The origin of the surname Gordeev: history, versions, meaning

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

It is difficult to imagine a modern cultural society without surnames. They indicate a person's belonging to a certain genus, provide an opportunity to join the roots of their family.

Now many people seek to know the meaning of their surname, its history and meaning. Since most family names were formed from personal names, it is easy to guess their meaning: Mikhailov, Pavlov, Borisov, Ivanov. In ancient times, when there were no surnames, they were replaced by nicknames, from which such generic names were subsequently formed: Krivoshchekin, Menshikov, Novikov. To find out their meaning, you should find out what nickname they are formed from and what it meant.

A number of generic names were formed from professions, the place of residence or birth of a person, the names of animals, plants or birds, from personal characteristics or appearance of a person.

Having understood the structure of the generic name and highlighting the root, which usually indicates the source and type of education, you can learn a lot about the interpretation and meaning of the surname, about life, culture, character or professionour ancestors. The article will reveal the secrets of the history of the Gordeev family.

The emergence of a generic name

The origin of the surname Gordeev is connected with the church baptismal name Gordy. Our ancestors often added the name of his father to the name of a newborn child, thus denoting his belonging to a certain genus. The colloquial form of the church Gordius is the name Gordey, it is borrowed from the Greek language and means "majestic".

In the 16th and 17th centuries, among the rich and prosperous people, generic hereditary names began to appear, which indicated belonging to a particular genus. These were possessive adjectives indicating the name of the ancestor. So, the descendants of a man named Gordius, after a while received the surname Gordeev. However, the exact time of origin of the Gordeev surname is not known, as is the original place of its appearance.

Historical documents record: Alexander Vasilievich Gordeev (1904 - Tula region), Gordeev Fedorovich Tretyak (1544 - landowner) and many others.

Legend

An ancient legend is connected with the name of Gordey: the priests of the temple of Zeus predicted that the first one to enter their city would become an outstanding ruler. On his cart, the peasant Gordius was the first to enter the city. He was chosen Phrygian ruler. In memory of this event, he presented the temple with a cart, on which he arrived in this glorious city. He tied her to the altar with a very complicated knot that no one could unravel. The priests predicted that whoever manages to unravel"Gordian knot", the whole world will submit.

But the capital of Phrygia was conquered by Alexander the Great. He entered the temple, took a closer look at the famous knot, drew his sword and cut it. The priests immediately predicted: "He will conquer the world with the sword."

After a while, the expressions “Gordian knot” appeared among the people, which means “a very complex, incomprehensible and confusing matter or an intractable, difficult question”, and “cut the Gordian knot” - which means “decisively and boldly solve a difficult task”.

Noble family

In the history of the Russian state, two ancient noble families of the Gordeevs are known. One of them dates back to Gordeev Lavrentiy, who owned estates in the 17th century in Derevskaya Pyatina. The descendants of his grandson, Emelyan Gordeev, are recorded in the 6th part of the genealogical books of the Tula, Tver and Moscow provinces.

The second noble family is recorded in the 6th part of the genealogy book of the Novgorod province. The ancestor of the surname is Gordeev Luka.

Famous people named Gordey

Famous name holders are:

• Holy Martyr Gordius - during the mass persecution of Christians, he declared himself an adherent of the faith and after terrible torments was killed, this happened in the 3rd century.
• Gordius - a former peasant, thanks to the predictions of the oracles, became the king of Phrygia. It was thanks to him and his knot that the popular expression "Gordian knot" appeared.
• Sablukov Gordy - Russian orientalist, author of the first translation of the Koran from Arabiclanguage into Russian.
• Levchenko Gordy - admiral, military leader, During the Great Patriotic War he commanded naval bases in Kronstadt, Leningrad, in the Crimea.
• Tortsov Gordey - a character in Ostrovsky's comedy A. N. “Poverty is not a vice.”

Famous people with the surname Gordeev

The surname Gordeev is not common, but it is quite eminent. Here, for example, are our famous contemporaries, the owners of the family name Gordeev:

• Alexey Gordeev is the governor of the Voronezh region of the Russian Federation.
• Gavriil Gordeev is a member of the Comedy Club.
• Dmitry Gordeev is an artist.
• Tamara Gordeeva - Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov.
• Sergey Gordeev is a Russian entrepreneur.
• Andrey Gordeev is a Russian football player and coach.
• Ekaterina Gordeeva - figure skater, two-time champion in pair skating.
• Fyodor Gordeev - professor of sculpture, sculptor.
• Vladimir Gordeev is a hero of the USSR.
• Vyacheslav Gordeev - People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of International Ballet Competitions.
• Alexey Gordeev - journalist, religious scholar.

Instead of a conclusion

There are several versions of the origin of the name Gordeev. The most common is the one according to which the family name is formed from the baptismal male name Gordius, or rather, from its diminutive form - Gordey.

It is quite possible that the origin of the surname Gordeev is connected withadjective "proud", which was the basis of the nickname, and eventually the basis of the surname.

In addition, the emergence of a family name may be associated with the word "proud", as the Kury people called a swindler and a thief.

In our time it is difficult to say where and when this surname first arose, since the process of forming generic names was long and problematic. But with accuracy it can be argued that this generic name is ancient, it was formed from a proper name or a nickname of a person whose descendants became owners of the surname Gordeev.