Where did surnames come from and who created them? The origin of Russian surnames

It's impossible to imagine life today modern man no last name. It connects people with family members and the whole clan. This is how the ancestors who lived hundreds of years ago identified themselves. There are many surnames in Russia that come from the distant past, but there are also more common ones.

Origin of Russian surnames

In Rus' initially there were no surnames. What looked like a family name in the chronicles had a completely different meaning. For example, Ivan Petrov meant Ivan the son of Peter. The most common forms that were encountered (Chobot, Shemyaka, Upyr) were nicknames that were given for some personal qualities of a person or for his profession. They were individual and were not passed on to descendants.

Story origin of surnames among the upper class it referred to places of residence or to belonging to a princely (royal) family. Thus, the Vyazemsky princes were called because of the possessions that were located in the city of Vyazma, the Rzhevsky princes - because of the city of Rzhev, and so on. The formation of nominal families in Russia began by changing endings, prefixes, suffixes, or by connecting the root system with the name or nickname of the founder of the clan.

The process of formation of boyar dynasties is perfectly illustrated by the history of the royal family of the Romanovs, whose ancestors lived in the 14th century. The founder was Andrei Koshka Kobylin, and his descendants were called Koshkins. One of the children of Kobylin’s grandson began to be called Zakharyin-Koshkin, and the latter’s son was named Roman. Then Nikita Romanovich was born, whose children and grandchildren were already called Romanovs. This is still a common Russian surname.

When did they appear

The first naming of an entire family in Rus' occurred in the 15th century. The sources, as already mentioned, were the profession of the founder, the name of the craft or geographical name. First, the upper classes received clan names, and the poor and peasants acquired them last, since they were serfs. The emergence of surnames in Russia of foreign origin first occurred among nobles who came from Greek, Polish or Lithuanian families.

IN XVII century Western bloodlines such as the Lermontovs and Fonvizins were added to them. Generic names from Tatar immigrants are Karamzins, Akhmatovs, Yusupovs and many others. The most common dynasty in Russia at that time was the Bakhteyarov, which was worn by the Rurik princes from the Rostov branch. Also in fashion were the Beklemishevs, whose name was the boyar of Vasily I Fyodor Elizarovich.

During this period, peasants only had patronymics or nicknames. Documents of that time had the following entries: “Danilo Soplya, peasant” or “Efimko son Crooked cheeks, landowner.” Only in the north of the country did peasant men bear real pedigree names, since in Novgorod lands serfdom was not distributed.

The most common families of free peasants are Lomonosov and Yakovlev. Peter the Great, by his decree in 1719, officially introduced documents - travel documents, which contained the name, nickname, place of residence and other information. From this year, dynasties of merchants, office workers, clergy, and subsequently, from 1888, among peasants began to be established.

What is the most common Russian surname?

Beautiful, and therefore popular even now, surnames were given to representatives of the clergy. The basis was the name of the church or parish. Before this, priests were called simply: Father Alexander or Father Fedor. Afterwards they were given generic names such as Uspensky, Blagoveshchensky, Pokrovsky, Rozhdestvensky. Non-church common dynasties in Russia are associated with the names of cities - Bryantsev, Moskvichev, Tambovtsev, Smolyaninov. Successful seminary graduates were given beautiful names Diamonds, Dobrolyubov, Pharaohs, which are still popular today.

For men

Great value for modern people has a worthy surname. Genus names that have a semantic meaning are popular among men. For example, the names of descendants recognized by all are derived from the professional nickname Bondarchuk (cooper), Kuznetsov (blacksmith), Bogomazov (icon painter), Vinokur (manufacturer of alcoholic beverages).

Interesting Russians male surnames have a loud and sonorous pronunciation - Pobedonostsev, Dobrovolsky, Tsezarev. Beautiful and popular Russian generic names today come from nominal origins - Mikhailov, Vasiliev, Sergeev, Ivanov. No less successful, based on the names of birds and animals, are Lebedev, Volkov, Kotov, Belkin, Orlov, Sokolov. Trees and shrubs also left their mark. Popular families are formed from the names of plants - Kornev, Berezkin, Malinin, Dubov.

Women's

As history tells us, female generic names were formed in the same way as male ones - through prefixes and suffixes. The most famous Russian surnames for girls come from proper names, names of animals, birds. Morozova, Vorontsova, Arakcheeva, Muravyova-Apostol and others sound great. The list of pedigrees for girls descended from representatives of flora and fauna sounds no less beautiful - Strizhenova, Medvedeva, Vorontsova, Vorobyova.

No less popular, formed from a deep semantic meaning with an emphasis on the first syllable: Slavic, Wise, Shchedraya, Rodina. They are heard and pronounced perfectly - Popova, Novikova, Svetlova, Lavrova, Teplova. Among foreign generic names there are also a large number of beautiful ones:

German: Lehmann, Werner, Braun, Weber;
English: Mills, Ray, Taylor, Stone, Grant;
Polish: Yaguzhinskaya, Koval, Vitkovskaya, Troyanovskaya;
Belarusian: Larchenko, Polyanskaya, Ostrovskaya, Belskaya;
Bulgarian: Toneva, Blagoeva, Angelova, Dimitrova.

The most famous Russian surnames

Researchers of the statistics of Russian hereditary names argue that they often originate from populated regions, sacred holidays or the names of parents. Sometimes surnames were given among the nobility and landowners by truncation of full family names, and they were usually assigned to a natural child. Among them: Temkin (Potemkin), Betskoy (Trubetskoy), Pnin (Repnin). IN modern Russia The most famous families of hereditary artists are Bondarchuk, Tabakov, Mashkov, Mikhalkov.

List of the most common surnames in Russia

Based on the results of many years of research, scientists compiled a list of 500 generic names common in Russia. The ten most popular included:

Smirnov. There is no clear opinion about the origin. Various versions are proposed, from the introduction of backward peasants to the “new world”, to the connection with the name Smirnaya, which in Rus' characterized an accommodating and peaceful person. A more probable version is one based on the naming of people who are humble before God.
Ivanov. It is not difficult to guess that the origin is connected with the Russian name Ivan, popular at all times.
Kuznetsov. He is the most respected among the village men. In every village the blacksmith was respected and had big family, the male part of which was provided with work until the end of their days. In the dialects of the western and southern regions of Russia there is the word koval instead of blacksmith, therefore one of the transformations of Kuznetsov is Kovalev.
Vasiliev. Although Vasily in modern world Children are not often named, the surname is firmly entrenched in the top ten most common.
Novikov. The popularity is due to the fact that every newcomer or newcomer was previously called Novik. This nickname passed down to his descendants.
Yakovlev. Derived from a popular male name. Jacob is the secular equivalent of the church name Jacob.
Popov. Initially, this nickname was given to the son of a priest or a worker (farm) of a clergyman.
Fedorov. The basis was a male name, very common in Rus'. The surname Khodorov has the same roots from the name Khodor.
Kozlov. Before the introduction of Christianity, the Slavs were pagans, so naming a person after a plant or animal was a tradition. The goat has always been considered a symbol of fertility and vitality, that’s why it’s a favorite among the Slavs fairy tale character. The animal became a symbol of the devil after the advent of Christianity.
Morozov. Also a non-church common name in Rus'. Previously, the name Frost was given to a baby born in winter. This is the image of a hero who has unlimited power during the cold season.

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Surnames in Rus' began to appear from about the 12th-13th centuries until the 19th century. And after the 19th century, many new “modern” surnames appeared to replace the old ones. The origin of surnames is different for everyone, but several options can be distinguished, uniting several hundred surnames.

Nicknames. One of the most large groups. The first mentions of such surnames were recorded in the 12th-13th centuries. Most often, the root contained the names of parents, place of residence, and type of activity. Many surnames end in –ich. For example, Nikitich, Popovich. But surnames with -ov are already appearing.

Many surnames of boyars and nobles of the 14th and 15th centuries come from nicknames. It was at this time that the so-called “hereditary clans” already appeared - Shuisky, Gorbatov, Travin, Trusov, Kobylin. Because people generally notice negative traits appearance and character, not the most “beautiful” nicknames were given, which became surnames - Krivosheev, Chernoskulov, Kosoglazov.

Almost all peasant surnames are derived from the nicknames Zhdanov and Lyubimov. But at the same time, an interesting fact is that the name was often a kind of amulet, or specially invented in case it would direct a person’s life to “ the right direction", it was the opposite of fate. For example, Nekras (the Nekrasovs appeared), Golod (the Golodovs appeared). It was also very common to form nicknames and surnames on behalf of the father - Ivanov's son, Petrov's son, Frolov's son.

Foreign surnames. Appear at the end of the 15th century, when close contact with Western and eastern countries, as well as borrowings from the language of the Turkic peoples of Rus'. The appearance of new surnames occurs until the 20th century - Yusupov, Karamzin, Baskakov. An interesting detail is that already under Peter the Great, so-called “travel letters” were introduced, in which the first and last name (or nickname) were indicated, i.e. almost 100 percent of people had a surname (nickname) at least informally. But this is among the Russian population of central Russia. On the outskirts of the country they might not have had a surname until the USSR itself.

Last names by occupation and place of residence. In the period from the 16th to the 19th centuries, surnames appeared based on a person’s occupation, although initially these could have been nicknames - Popov, Rybin, Kovalev, Goncharov. At the same time, surnames based on place of birth or residence appeared, especially many surnames appeared during the settlement of the land beyond the Urals - Ustyugov, Verkhoturtsev.

Surnames of the clergy. Due to the fact that most often surnames were formed from the parish, they have the ending - ii (although it can be confused with Polish surnames) – Dubrovsky, Pokrovsky, Uspensky. At the same time, the surnames could have been made up for a better sound - Dobromyslov, Dobrolyubov.

The word "surname" in Latin means "family". Just like the patronymic, the surname, as a rule, passes to the child from the father, but in this case the rules are still not as harsh as with patronymics. Parents can give their children the surname of not only the father, but also the mother and even the grandfather and grandmother.

In the old days, however, such questions did not arise, because people did not have surnames. And yet it was necessary to somehow distinguish them from one another; names alone were not enough, and they often coincided.

At the everyday level, this issue was resolved simply: each person was given a nickname or nickname. They then served as surnames.

For the first time, surnames appeared quite officially in Russia during the time of Peter I, when the Tsar, by his decree, ordered to record all people living in Russian state, “by names from fathers and nicknames,” i.e. by first name, patronymic and last name. But even then, not everyone had surnames. The first to XIV-XV centuries received by princes and boyars. Often their surnames were formed from the names of the properties that belonged to them. If the land holdings were located in the Tver province, then the boyar's surname could be Tverskaya, if in Meshchera - Meshchersky, etc.

But it happened that boyars also received surnames based on their old nicknames. Thus, once upon a time in the 14th century there lived a boyar named Grigory, nicknamed Pushka. It is unknown why he received such a nickname. Maybe for loud voice, which resembled a cannon shot, and maybe it had something to do with military equipment. But no matter what was behind it, only his nickname turned into a surname, which after several generations went to the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, a descendant of the boyar Grigory Pushka.

Later, already in XVI-XVIII centuries, nobles also began to receive surnames. There was already more diversity here, because the title of nobility was often awarded for special services to the state, and among the nobles there were people of not at all noble origin who did not have their own land holdings. So the nobles received their surnames by the name of their father or mother, for example, Stepanov, Dmitriev, Efrosinin, sometimes they came up with some noble surname for themselves, it happened that the king granted it to them along with the title of nobility. It happened that nobles also received their surnames from their old nicknames. Of course, they tried to make them more harmonious, and noble families with the names Durnovo, Chernago, Khitrovo, Ryzhago, etc. appeared.

Later, in XVIII-XIX centuries, it was the turn of trade and service people. They, as a rule, received surnames from the names of the places where they were from. This is how the surnames Astrakhantsev, Moskvitinov, Moskvin, Vologzhanin, etc. appeared.

This is how all classes of Russia received their surnames in turn. When the turn came to the largest segment of the population - the peasants (and this happened already in the 19th century), then the most different ways formation of surnames: both by the name of the father and mother (Ivanov, Petrov, Maryin, etc.), and by the name of the craft or trade in which the head of the family was engaged (Plotnikov, Stolyarov, etc.), by street nickname (Khudyakov, Krivonosoe, Ryzhov)…

It often happened that peasants took surnames after the first and last names of those landowners they served for or whom they knew. There is a known situation when, during the next population census, the peasants of the current Pushkinogorsky district of the Pskov region, finding it difficult to name their surnames (some forgot, and some did not have one), called themselves by the surname of their famous fellow countryman and his friends, who visited him or whom they heard about. Thus, the Pushkin, Pushchin, Yazykov families live here to this day...

What is a surname? Where did the surnames come from? There are many theories and versions on this matter. Nowadays, a surname is a hereditary family name, showing that people belong to one common ancestor or, in narrow understanding, to one family. The word "surname" itself has Roman origin, V Ancient Rome the surname was the totality of a person's family and the slaves belonging to him.

For a long time, this word had approximately the same meaning in Europe and Rus'; even in the 19th century, freed peasants often received the surname of the previous owner. Nowadays a surname is a generic name added to a personal name. All peoples of the world have surnames in one form or another, with the exception of the Icelanders, who have a patronymic as a surname. Tibetans don't have surnames either.

Where did the surnames of different classes come from?

Surnames ordinary people, clergy and nobility have different origins, or rather, even different reasons for their appearance, they even formed in different time. The most ancient in Rus' are the boyars and noble families toponymic origin. The nobles received allotments “for feeding”, therefore, in order to distinguish between rulers with the same name, they were called by allotment. This is how the Tverskaya, Shuisky, Starodubsky and many others appeared. History shows that such family names They were very proud, they were taken care of, sometimes even bearing such a surname was considered a great privilege.

Now you can find less ancient surnames of toponymic origin: Varshavsky (Warshaver), Berdichev, Lvovsky and so on. These surnames appeared only in the 18th-19th centuries; these are classic Jewish surnames. The surnames of some indigenous peoples of Russia (for example, Tuvinians) may also have a toponymic origin. But most often, Russian surnames came from the name (baptismal or secular) of the person’s father. Let us recall the example with the Icelanders: among them, a person receives a patronymic based on his father’s name, which acts as a surname. That is, Sven's son Torvard will be Svensson, and his son will already be called Thorvardsson. A similar system was widespread in Russia in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Where did noble families come from?

There is a well-known history of the origin of the Romanov family, their members were called either Zakharyins, then Koshkins, then Yuryevs, until, finally, an established surname appeared named Roman Zakharyin-Yuryev, the great-great-great-grandson of the founder of the family, Andrei Kobyla. Some of the most common names in the world are derived from the baptismal name. this moment surnames: Ivanov and Petrov. The name "Ivan", translated as "God's gift", was generally the most common male name Among the peasants, the name “Peter” was slightly less common. Sidorov is often added to the company of Ivanov and Petrov, but this is at least strange. The name "Sidor" was not often found in Russia.

A number of Russian noble families have clear or disputed Tatar origins. For example, the famous count's surname“Buturlin” is believed to trace its origins from the legendary Ratsha, who came to the service of Alexander Nevsky “from the Germans” (the families of the Romanovs, Pushkins, Muravyovs and others also descend from him). Other scientists believe that the surname “Buturlin” Tatar origin from the word “buturlya” - “restless person”. There is also a version that the ancestor of the Buturlins was the grandson of a native of the Horde, Ivan Buturlya. This is quite plausible, considering that in the 18th-19th centuries it was fashionable to trace one’s family back to the northern ancestors, and not to the semi-wild Mongol-Tatars.

However, the fact remains that many noble families (Arakcheevs, Bunins, Godunovs, Ogarevs) are of Tatar origin. This is due to the fact that in Rus' there were many Tatar rulers who, after the weakening of the Horde, were baptized en masse into Orthodoxy and went into the service of the Russian princes. Now we would call them “experienced managers,” so they received good positions and inheritances. It must be said that they served not out of fear, but out of conscience, as was customary in the Horde. And if we remember that Russian statehood, in principle, is the heir of the Horde, and not of the alien Varangians (who then also did not have a state), then the logical prevalence Tatar surnames in Rus' it becomes clear.

Where did the surnames of the clergy come from?

The most amusing and curious is the origin of the surnames of the clergy. These are usually very beautiful and sonorous surnames: Giatsintov, Epiphany, Voskresensky and many others. Surnames of clearly “Christian” origin were given to priests based on the name of the church: Ascension, Krestovozdvizhensky, Pokrovsky, Preobrazhensky. Young priests received surnames in seminaries, these were sonorous surnames with a positive meaning: Gilyarovsky, Dobrovolsky, Speransky and so on. The clergy began to receive surnames after the church reform of Peter I. Where did peasant surnames come from?

Most of the Russians peasant surname, as already mentioned, comes from personal names, but there are surnames that come from occupation. By the way, if the surname given by the father could change (like the Icelanders), then the “professional” surname was a more durable phenomenon, since the profession was often passed on from father to son. “Kuznetsov” is the third most common surname in Russia, but not because there were many blacksmiths (rather the opposite), but because everyone in the village knew the blacksmith and could indicate where he lived. By the way, classic English surname"Smith" also translates as "blacksmith".

Professional origin also has a number of Jewish surnames. These include Shuster (shoemaker), Furman (carrier), Kramarov (from German word"kramer" - shopkeeper). If the surname was formed not of an artisan, but of his son, then the formant -son (-zon) was added to the word: Mendelson, Glezerson. In Slavic countries the formant -ovich was often used. Thus, the origin of the surname can be different: the surname could appear from a baptismal or secular name, the profession of a person or his father, the area where the family lived and a number of other characteristics. The main function of a surname at all times is to distinguish one person from another.