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

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

Today, many people have become interested in the history of the origin of surnames, both their own and those of others. Indeed, the generic name of a person can tell a lot about his ancestors. Surnames were given in connection with the occupation, profession, region of residence, nicknames, first names, customs, traditions, and the character of our distant ancestors. There are generic names that reflect the appearance or circumstances of the birth of the ancestor. The study of the history of the origin of the generic name opens up the forgotten pages of the culture and life of our ancestors and is able to tell a lot of interesting things about the distant past of the family. The article will tell about the origin and meaning of the surname Gavrilov, about the fate of the family name and interesting facts associated with it.

Origin of generic name

The origin of the surname Gavrilov is connected with the everyday form of the baptismal name. It belongs to a common and ancient type of generichereditary naming conventions.

With the adoption of Christianity in Russia, a religious tradition developed, which obligated to name the baby in honor of the saint on whose day he was born or baptized. All baptismal names are borrowed from ancient languages - Greek, Latin, Hebrew. They were unaccustomed to hearing and incomprehensible in meaning, so many of them were transformed and "Russified" thanks to live speech and in everyday speech acquired many diminutive forms.

The origin of the surname Gavrilov is connected with the church name Gabriel, which is translated from Hebrew as "divine warrior". This name became very popular in Russia, it was transformed into the common form of Gavril, from which many diminutive forms were formed: Gavrya, Gavryusha, Gavrik, Gavrilka, Ganl, Gavsha. They gave rise to the origin of the surnames: Gavrilovskiy, Gaveshin, Gavrilikhipov, Gavrenev, Gavrilin, Ganin, Ganyushkin, Ganikhin, Gavshikov, Gavrikov, Gavrishev, Gavrilichev, Gavutin, Ganichev, Gavrishchev, Gashkov.

Religious basis

The surname Gavrilov is based on the church name Gabriel, it refers to the Jewish name Gabriel. In the Christian religion, the archangel Gabriel is the messenger of God who brought the Virgin Mary the good news that Christ would soon be born to her. In Islam, Jibrail (Gabriel) is one of the highest angels who told Muhammad about the Koran.

The history of the formation of the surname

Familiar to us model of surnamesdid not take shape right away. By about the 17th century, most surnames were formed by adding family suffixes (-ov, -ev, -in) to the nickname or name of the father. In origin, these generic names were, in fact, possessive adjectives. So, the descendants of Gavrila could receive the hereditary generic name Gavrilova.

Toponymic version of the origin of the generic name

According to another version, the origin of the surname Gavrilov is associated with toponyms of cities, rivers, villages and villages. Such generic names were originally nicknames that indicated the area where the person was from, about the places where he lived or served.

In the Moscow region there is the village of Gavrilov Khutor, in the Ivanovo region there is the city of Gavrilov Posad. Those who moved from these places could be recorded in the official documentation as Gavrilovs.

A few more versions of the origin of the family name

So, the origin of the name Gavrilov is connected with the name Gavriil. But other interpretations are also possible. For example, on the Don, “Gavrik” was called “cunning” and “boy”. In the Oryol region, "Gavrik" is "a simpleton, a simpleton, a simpleton." The Kuryans in the dialect have the verbs "gavrat" or "gavrit", which means "do it somehow", and in the northern dialects "gavrit" means "dirty". In the south of Russia, the verb "shame" means "to shame" or "to shame". It is possible that the family name originated from one of these forms.

Gavrilov noble family

In the Russian Empire, a noble family was knownGavrilov, who descended from the Life Campanian Gavrilov Ipat, who served in the 18th century in the grenadier company of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment.

There was another noble family - the Gavrenevs, whose ancestor was Gavrenev Ivan, he was a steward under the Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich. His son Pavel founded the Intercession Monastery on the Volga near the city of Uglich. He died in 1504 and was canonized as a saint. The line died out in the 18th century.

Instead of a conclusion

This surname comes from the nickname, name or place of residence of the person whose descendants became the Gavrilovs. The history of the Gavrilov surname is quite ancient, in significant retrospective charters, the bearers of the family name were rich and noble people from the Vladimir bourgeoisie of the 17th century. They had royal privilege. The first mention of the family name of the Gavrilovs is found in the census of the population of Russia during the time of Ivan the Terrible. The great sovereign had a special register of euphonious, beautiful noble families, which were given to those close to him for special merits as an encouragement. That is why this generic ancestral name has retained its initial meaning and is exclusive.