The ancient type of Slavic generic names was formed from the full form of the baptismal church name of the ancestor. Most of the Russian surnames originated from baptismal names, which were contained in the church calendar - the holy calendar. According to Christian tradition, the child was named after a saint revered by the church on the birthday or baptism of the baby. Christianity came to Russia from Byzantium, which borrowed religion from Rome, and it penetrated into the Roman state from the Middle East. For this reason, most of the baptismal names were borrowed by the Slavs from ancient languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek. Studying the history of a name is an exciting and challenging activity that allows you to learn a lot of interesting things about the culture, life and traditions of our distant predecessors. The article will discuss the history, origin and meaning of the surname Anisimov.
History of the formation of a generic name
The name Anisim is a form of the baptismal name Onesimus, which in translationfrom the ancient Greek language means "beneficial, useful." Thanks to the dialect, the letter "o" was eventually replaced by "a".
The name Onesimus was given to babies in honor of the saints whose name days are celebrated by the church on February 15, September 28, May 10, January 4.
It is generally accepted that the origin of the surname Anisimov is associated with the name Onesimus or Anisim, there are also known derivative names that were no less popular in ancient times: Onesiphorus, Anisior, Onesimus.
Patron saints of the generic name
The holy protector of the generic name is the Apostle Onesimus, who was a slave. Guilty before his master, he was afraid of punishment and fled to Rome, where he met by chance with the Apostle Paul and converted to Christianity. After baptism, he went to his master with a request to forgive him, and received not only forgiveness, but also freedom. He returned to Rome and unquestioningly carried out all the instructions of Paul.
The ancestor of the Anisimovs, most likely, could have received a name in honor of the Holy Great Martyr Anisya, who lived in Thessalonica during the reign of Emperor Maximilian.
It was believed that surnames that were formed from baptismal names received protection from a guardian angel, so this was the most popular and common type of formation of generic names.
What does the name Anisimov mean?
In ancient times, the name Anisim was quite common. This is evidenced by the Russian surnames Anisimov and Onisimov formed from him.
About the 19th century namebecame rare, eventually fell into disuse altogether.
The surname Anisimov consists of a root (has a lexical meaning) and a suffix -ov, which indicates Russian origin.
The emergence of family names on the territory of the Russian state
In Russia, around the 15th-17th centuries, surnames began to appear in aristocratic circles and estates. They reinforced the right of descendants to inherit property. Among these family names was the surname Anisimov, formed on the basis of the baptismal name.
The Anisimov families at the end of the 17th century owned estates and serfs.
Among the people of the lower classes in those days, nicknames and worldly names were used, they, as a rule, did not acquire generic names.
Family name prevalence
After a while, the Anisimovs were not only nobles, but also peasants, and Cossacks, soldiers and employees. To restore the history of a specific generic name, it is necessary to have accurate information about the ancestor, to know what he did, where he lived, what lifestyle he led.
It is likely that the origin of the surname Anisimov can be associated not only with the name of a person, but also with a geographical object orthe place where he was from. For example, on the territory of our country there are many settlements with the name Anisimovka, Anisimovo, and people from these places could name themselves in memory of their small homeland.
The origin of the surname Anisimov can be connected with the Jewish roots of the ancestor. For this people, the meaning of the surname is associated with the ancient male name Nissim, which translates as “miracles, wonderful.”
But the most unusual version of the origin of the surname Anisimov is associated with the name of the apple variety - "anisovka". It is believed that the progenitor grew them in his garden, so he was nicknamed after this wonderful fruit.
