Where did the Russian surnames come from?

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We all carry surnames that we received from our parents, and those in turn from our own. But after all, once there lived a man who was the first to bear the name that now belongs to you. How did he get it? What does she mean? This is difficult to judge.





How to determine the Russian surname?

The vast majority of Russian surnames in Russia and neighboring countries, about 60-70 percent, have the suffixes “-in” and “-yn”. They are followed by surnames ending in “-s”, “-ev” and “-ev”.

But the presence of the suffix "s" does not mean that the surname is Russian. For example, Masov or Badrov may be Germans, and Hasanov or Talibov may be Azerbaijanis.

On the other hand, Russians may have surnames ending in "-i", "-s", "-sky", "-skiy", etc.

Statistics show that the following surnames are most often found (in descending order):

  • Smirnov;
  • Ivanov
  • Kuznetsov;
  • Sokolov;
  • Popov.

As we see, this is not "Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov."

Where did the surname come from?

First, the Russian people had middle names, and much later - last names. Although the first Russian surnames arose in the XIII century, the entire population of Russia began to wear them only by the end of the XIX century. And that’s not all. National suburbs completed this process only by the 30s of the last century.

And the first surnames arose from patronymics. If the father was called Peter, then the son Ivan became Petrov. But his son Yegor already bore the name Ivanov. And only later all descendants began to bear a single surname.

But not all of them occurred on behalf of the father. Some were given depending on his profession, nickname, external signs. The son of a blacksmith became Kuznetsov. If he was a hunchback, then the son was given the name Gorbatov. Nobles could get a surname from the name of the estate they owned. Clergy - from the names of the parishes where they served.

But no matter what name you carry, you can make it famous thanks to your actions. Everyone knows the names of Lomonosov, Suvorov, Zhukov, Mendeleev, Tchaikovsky, Turgenev, Lermontov. Their descendants proudly bear such names, trying to be worthy of their ancestors. Others do not have such eminent ancestors, but became famous thanks to their talents and hard work. And others just honestly lived their lives, having earned the love and respect of children and grandchildren.

Our surnames give us strength, because behind them are our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers. They help keep a memory of them. They do not allow to commit acts that can denigrate not only the person who committed them, but also his ancestors and descendants.

Therefore, you need to carry your name as a memory of worthy ancestors. And if you live with dignity, your descendants will gratefully accept your name in their lives.