Surnames of different nationalities. How to find out the history of your surname

Have you ever wondered about the origin of your last name? In fact, this is very interesting, because the surname makes it possible to find out the nationality and roots of a person.
To figure out what nationality a particular surname belongs to, you need to pay attention to suffixes and endings. So, the most common suffix Ukrainian surnames
- “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is ​​“-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor). Among Russian surnames
The following suffixes are common: “-an”, “-yn”, -“in”, “-skikh”, “-ov”, “-ev”, “-skoy”, “-tskoy”, “-ikh”, “ -s.” It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh. Polish surnames
most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-tsk”, as well as the endings “-iy”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often find Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz). English surnames
often come from the name of the area where a person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet). In front of many French surnames
there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen). German surnames
most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller). Tatar surnames
come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin). Italian surnames
are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto). Majority Spanish and Portuguese surnames
come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez). Norwegian surnames are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix at all are also popular (Per, Morgen). Surnames are often formed from the given name natural phenomena
or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan). most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).
U Estonians by the last name you cannot understand whether it is male or feminine in humans (Simson, Nahk).
U Jewish surnames There are two common roots - Levi and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed using suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).
Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, “-ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kuharchik ).
Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, “-ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekinci).
Almost all Bulgarian surnames formed from names using the suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).
Men's Latvian surnames end with “-s”, “-is”, and female ones end with “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Shurin).
And men's Lithuanian surnames end in “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aytis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Women's endings in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinyuvene). In surnames unmarried girls contains a part of the father's surname and the suffixes “-ut”, “-polut”, “-ayt”, as well as the ending “-e” (Orbakas - Orbakaite).
are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto). Armenian surnames end with the suffix “-yan”, “-yants”, “-uni” (Hakopyan, Galustyan).
Georgian surnames end in “-shvili”, “-dze”, “-uri”, “-ava”, “-a”, “-ua”, “-ia”, “-ni” (Mikadze, Gvishiane).
Greek surnames The endings “-idis”, “-kos”, -“pulos” are inherent (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis).
Chinese and Korean surnames consist of one, sometimes two syllables (Tang Liu, Qiao, Mao).
Japanese surnames are formed using one or two words (Kitamura - north and village).
Feature of women's Czech surnames is the obligatory ending “-ova” (Valdrova, Andersonova).
It's amazing how many differences there are between last names. different nationalities and peoples!

Generic names whose bearers are Jews are called Jewish. They can be divided into several types. The most numerous variant of their formation is considered to be geographical names. The next type is characteristics or external data of a person. A particularly interesting option for the emergence of Jewish surnames is artificial creation.

Jewish names and surnames

The currently popular Israeli names are very diverse. No nation can boast of so many beautiful generic names. AllJewish names and surnamesare unique, and each has its own meaning and origin. The history of most of them fits into only three centuries, because the ancient people were scattered throughout the world and did not need identification and a system for a long time. In Russia, Western and Eastern Europe the process began only after the corresponding laws were adopted at the state level.

Until the 18th century, Jews who lived in Russia and Europe did not have generic names.Origin of Jewish surnamesstarted in Russian Empire, when a law was passed obliging people to have proper gender names. They were created hastily, which explains their diversity in modern world. Officials sometimes came up with a name for a person in their own way, depending on appearance, weather conditions and moods. Sometimes Jews came up with family names on their own. The second option was used by wealthy Jewish families, because appropriation cost a lot of money.

Meaning

The names of the male founders of the clan gave rise to many surnames around the world. Often Jews did a simple thing: they took their or their father’s first or patronymic name and made it a nickname. The most common name of the genus is Moses (Moshesa, Moses). IN difficult cases To own name an ending or suffix was added: Abrahams, Israels, Samuels. Anothermeaning of Jewish surnames: When they end in “son”/”zon”, then the bearer is the son of a particular person. Davidson means he is a descendant of David. Abramson is the son of Abram, Yakobson is the son of Jacob, and Matison is the son of Mathis.

Beautiful Jewish surnames

Jews often pray for their loved ones, calling them by their mother's name. This religious factor played a big role in the fact that the ancient people perpetuated both male and female names who performed an important political or economic mission in its history. The mostbeautiful Jewish surnames - these are those that arose on behalf of the mother. And there are many of them:

• Riva – Rivman;
• Gita - Gitis;
• Bayla - Beilis;
• Sarah - Sorison, etc.

As already mentioned, beautiful surnames Jews were created by wealthy representatives ancient people. The dictionary contains many examples. List of the most popular ones in alphabetical order:

• Goldenberg – golden mountain;
• Goldenbloom - golden flower;
• Hartmann is a solid (strong) person;
• Tokman is a persistent person;
• Muterperel - sea pearl;
• Mendel is a comforter;
• Rosenzweig - rose branch;
• Zuckerberg is a sugar mountain.

Popular

The first place in the ranking is occupied by the Rabinovichs and Abramovichs. Not lesspopular Jewish surnameswho have German roots - Katzman, Urgant, Bleistein, Brull. Family names associated with religion are also often found among Jews: Shulman (synagogue minister), Soifer (text writer), Levi (priest assistant), Cohen (priest). In the list of popular genus names, the third ones are those that are formed on a professional basis:

• Kravets (tailor);
• Melamed (teacher);
• Shuster (shoemaker);
• Kramer (shopkeeper);
• Shelomov (helmet maker).

funny

As modern Jews joke: “Funny Jewish surnamesunder certain circumstances can be formed from any word in the dictionary.” Subject names of the genus include such as Hat, Rag, Footcloth, Starch, Peat. Mothballs, Medallion, Barrier, Penthouse, Sole, Nagler are considered cool. The list is complemented by funny generic names related to flora and fauna: Gelding, Lysobyk, Tarantula, Haidak (microbe).

Russian Jewish surnames

On the territory of Russia, mass emigration of Jews occurred after the annexation of Poland during the reign of Catherine II. Trying to infiltrate society, representatives of the ancient people sometimes took Russian generic names for themselves. Usually,Jewish surnames in Russiaended in “ovich”, “ov”, “on”, “ik”, “sky”: Medinsky, Sverdlov, Novik, Kaganovich.

Common

Jewish immigrants chose their generic names based on the city, region or country from which they came. This distinguished them from other members of the community for identification purposes. Stillcommon Jewish surnamescorrespond to the place of residence of their ancestors, for example, Poznery, Warsaw, Byaloblotsky, Urdominsky. Another row consists of frequently heard generic names, which are derived from male personal names: Yakubovich, Levkovich.

Famous

Currently, many Jews occupy prestigious positions in Russian politics and show business.Famous Jewish surnamesamong politicians: Avdeev, Lavrov, Dvorkovich, Shuvalov, Sechin, Shokhin, Sobchak. The list can be continued for a very long time, because it started a long time ago, with V.I. coming to power. Lenin, who did not hide his Jewish origin. Today, according to unofficial data, the number of Jews in the Russian government is 70%. On Russian stage Many of our favorite musicians are also representatives of the ancient people:

• Varum;
• Agutin;
• Linnik;
• Galkin;
• Gazmanov;
• Milyavskaya;
• Valley (Kudelman);
• Moiseev and many others.

Video

Have you ever wondered about the origin of your last name? In fact, this is very interesting, because the surname makes it possible to find out the nationality and roots of a person. To figure out what nationality a particular surname belongs to, you need to pay attention to suffixes and endings.

To figure out what nationality a particular surname belongs to, you need to pay attention to suffixes and endings. So, the most common suffix- “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is ​​“-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor).

- “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is ​​“-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor). Among The following suffixes are common: “-an”, “-yn”, -“in”, “-skikh”, “-ov”, “-ev”, “-skoy”, “-tskoy”, “-ikh”, “ -s.” It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh.

The following suffixes are common: “-an”, “-yn”, -“in”, “-skikh”, “-ov”, “-ev”, “-skoy”, “-tskoy”, “-ikh”, “ -s.” It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh. most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-tsk”, as well as the endings “-iy”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often find Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz).

most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-tsk”, as well as the endings “-iy”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often find Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz). often come from the name of the area where a person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet).

often come from the name of the area where a person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet). French surnames there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen).

there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen). most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller).

most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller). come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin).

come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin). are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto).

are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto). Spanish and Portuguese surnames come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez).

come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez). are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix at all are also popular (Per, Morgen). Surnames are often formed from the names of natural phenomena or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan).

or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan). most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).

U Estonians You can’t tell by a surname whether a person is masculine or feminine (Simson, Nahk).

U Jewish surnames There are two common roots: Levi and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed using suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).

Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, “-ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kuharchik ).

Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, “-ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekinci).

Almost all Bulgarian surnames formed from names using the suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).

Men's Latvian surnames end with “-s”, “-is”, and female ones end with “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Shurin).

And men's Lithuanian surnames end in “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aytis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Women's endings in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinyuvene). The surnames of unmarried girls contain a part of the father’s surname and the suffixes “-ut”, “-polut”, “-ayt”, as well as the ending “-e” (Orbakas - Orbakaite).

are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto). Armenian surnames end with the suffix “-yan”, “-yants”, “-uni” (Hakopyan, Galustyan).

Georgian surnames end in “-shvili”, “-dze”, “-uri”, “-ava”, “-a”, “-ua”, “-ia”, “-ni” (Mikadze, Gvishiane).

Greek surnames The endings “-idis”, “-kos”, -“pulos” are inherent (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis).

Chinese and Korean surnames consist of one, sometimes two syllables (Tang Liu, Qiao, Mao).

Japanese surnames are formed using one or two words (Kitamura - north and village).

Feature of women's Czech surnames is the obligatory ending “-ova” (Valdrova, Andersonova).

It's amazing how many differences there are between the names of different nationalities and peoples!

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Write your last name with a pen on paper. Next, we highlight all the morphemes in it: suffix, root, ending. As a result of this preparatory stage, you will be able to determine whether your family belongs to a certain nationality.

Step 2:

Pay special attention to the suffix. Since Ukrainian surnames are quite common in the Russian language, the suffixes can be as follows: “eyko”, “enko”, “ochko”, “ko”, “ovsk/evsk”. It follows from this that if you bear the surname Shumeiko, Tkachenko, Marochko, Klitschko, Gulevsky or Petrovsky, then your distant relatives are most likely located on the territory of Ukraine.

Step 3:

If, after analyzing the suffix of your last name, you still have not determined your nationality, you can look at the root of the word. Very often, a surname is based on some profession, bird, animal or object. As an example we can give Ukrainian surname Gorobets (which translated into Russian means Sparrow), Russian surname Gonchar, Jewish surname Rabin (meaning “rabbi”).

Step 4:

You need to count how many roots are in a word. Surnames consisting of two words are quite common. For example, Beloshtan, Ryabokon, Krivonos. Such surnames belong to Slavic peoples(Belarusians, Russians, Poles, Ukrainians, etc.), but can also be found in other languages.

Step 5:

Try to evaluate your surname by affiliation with Jewish roots. The most common Jewish surnames have “Cohen” and “Levi” as part of their roots; they can be found in the surnames Levin, Levitan, Katz, Kogan. The owners of such surnames descended from ancestors who were in the rank of clergy. There are also surnames derived from male names (Solomon, Moses) or female names (Beilis, Rivkin), or formed by merging male name and suffix (Mandelshtam, Abrahams, Jacobson).

Hint

If your surname is of Jewish origin, you can use it to determine the territorial affiliation of your ancestors. Slavic Jews may have surnames Berkovich, Rubinchik, Davidovich. In their sound, they are very similar to Russian patronymics or diminutive names of objects. The surnames of Polish Jews differ in suffixes.

Step 6:

You can try to understand if there is Tatar blood in your veins? If your surname contains a combination of Tatar words and the suffixes “ev”, “ov” or “in”, it is quite obvious that there were Tatars in your family. This is clearly visible in such names as Turgenev, Bashirov, Yuldashev.

Step 7:

You can determine which language a surname belongs to based on certain clues:

If the surname contains the prefix “de” or “le”, the roots can be looked for in France;

If you can hear in the surname English name territory (for example Welsh), profession (Carver) or quality of person (Sweet), you could easily have relatives in the UK;

In a relationship German surnames the same rules apply. They are formed from a nickname (Klein), profession (Schmidt), name (Peters);

Origin Polish surname can be recognized based on the sound - Sienkiewicz, Kowalczyk. If you have any difficulties about the relationship of a surname to a particular language, you need to look at a dictionary of foreign words.

Hint

In order to find distant relatives or make family tree, but at the same time, to correctly interpret surnames by nationality, you need to rely not only on the suffix and root, but also on the environment of existence. One of the most common names, Ivan, is of Hebrew origin, and surnames that are derived from it can be found among Russians, Mordvins, Chuvash, Mari - Ivanaev, Ivashkin, Ivakin, Vankin, etc. That is why you should not be lazy and look into etymological dictionary.

Since ancient times, family nicknames and names have been used to emphasize a person’s belonging to his family. Previously it could mean professional activity, characteristic features of the appearance or personal nature of its owner. That's whyfind out the history of the origin of the surnamefor researchers means finding out many interesting and important information its carriers. Who they were, what they did and where they lived - all this information can be hidden and encrypted in the name of your family.

If previously nicknames were used for practical purposes and could be forgotten over time or changed due to circumstances, then the surname in modern understanding has a completely different meaning. It is directly related to pedigree, family history and continuity of generations. Unfortunately, we often take it for granted. We have been wearing it since childhood, without thinking about what family secrets are hidden in it. It is rarely seen as a source of pride, since now everyone receives it from birth. But previously this was the privilege of only nobles and noble families. This was a kind of reflection of the superiority of the nobility and the unity of family members.

Pay tribute to your ancestors, honor their memory, strengthen kinship and family bonds It is possible even today. You just have to put in a little effort and find outHow to find out the history of your family by last name. Online services for freeoffer access to the archives where they are collected large lists With detailed description the supposed place, cause and approximate time of origin, down to the indication of the century. You can use them, or contact specialists who will help you calculate your roots, tell you why the genus was named that way, and even draw up a family tree.

If you have enough patience and enthusiasm, try to find out the meaning of your last name yourself. You will learn how to do this from our article, where we have collected a variety of useful tips about this theme.

How to find out the origin of your last name: freeexcursion into history

First, let's remember how the nicknames of our ancestors were formed in Ancient Rus'. We call them by nicknames because modern definition It is impossible to assign their surnames. They were given to make it easier to recognize a person or contact him, and changed over time. As for forced peasants, their family name could generally change at the whim of the master. The owners especially liked to have fun by inventing offensive and offensive nicknames. For example, someone born Ignatov (by the name of an ancestor) became Shcherbakov (by external sign - the absence of front teeth).

Find out the meaning of your last name,associated with the ancient roots themselves, easiest for those whose ancestors lived in the Veliky Novgorod region. Chronicles dating back to approximately the 13th century indicate that it was there that the very first generic nicknames originated. In ancient archives there are references to Novgorodians who died in the Battle of the Neva.

They appeared among princes and boyars in the 14th century. The loudest and most famous of them were worn by representatives of influential and ruling dynasties: Shuisky, Nevsky, Donskoy. A little later, the nobles also had borrowed from foreign languages: Fonvizin, Yusupov, Karamzin.

However, ordinary, not famous and not noble people remained with nicknames. Even the reforms of Peter the Great could not restore order to peasant families. So, it was he who introduced the word, it comes from the Latin familia - family, in everyday life. Conducted censuses of the population, including the peasant population - the so-called “audits”. Of course, it would be much more convenient for the emperor if each clan had a permanent name passed on by inheritance, but that was still a long way off. The absence of a permanent surname indicated a person’s low origins and the stigma remained among the general population throughout almost the entire existence of the Russian Empire.

Remember the works of Russian classics. There are never any indications or information about the surname of the serfs. Let's take for example " Dead Souls» Gogol. There, peasants were listed by nicknames.

Naturally, the names for the families were not taken from anywhere. They were assigned according to certain characteristics. If now we don’t think about the roots and meaning, then before the generic nickname made sense. Sohow to find and find out the history of the origin of your last name - freea way to find out interesting details of the life of your ancestors, we suggest you study the most common options in Rus', which are still found in modified, and sometimes even in their original form:

• By analogy with animals: Lisitsyn, Medvedev, Khomyakov, Volkov, Kobylkin.
• By occupation: Stolyarov, Kuznetsov, Rybakov, Streltsov.
• By place of residence or geographical names: Belozersky, Kareltsev, Sibiryak, Vyazemsky, Donskoy, Bryantsev.
• By the names of ancestors: Fedotov, Ivanov, Fedorov.
• By name religious holidays, during which the child was born: Preobrazhensky, Uspensky, Blagoveshchensky.
• By household items that a person used in his work: Shilov, Spitsyn, Molotov.
• By external characteristics: Ryzhov, Krivtsov, Krivoshein, Sleptsov, Nosov, Belousov, Sedov.
• By home nicknames: Malyshev - baby, Menshikov - youngest child in the house.
• By nationality: Tatarinov, Ordyntsev (from the word “horde”), Nemchinov.

As you can see, having determined the origin of your surname, you can find out about the profession of your ancestors, what they did, who they were or where they were born. If you are the Tolmachevs, then there were once interpreters and translators in your family. Muromov’s distant ancestors could have been born or lived in the city of Murom, while the Pobezhimovs’ ancestors probably arranged an escape. This data may be useful to you in compiling your family's pedigree.

A very interesting phenomenon are the so-called seminary surnames. They arose much later, in the 17th century among representatives of the clergy. People also called them “priestly”, since they were worn mainly by clergy. They were created artificially, the priests explained this by saying that they wanted to be closer to the people. They were specially made to be harmonious and beautiful, which emphasized the special status of the wearer. They are formed mainly with the help of the suffixes skiy/-tskiy. Here are some of them:

• Aquilev
• Blagonadezhin
• Vetrinsky
• Bethlehem
• Damascene
• Demosthenes
• Euclidean
• Zlatoumov
• Kristallevsky

Their origin is based mainly on Latin words. Also found are the names of birds, animals and plants, the names of philosophers, clergy and saints. Often they are also transliterations of Russian names from Latin. Such surnames sound somewhat unnatural for our language and it is almost impossible to meet them today. However, if instead of the usual Russian language suffixes ov/-ev, in/-yn you have skiy/-tskiy, then most likely your ancestors belonged to the clergy.

Where to find out family history: determine the profession of ancestors by last name

When compiling a family tree, it is very important to know what your distant relatives did many centuries ago. Perhaps they did something very important for the state: they were war heroes, saved people, and were engaged in art. This could be an impetus for a future career and determination life path for yourself. Being inspired by the actions of your ancestors makes it much easier to find and understand your purpose. How to do it? Access to ancient archives, historical documents and chronicles is not available to everyone. On the Internet, opportunities are also limited, since resources that offer to find out the history of a family by name for free online do not have a complete list of necessary information. In addition, it is not always reliable and there is no way to verify the data.

It is best for you to handle the task yourself. Listen to your last name, break it down into its component parts (prefix, root, suffix) and think about what word or phrase it came from. Here are the names of the representatives different professions and classes in Rus':

Merchants

Merchants have always been a privileged class and enjoyed honor and respect. Therefore, much earlier than ordinary people, they were awarded the right to bear surnames. Initially, this opportunity was provided only to influential and noble merchants of the highest guilds. The most famous of them:

• Bakhrushins
• Mamontovs
• Shchukins
• Ryabushinsky
• Demidovs
• Tretyakovs
• Eliseevs
• Soltadenkovs

Nobles

The etymology of this word means that this is a certain person located at the princely or royal court. Members of the class passed on their status by inheritance from generation to generation, and with it the surname of their ancestors.

• Ancient nobility who received title in the period before the second half XVII centuries: Scriabins, Eropkins.
• Nobles with the title of count, baron, prince, listed in genealogical books: Urusovs, Alabyshevs.
• Foreign nobility: surnames contain foreign language elements “de”, “von”, “von dem”.

Clergy

For clergy, surnames were most often used to designate the parish in which the priest worked: Uspensky, Voznesensky, Rozhdestvensky. Those who graduated from the seminary were assigned fictitious ones. The euphony depended on how diligent the student was. For example, someone who demonstrated outstanding academic success was given the surname Diamonds.

Service people

Those who were on public service, also enjoyed a special position and privileges from the sovereign. This is especially influenced by the fact that the rank of nobility could be obtained in the service. The appearance of such surnames dates back to the XVII - XVIII. They usually reflected the location of the employee or the territory of important battles and battles. These include:

• Kazantsev
• Bryantsev
• Moskovkin
• Kareltsev

Peasants

This class officially received surnames only after the revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy in the Russian Empire, although many rulers of the state made attempts to restore order with their nicknames. The serfs' surnames emphasized their short stature. social status, most often associated with crafts and physical labor, as well as household equipment that was used for this:

• Melnikov
• Khomutov
• Sokhin
• Bochkarev
• Goncharov
• Brewers
• Cab drivers
• Karetin
• Basement
• Nebogatikov
• Bosyakov

If you find your last name on this list, it will be easier for you to understand what type of activity your ancestors had. This means that you have found the answer to one of the mysteries of your ancestry.

How to find and determine the origin of your surname yourself

If you are interested in in-depth independent searches and are committed to serious investigation, then you can make significant progress in the study of your ancestry. Here are tips to help you with this:

Find out more about genealogy

Very often, reading books and studying resources on this topic becomes a source of inspiration for your own research. Devote a few days to this, and then your work will become more orderly and conscious.

Purchase the necessary materials

It's difficult to keep all the information in your head. To make it more convenient for you to draw diagrams and record data, stock up on notepads and folders. You can even make a large table on a piece of Whatman paper indicating all the names of your close and distant relatives.

Dig through family archives

You probably have old documents at home: passports, birth certificates, certificates, extracts.

Get your relatives involved

Ask your parents, grandparents, what surnames were in your family. In women it is especially important to recognize them maiden names which they wore before marriage.

Getting to know the history of your family is a great opportunity to get together and feel the unity of family members.