoye, Dubovtsy, located in all parts of the country. It is possible to find out from which one exactly, only from the information preserved in the family, where the ancestors who received this surname lived, or where they came from to their future place of residence. The emphasis in the surname is on “o”: Dubovsky/Dubovskaya.
Steblivsky. The Ukrainian surname corresponding to the Russian one is Steblevsky; formed from the names of the populated places Steblevka in the Transcarpathian region or Steblev - Cherkassy. In Ukrainian spelling, i is written in place of the second e.
Tersky. The surname comes from the name of the Terek River and indicates that one of the distant ancestors of this person lived there. There were the Terek region and the Terek Cossacks. So bearers of the Tersky surname may also be descendants of Cossacks.
Uriansky. The surname, apparently, is derived from the name of the settlement of Urya. In our materials, this name is recorded in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Perhaps there are similar names in other places, since the name of the populated place is associated with the name of the river and with the designation of the Ur ethnic group, as well as with the name of the medieval Turkic people Uryanka. Similar names could be found in different places, since medieval peoples led nomadic image life and assigned the name of their ethnic group to those places where they stayed for a long time.
Chiglinsky. The surname comes from the name of the settlement Chigla Voronezh region, which is apparently related to the designation of the union of the medieval Turkic tribes of the Chigili.
Shabansky. The surname is derived from the names of the settlements Shabanovo, Shabanovskoye, Shabanskoye, located in different parts of the country. These names come from the Turkic name Shaban of Arabic origin. In Arabic, Shaban is the name of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The name Shaban is also attested in Russian peasant families in the XV-XVII centuries. In parallel with this, the spelling variant Shiban was noted in the Russian language - obviously, by analogy with the Russian shibat, zashibat. Records from 1570-1578 mention Prince Ivan Andreevich Shiban Dolgoruky; in 1584 - the grooms of Tsar Feodor Ioannovich Osip Shiban and Danilo Shikhman Ermolaevich Kasatkin. The servant of Prince Kurbsky was called Vasily Shibanov - executed by Ivan the Terrible in 1564.
In addition, the name of the ethnic group is known Siberian Tatars Xibans and family name Crimean Tatars Shiban Murzas. In the Perm region there is a settlement called Shibanovo, and in the Ivanovo region there is Shibanikha.
So closely related to each other different types proper names: personal names, geographical and ethnic names, as well as surnames.
In a conversation you can come across the following statement: “Here, his last name ends with -in, which means he is a Jew.” Are Susanin, Repin and even Pushkin really Jewish surnames? It’s some kind of strange idea among the people, where did it come from? After all, the suffix -in- is often found in possessive adjectives formed from first declension nouns: cat, mother. While adjectives from words of the second declension are formed using the suffix -ov-: grandfathers, crocodiles. Is it really true that only Jews chose words of the first declension as the basis for their surname? It would be very strange. But probably everything that is on people’s tongues has some basis, even if it has been distorted over time. Let's figure out how to determine nationality by last name.
Ending or suffix?
Calling the familiar -ov/-ev endings is not entirely correct. The ending in Russian is the variable part of the word. Let's see what inclines in surnames: Ivanov - Ivanova - Ivanov. It can be concluded that -ov is a suffix and is followed by a zero ending, as in most masculine nouns. And only in cases or when changing gender and number (Ivanova, Ivanov) do endings sound. But there is also a folk, and not linguistic, concept of “ending” - what it ends with. In that case, this word is applicable here. And then we can safely determine the ending of surnames by nationality!
Russian surnames
The range of Russian surnames is much wider than those ending in -ov. They are characterized by the suffixes -in, -yn, -ov, -ev, -skoy, -tskoy, -ih, -yh (Lapin, Ptitsyn, Sokolov, Soloviev, Donskoy, Trubetskoy, Moskovskikh, Sedykh).
There are actually as many as 60-70% of Russian surnames with -ov, -ev, and only about 30% with -in, -yn, which is also quite a lot. What is the reason for this ratio? As already mentioned, the suffixes -ov, -ev are added to second declension nouns, most of which are masculine. And since in Russian surnames often originate from the name or occupation of the father (Ivanov, Bondarev), such a suffix is very logical. But there is also male names, ending in -a, -ya, and it was from them that the surnames Ilyin and Nikitin arose, the Russianness of which we have no doubt.
What about Ukrainians?
Ukrainian ones are usually formed using the suffixes -enko, -ko, -uk, -yuk. And also without suffixes from words denoting professions (Korolenko, Spirko, Govoruk, Prizhnyuk, Bondar).
More about Jews
Jewish surnames are very diverse, because Jews have been scattered throughout the world for centuries. A sure sign of them can be the suffixes -ich, -man and -er. But even here confusion is possible. Family endings -ich, -ovich, -evich are typical for Poles and Slavic peoples who lived in East Germany. For example, one of famous poets in Poland - Mickiewicz.
But the basis of a surname can sometimes immediately suggest the Jewish origin of its bearer. If the basis is Levi or Cohen/Cohan, the clan originates from the high priests - the Kohanim or his assistants - the Levites. So everything is clear with Levi, the Levitans, and the Kaganovichs.
What do surnames in -sky and -tsky tell you?
It is incorrect to assume that surnames ending in -sky or -tsky are necessarily Jewish. This stereotype developed because they were common in Poland and Ukraine. In these places there were many family estates; the surnames of the noble owners were formed from the name of the estate. For example, the ancestors of the famous revolutionary Dzerzhinsky owned the Dzerzhinovo estate on the territory of modern Belarus, and then Poland.
Many Jews lived in these areas, so many took local surnames. But Russian nobles also have such surnames, for example, noble surname Dubrovsky from Pushkin’s work is quite real. There are more interesting fact. In seminaries they often gave a surname derived from church holidays- Preobrazhensky, Rozhdestvensky. In this case, determining nationality by the end of surnames can lead to errors. Seminaries also served as the birthplace of surnames with a root unusual for the Russian ear, because they were formed from Latin words: Formozov, Kastorov. By the way, clerk Ivan Velosipedov served under Ivan the Terrible. But the bicycle had not yet been invented! How is it possible - there is no object, but there is a surname? The solution was this: it turned out to be a tracing paper from the Latin “swift-footed”, only with the original Russian suffix.
Last name starting with -in: revealing the secret!
So what about ending your last name with -in? It is difficult to determine nationality on this basis. Indeed, some Jewish surnames end like this. It turns out that in some of them this is just an external coincidence with the Russian suffix. For example, Khazin descends from the modified surname Khazan - this is the name in Hebrew for one of the types of servants in the temple. Literally this translates as “overseer,” since the hazan monitored the order of worship and the accuracy of the text. You can guess where the surname Khazanov comes from. But she has the “most Russian” suffix -ov!
But there are also matronyms, that is, those that are formed on behalf of the mother. Moreover, the female names from which they were formed were not Russian. For example, Jewish surname Belkin is a homonym for a Russian surname. It was formed not from a furry animal, but from female name Beila.
German or Jew?
Another interesting pattern has been noticed. As soon as we hear surnames like Rosenfeld, Morgenstern, we immediately confidently determine the nationality of its bearer. Definitely, this is a Jew! But not everything is so simple! After all, these are words German origin. For example, Rosenfeld is a “field of roses”. How did this happen? It turns out that on the territory of the German Empire, as well as in the Russian and Austrian Empire, there was a decree on assigning surnames to Jews. Of course, they were formed in the language of the country in which the Jew lived. Since they were not passed down from distant ancestors from time immemorial, people chose them themselves. Sometimes this choice could be made by the registrar. This is how many artificial, bizarre surnames appeared that could not have arisen naturally.
How then can one distinguish a Jew from a German if both have German surnames? This is difficult to do. Therefore, here you should not be guided only by the origin of the word, you need to know the pedigree of a particular person. Here, you can’t just determine nationality by the end of your last name!
Georgian surnames
For Georgians, it is not difficult to guess the ending of their last names by nationality. If the Georgian is most likely -shvili, -dze, -uri, -ava, -a, -ua, -ia, -ni, -li, -si (Basilashvili, Svanidze, Pirtskhalava, Adamia, Gelovani, Tsereteli). There are also Georgian surnames that end in -tskaya. This is consonant with Russian (Trubetskaya), but this is not a suffix, and they not only do not change by gender (Diana Gurtskaya - Robert Gurtskaya), but also do not decline by case (with Diana Gurtskaya).
Ossetian surnames
Ossetian surnames are characterized by the ending -ty/-ti (Kokoyty). The ending of the surname in -ev (Abaev, Eziev) is also typical for this nationality; it is usually preceded by a vowel. Often the basis of a word is not clear to us. But sometimes it can turn out to be homonymous or almost homonymous with a Russian word, which is confusing. Among them there are also those that end in -ov: Botov, Bekurov. In fact, these are real Russian suffixes, and they are attached to the Ossetian root according to the tradition of conveying surnames in writing. These are the fruits of the Russification of Ossetian surnames. At the same time, it is stupid to think that all surnames ending in -ev are Ossetian. The ending of a surname with -ev does not determine nationality. Surnames such as Grigoriev, Polev, Gostev are Russian and they differ from similar ones ending in -ov only in that the last consonant in the noun was soft.
A few words about Armenians
Armenian surnames often end in -yan or -yants (Hakopyan, Grigoryants). Actually, -yan is a truncated -yants, which meant belonging to a clan.
Now you know how to find out your nationality by the end of your last name. Yes, it is not always easy to do this with guaranteed accuracy, even with a developed linguistic sense. But as they say, the main thing is that the person is good!
Origin of surnames.
History of Ukrainian surnames– one of the oldest in Europe. Already in the 17th century, almost all Ukrainians had hereditary family names. For example, commoners of France began to receive surnames in early XIX century, Russian peasants - after the abolition of serfdom in 1861. However, for a long time, Ukrainian surnames were not legalized and could change repeatedly. Only at the end of the 18th century did they acquire legal status like all surnames of Austria-Hungary, which then included Ukraine.
Methods of forming surnames.
List of Ukrainian surnames in alphabetical order testifies to their enormous diversity in the method of education. Just listing the suffixes with which they were created would take up considerable space. The undisputed leader here is the suffix -enko. Initially, it emphasized the connection with the father and meant “son of someone.” Petrenko is the son of Peter, Romanenko is the son of Roman. Later he lost his ancient meaning and served as an addition to nicknames and professions - Zubchenko, Melnichenko.
If you look dictionary of Ukrainian surnames, then you can notice a certain number of surnames with the suffixes -sky, -tsky, which indicates Polish influence (Artemovsky, Khmelnitsky). Usually such surnames were assigned to priests. At the same time, in Western Ukraine, in order to distinguish a Ukrainian from a nobleman, surnames in -uk, -yuk are formed. At first, the basis for them was baptismal names, then any others - Gavrilyuk, Zakharchuk, Popelnyuk.
Among Ukrainian surnames there are often those in which traces of other peoples and languages are visible, for example, German roots in Shvartsyuk or Schwartz. And in such surnames as Babiy, Bogma, Kekukh, Prikhno, Shakhrai, experts see Adyghe origin.
No less varied and interpretation of Ukrainian surnames. Many Ukrainians received surnames based on the profession they were engaged in - Zvarych (salt maker), Shvets (shoemaker), Stolyarenko, Koval (blacksmith). Often, surnames are associated with place of residence, nature, names of rivers, lakes and even buildings - Lugovoy, Ozirny, Zakluny (klunya-barn), Dniprenko, Rostavets.
The meaning of Ukrainian surnames, associated with the names of animals, birds and fish, can be ranked with ancient surnames. They were born from the nicknames of their first bearers - Vovk, Zaychuk, Orlenko, Karpenko. Plants, household items, food were also not forgotten - Frying Pan, Birch, Bulba, Borscht. Moreover, they had different options education - Skovorodchenko, Borshchevsky, Berezovsky.
Surnames of Cossacks.
We cannot ignore the nicknames of the Cossacks, which later became surnames. According to the unwritten laws of the Sich, the Cossacks had to leave their surnames behind the fence and enter the Cossack world with a new name that would accurately characterize them. Often here the verb in the imperative mood merged with a noun - Zhuiboroda, Lupibatko. Of course, these were nicknames, but many of them have survived to this day as surnames - Tyagnibok, Podoprigora, Krivonos.
Declension of Ukrainian surnames in Russian.
Most Ukrainian surnames do not have a feminine form, with the exception of surnames in -skaya, -tskaya, -ovskaya, -evskaya (Vishnevskaya, Savitskaya). Declension such Ukrainian women's surnames obeys general rules Russian language. The rest of the female surnames do not change by case, like all Ukrainian surnames starting with -ko.
Top Ukrainian surnames shows which ones are the most popular.
Surnames, just like given names, in ancient times always carried a certain meaning - they provided additional important information about the origin of each individual person: what family is he from, what class does he belong to, what craft does he or his relatives work in...
Common Ukrainian surnames are no exception to this. As soon as we start talking about Ukrainian surnames, the first names to emerge from the subconscious are Shevchenko, Petrenko, Doroshenko, Timoshenko, Shinkarenko, Klimashenko.
Indeed, this is a typical family form for the Ukrainian people, the most common.
Lists of registered Cossacks of the 17th century studied by historians show 60% of the presence of people with the surname ending in -enko.
It arose more often from the names, nicknames, professions of the fathers of young Cossacks:
- “Stepanenko” is Stepan’s offspring, “Klimenko” is Klima’s, “Romanenko” is Roman’s;
- “Tkachenko” - on his father’s side with the profession of a weaver, “Skotarenko” - the son of a cattle farmer, “Goncharenko” - the son of a potter;
- “Chubenko” is the heir of Chub (most likely the owner of such a nickname was endowed with noble hair);
- “Leshchenko” - from the fish bream (perhaps the bearer came from a fishing family or the people awarded him this nickname for his characteristic similarity with this fish);
- "Pluschenko" - from the ivy vine plant.
Astrologers and numerologists have long been studying the influence of first and last names on human destiny. What can we say about the nation? If the dictionary of Ukrainian surnames is full of semantic form, which is, as it were, derivative for younger generation, then we can safely say, and there is no arguing with it: the Ukrainian people are a young, strong nation.
Flexible, freedom-loving, with a light character, ready to change (if you pronounce - Butenko, Goncharenko, Pisarenko, Guzenko - it seems as if the ball is bouncing). But at the same time with their own personalities, heroes and military acumen (Podoprigora, Vyrvidub). And also very musical (Music, Kobzar, Violin, Skripko, Sopilka, Sopilnyak).
According to scientists, the family forms of that time were not clearly defined enough, and therefore the succeeding generations could well have had different (in form) surnames, or, on the contrary, the entire village could have had the same surname.
Since the prehistory of the Ukrainian people arose during the existence of the Eastern Slavs, as well as the prehistory of the Belarusians and Russians, the many family forms that exist among these three peoples coincide.
The most popular and common forms after -enko are:
Suffix -eyk-: Koreiko, Lomeiko, Buteyko, Geiko.
Suffix -chk-: Burlachko, Klitschko, Skachko, Batechko.
Suffixes -y, -ey, -ay: Paliy, Geletey, Galai, Parubiy, Kalatay.
Suffixes -tsk-, -sk-: originally common among the Polish gentry, more such surnames were among noble nobles and officials: Kirovsky, Vishnevetsky, Koritsky, Skoropadsky, Zagorsky. But they could also indicate the attitude of a commoner to one or another owner (until serfdom was abolished) - Barsky, Boyarsky, or territorial affiliation - Galitsky, Polovetsky, Rivne.
Endings -la, -lo: Zamula, Minyailo, Pritula, Shatailo.
Endings -uk, -yuk: Serdyuk, Pavlyuk, Bondarchuk, Sklyaruk.
Suffixes -nik, -ar (-ar), characteristic for determining professional affiliation: Bortnik, Melnik, Gonchar, Kobzar, Sexton.
Endings -da, -ba, -ta: Lagoda, Palivoda, Dzyuba, Zhuleba, Golota.
Suffixes -ich, -ych: Kuzmich, Shufrich, Zvarych, Yanukovych.
Suffixes -ak, -yak, -yk, -ik: Gopak, Tretyak, Bryk, Kulik.
Separately, we can distinguish among Ukrainian surnames those that simply convey the common noun of something, be it a thing or an animal, the name natural phenomenon: Scoop, Frying pan, Gogol (bird), Babak (marmot), Frost, Barabolya, Gorobets (sparrow), Khmara (cloud), Zozulya (cuckoo).
Male (Cossack) surnames
If we talk about surnames that are memorable and historically valuable for the Ukrainian people, then these are undoubtedly the “calls” that were used to call the Cossacks who arrived in Sich (Sich - Russian). Usually these are double words, very harsh, sometimes offensive: Tyagnibok, Netudykhata, Kuibida, Stodolya, Likhoded, Sorokopud, Pidiprigora, Golota, Perederiy, Novokhatko, Krivoruchko, Skorobogatko, Zadripaylo, Neizhsalo, Tovchigrechka.
Such funny surnames and nicknames characterize the Cossacks as strong and fearless warriors, but with a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at themselves.
Versatility and diversity historical events, which influenced the origin of Ukrainian surnames, can be traced in the following surnames: Pshigovsky, Vygotsky, Voznesensky, Miloradovich, Zarevich, Khorunzhy, Sagaidachny, Khmelnitsky, Uspensky. Here are the princely ones, royal families with a long pedigree, and surnames with church themes, and surnames of famous rebellious Sich atamans. They contain a huge layer historical era, associated with wars, captivity, revolutions. There are ways of word formation not only of the Russian people, but also of the Poles, Tatars, Germans, and Austrians.
Famous male surnames: Khmelnitsky, Shevchenko, Skovoroda, Grushevsky, Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, Dovzhenko, Klitschko, Poroshenko.
Female surnames
In the Ukrainian language, there are not many modifications of surnames based on female characteristics. These are surnames that can be classified in a morphological context as adjectives –sky, -ensky: Mogilevskaya, Vishnevetskaya; also surnames with the Russian suffix –ov, -ev, -in: Dubova, Zvereva, Spirina.
Famous female surnames: Kosach-Kvitka (Lesya Ukrainka), Lisovskaya (Roksolana), Pysanka, Lyzhichko, Klochkova, Prikhodko.
There is a linguistic feature in the writing of masculine and female surnames with endings –о, -ко, -чко when declensional. Male surnames- they bow, but the women do not: Ivan Fedko - Ivan Fedko, but Maria Fedko - Maria Fedko. The same thing happens with the endings –iy, -ich, -ych, -ik, -uk. (Sergei Petrik, but Nastya Petrik, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, but Alevtina Vakarchuk).
Beautiful Ukrainian surnames
I would also like to mention the beauty and melodiousness of proper names. A dictionary of Ukrainian surnames can be recited: Nalivaiko, Nightingale, Lastivka (swallow), Pysarenko, Kotlyarevsky, Kotsyubinsky, Lyzhychko, Pysanka (from easter egg- Krashanki), Lysenko, Kulchitsky, Dovzhenko, Stupka, Malvinets, Ognevich.
The list of Ukrainian surnames is rich in unusual, mystical surnames: Viyt, Stus, Mavka, Veleten, Bogatyrev, Prisukha, Lyubich, Yarilo. There are many beautiful double family combinations: Nechuy-Levitsky, Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, Dobriyvecher.
As we see, the dictionary of Ukrainian surnames has been created and transformed over centuries, absorbing the acquired wisdom of its people. It can say a lot about people, their culture, traditions and beliefs.
