Until the end of the 15th century, it was not customary to use surnames in Russia. The first owners of surnames were people of noble origin - princes and boyars, a little later - nobles. Peasants, on the other hand, received the right to have their own surname only in the 19th century, after the abolition of serfdom. The word "surname" itself comes from the Latin word familia, which means "family". It is customary to designate with this word not only the family, but the whole clan. A surname is given to a person at birth.
Where did the surname Stepanov come from?
The mechanism for the emergence of surnames was as follows:
- at baptism, all Slavs received names from the clergyman;
- the surname had to be something unique for the whole family;
- sometimes baptismal names were taken for her education, which underlies the origin of the surnames Stepanov, Ivanov, Petrov (from the names Stepan, Ivan and Peter, respectively);
- often used some distinctive features of a person or the whole family;
- it happened that the name of the territory on whichthis family lived at that moment.
Of course, you can learn a lot about the history of the family from the surname. The origin of the Stepanov surname is rooted deep in the history of Russia and occupies an important place in the rich Russian history. The bearers of this surname took an active part in the formation of the Russian Federation, which is captured in many documents of great historical value.
Origin and meaning of the surname Stepanov
In the second half of the 16th century, surnames of Russian origin were formed mainly using the suffixes -ev, -ov and –in. This feature explains the origin of the name Stepanov. Later, representatives of other nationalities living on the territory of the Russian Empire began to use this method of education.
Someone could assume that this surname originates from the word "steppe", but this is a false judgment. In fact, it comes from the name given at baptism - Stepan. In part, the origin of the Stepanov surname is due to the peculiarities of the Russian language in Ancient Russia. The sound "f" at that time was not typical for pronunciation. Thus, the Holy Apostle Stephen became Stepan in Russia. The history of the name Stefan originates in Greek from "stephane" and in Russian means "wreath". The Apostle Stephen was the first archdeacon who, in his speech at the Sanhedrin, accused the priests of killing Christ. Stefan suffered from a raging mob that threw stones at him. So the Apostle Stephen became the first martyr.
The prevalence of the surname Stepanov
There were also nobles among the representatives of the Stepanov family. The Stepanovs' ancient coat of arms is a shield divided in two. Part of the shield is silver, part is red. In the center of the shield is a lion, which stood on its hind legs, and in the front holds two stripes. Above the lion are three more parallel stripes of blue. The shield is decorated with ostrich feathers, as well as a noble helmet and crown.
The founders and most famous representatives of the Stepanovs among the nobles:
- court counselor and mayor of Kozelsk, Prime Major Pyotr Semyonovich Stepanov, who lived at the end of the 18th century;
- Alexander Petrovich Stepanov, writer and governor of the Yenisei and Saratov provinces, who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The name Stepan is the basis for more than a dozen surnames
Thanks to the numerous diminutive forms (Stenya, Stets, Stepasha, Stesha, Stepa, etc.) of the name Stepan, many surnames owe their origin, and not just one. Stenin, Stepurin, Stepanenko, Stepanyuk, Stepanischev, Stepuk - all come from the name Stepan, in its various variations and with various suffixes characteristic of the formation of surnames in a certain territory (for example, Eastern and Western Ukraine). It is not surprising that the surname Stepanov, whose history is multifaceted and amazing, is the fifteenth most popular surname in Russia.
