How to find out nationality by last name online. How to find out nationality by the end of a surname

Last name is the family name that a person receives by inheritance. Many people for a long time live and don’t even think about what their last name means. Thanks to the surname, you can not only determine who your great-grandfathers were, but also determine the nationality of its owner. In this article we will try to figure out what nationality this or that surname belongs to.

You can find out the origin of your surname in several ways, which are described in the article, among them you can identify the determination of origin by the endings of surnames.

Last name endings

Using certain endings, you can find out what nationality a surname belongs to:

• The British. It is very difficult to identify specific endings that indicate the English. Mostly surnames are derived from English words, indicating the place of residence: Wales, Scott, or the person’s profession: Smith - blacksmith, Cook - cook.
• Armenians. Most of Armenian surnames ends in - yang: Aleksanyan, Burinyan, Galustyan.
• Belarusians. Belarusian surnames ending in -ich, -chik, -ka, -ko: Tyshkevich, Fedorovich, Glushko, Vasilka, Gornachenok.
• Georgians. It is very easy to identify a person of Georgian nationality; their surnames end in - shvili, - dze, - a, - ua, - ni, - li, - si: Gergedava, Geriteli, Dzhugashvili.
• Jews. If the surname contains the root Levi or Cohen, then its owner belongs to Jewish nationality: Levitan, Koganovich. But you can also find surnames with endings - ich, - man, -er: Kogenman, Kaganer.
• The Spaniards and Portuguese have surnames with the endings - ez, - iz, - az, - iz, oz: Gonzalez, Gomez, Torres. There are also surnames that indicate a person’s character: Alegre - joyful, Malo - bad.
• Italians. If we talk about Italians, their surnames end in - ini, - ino, - illo, - etti, - etto, - ito: Puccini, Brocchi, Marchetti. The prefix di and da can indicate that the genus belongs to a certain territory: da Vinci.
• Germans. German surnames generally end in - man, - er and they indicate the person’s occupation (Becker - baker, Lehmann - landowner, Koch - cook) or contain some characteristic (Klein - small).
• Poles. Surnames ending in - sk; - tsk; -y indicate that a person (or his ancestors) belongs to the Polish nationality: Godlewski, Ksieszynski, Kalnitski, and their roots go back to the time of the creation of the Polish nobility (gentry).
• Russians. Surnames ending in -ov, -ev, -in, -skoy, -tskoy: Ignatov, Mikhailov, Eremin. Russian surnames in structure are patronymics, which are formed from the names: Ivan - Ivanov, Grigory - Grigoriev; but among the examples you can find surnames derived from the name of the family’s locality: White Lake - Belozersky.
• Ukrainians. The endings that indicate that a person belongs to Ukrainian nationality include: - ko, - uk/yuk, - un, -niy/ny, - tea, - ar, - a: Tereshchenko, Karpyuk, Tokar, Gonchar, Peaceful. Surnames mainly indicate the family's affiliation with a particular craft.

Onomastics

It is worth noting that the science that studies proper names and their origin is called onomastics. Its section - anthroponymy - studies the origin of human names and their forms, one of which is the surname. It touches on the history of their emergence and transformation as a result long-term use in the original language.

Nationality is an important factor in self-perception, without which it can sometimes be problematic to live. Previously, it was even displayed in passports and in all documents that directly related to a person’s identity. Now it is practically not written anywhere. Therefore, it is often difficult to understand how to determine your nationality. But it's possible. Even if there is no more information left. Of course, you can always use a DNA test - but they are not done everywhere and are very expensive. Therefore, it is better to use the obvious signs first.

How to determine your nationality?

How to determine nationality based on various criteria?

One's belonging to a particular nation can be determined by many factors.

• Here, a person’s appearance, his speech, and even the nationality of his parents can play a role.
• But the main thing is how a person understands himself.
• That is, if someone was born in Tatarstan, but realizes and behaves like a Russian, he will be Russian, and not a Tatar.

How to determine the nationality of women and men by appearance is a serious problem. Unfortunately, now the blood of the average person contains at least two or three nations - this also affects Tatar-Mongol yoke, and Great Patriotic War, and the multinationality of the country. The signs are blurry. But you can try to highlight individual parameters - the shape and position of the eyes, the shape of the body, skull and nose, the color type of skin, eyes, hair, type of hair growth, and so on. It is quite possible to find summary tables about each nation.

But the question of how to determine the nationality of a child is much more difficult. It depends on what state he is in now. For example, in Russia, nationality is determined solely by the father. As in most other countries. And only in Israel - through the mother. That is, if a child was conceived from a man of any other nationality and a Jewish woman, then he will be a Jew in Israel and have the nationality of the father in his homeland.

How to determine nationality by last name

To correctly determine your nationality by last name, you will have to partially remember the school morphology course. Because the presence of one or another morpheme in a word depends on what language it belongs to.

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 a person’s nationality and roots. 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 Russians 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).

Swedish surnames most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).

U Estonians by last name you won't be able to tell whether it's masculine 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).

Majority 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!

Share with your friends on Facebook!

Nationality is a set of character traits that have developed over centuries of history and external data that distinguish an individual from representatives of another nationality. It is noteworthy that people living in neighboring regions differ only slightly in national characteristics, while representatives of different continents differ radically. Such differences between nationalities turn into racial ones. Before determining a person’s nationality, you must know the basic characteristics in appearance by which you can distinguish representatives of different nationalities - hair and skin color, shape and shape of the nose, as well as eyes. Representatives of different nationalities also have speech differences, but they do not always allow one to determine a specific nationality, since English language Half the world speaks, not just the English.

National differences of Africans

The skin of Africans (or blacks) ranges in color from brown to black. Pure-blooded Africans will never have blue or gray eyes - only black or brown. The shape of the eyes can be either round or almond-shaped. The nose is slightly flattened, with wide nostrils. Representatives of the African continent have dark and, as a rule, curly hair, broad shoulders and long legs, they are tall.

National differences of Chechens

Both Chechens and Ingushets have light skin. Eye color - brown or black, small eyes. Dark and thick hair, eyebrows fused at the bridge of the nose - features Chechens, who also have a straight and large nose with a wide bridge. The height of representatives of this nationality is approximately average. The figure is proportional.

National differences of Georgians

Very often, belonging to a particular nationality can be determined by last name. For example, native Georgians have a surname ending in “dze”. Therefore, how to determine nationality by last name is written in the relevant literature. In addition to their surname, Georgians can be distinguished by their light skin, almond-shaped brown or black eyes, an elongated nose with a hump, and thick, pitch-black hair. The figure of representatives of this nationality is proportional; in terms of height, Georgians are usually tall people, and not only men, but also women.

National differences of Jews

Jews have light, often freckled skin, prominent and round eyes, gray or brown in color, they have a large nose with a drooping tip. As a rule, the edges of the nostrils of Jews are slightly raised upward. This nationality has either dark or red hair. If you need to identify a Jew from the male half of society, then take a closer look at his facial hair - it is often different in tone from that on his head. Jews are a short nation, so there are no tall people among them, and often men are characterized by below average height. The Jewish figure has a disproportionate structure - they have a wide pelvis and narrow shoulders.

National differences of Armenians

Before determining nationality by appearance, take a closer look at the eyes - perhaps an Armenian is standing in front of you if the person’s eyes are almond-shaped, wide-set, and brown in color. Armenians have fair skin and thick and curly hair. Especially in men, dense vegetation is observed throughout the body. Armenians have a long, hooked nose, medium to tall stature, and a proportional build.

National differences of the Chinese

In order to determine the nationality of a person, it is not necessary to see him in person, since you can determine the nationality from a photo. The Chinese nationality, the most numerous on our planet, is characterized by a small and narrow nose, slanted and wide-set eyes - they are black. The Chinese have yellowish or brownish skin color and short stature. The physique of representatives of this nationality is proportional. The hair of the Chinese is dark and coarse, straight, and there is practically no hair on the body of men.

National differences of the Tatars

Tatars have a yellowish skin tone and dark or red hair, and representatives of this nationality often begin to go bald at a young age. Their eyes are brown and narrow, as is their nose, which in profile practically does not protrude above the rest of their facial features. Therefore, the face of Tatars often appears flat. Proportional physique and average or below average height are the national differences of this nation.

We hope that this information has helped you in deciding how to determine your nationality or nationality your friend or friend.

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, Ivanovy) endings are heard. 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 characteristic of Poles and Slavic peoples who lived in East Germany. For example, one of famous poets in Poland - Mickiewicz.

But the basis of the surname can sometimes immediately suggest Jewish origin its carrier. 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. Is there some 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 an unusual root for the Russian ear, because they were formed from the Latin words: Formozov, Kastorov. By the way, clerk Ivan Velosipedov served under Ivan the Terrible. But the bicycle had not yet been invented! How can it be that 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 of 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, which 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 yet 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!