Few of us thought about the origin of our family name. We remember it from early childhood and treat it as a given. The word "surname" is borrowed from the Latin language. In ancient Rome, this word was called the slaves who belonged to the slave owner-owner. This term acquired a completely different meaning during the Middle Ages in Europe, it began to be understood as a family.
The same meaning of the word existed in Russia, however, by the 19th century in the Russian language, the term acquired a different interpretation - this is a hereditary naming of the genus, added to a proper name. Now it’s hard to imagine, but until the middle of the 19th century, a family name was the privilege of only nobles and aristocrats. For most of our ancestors, in addition to names, only patronymics and nicknames were used. The article will reveal the secrets of the origin of the Shevtsov surname.
Origin of family name
The origin of the Shevtsov surname originates from a personal nicknamedistant ancestor. It belongs to the ancient type of Russian family names.
The Slavs from ancient times had a tradition in addition to the main name (church) to give a nickname. The reason for the double name was that there were not so many baptismal names recorded in the Saints. They were often repeated, and in order to identify a person, a nickname or father's name was attached to the main name. The fantasy of our ancestors was inexhaustible, therefore it was the nicknames that made it possible to single out a person in society. For this, character traits, appearance traits, the nationality of a person or the name of the area where he came from were used.
The origin of the name Shevtsov is associated with a nickname that refers to the name of a profession or occupation. "Shvets" or "Shevets" was called a shoemaker or tailor. A lot of sayings and proverbs were composed about the people of this profession among the people, for example: “No matter what Danilo sews, it’s rotten” - this is how they said about a bad tailor.
Surnames were originally given to rich and noble people, approximately in Russia this happened in the 15-16 centuries. The rest of the population remained without family names for a long time. Around the 17th century, priests were required to keep records of births, deaths, and marriages. These were original censuses.
After the abolition of serfdom, it was necessary to give surnames to all former serfs. In 1888, the Decree of the Senate was published, in which all people were obliged toget surnames. Historical documents mention the probable ancestor of this family name - Shvetsov Ilya Klementievich, 16th century Ryazan.
Topographic version of the origin of the surname Shevtsov
Perhaps some owners of this generic name received it at the place of birth or residence. For example, in the Vologda region there is the village of Shevtsovo, the same villages are found in the Novgorod, Ryazan, Tver regions.
Several more versions of the origin of the surname
What does the name Shevtsov mean? "Shvets" or "Shevets" in ancient times was called a tailor. In the Tver and Pskov dialects, a shoemaker was called a “shvets”. It should be noted that the shoemaker was also called in Ukraine. In addition, a young black cockroach was called "Swede".
In the Kostroma region, swede was called swede. The name "seamstress" was also common - a seamstress, and "Shveikin" was called the son of a seamstress. Most likely, the surname Shevtsov and its derivatives could have been formed from these dialects.
Surname Shevtsov: nationality
The surname is 50% Russian, 10% Belarusian, 5% Ukrainian. This family name is formed from a nickname, occupation or place of residence of a person. The surname is not very common. The geography of the carriers of this generic name: Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan.
Instead of a conclusion
The origin of the name Shevtsov is associated with the nickname "Shevts", which meant a tailor or shoemaker. SoThus, the person who received this nickname could sew clothes or shoes. He received a nickname, which was then assigned to the clan and took shape in the form of a hereditary family name.
The exact time and place of origin of the surname is not known, since its official formation was long, it lasted more than one century. It is only known for certain that it is formed from the nickname of a person and belongs to the ancient type of family names.
