Greece is located in the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, on the islands of the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. About 95 percent of the population of this beautiful country consists of Greeks. Of course, representatives of this nation also live in other countries, but they tend to settle in small and compact groups. All of them are united by an individual name and patronymic and Greek surnames, which are the collective heritage of each family.
The descendants of the Hellenes were widely known for their high political activity and rich cultural heritage. According to many people, Greek surnames are the most beautiful in the world. They were formed according to their own characteristic rules. Very often, the basis of the generic nickname was the name of the grandfather or father. Along with the surname, the inhabitants of Hellas actively used the patronymic. Therefore, now the full Greek name consists of the first name, patronymic and last name.
How did the Greeklast names
In some cases, the names of the Greeks were formed taking into account the profession of a person. Greece has long been famous for its craftsmen in various fields. And those people whose skill in their chosen profession was outstanding, wore nicknames indicating the type of their activity.
Sometimes the surname indicated the area in which its bearer was born. But it is possible to determine the geographical affiliation of a person by other signs. In different regions of the country, Greek surnames have different endings. For example, the generic names of the inhabitants of the island of Crete and people from this area end in -a kis or -idis. In other regions of Greece, endings such as - atos, - pulos, -udis, and so on are more often used.
Female surnames
In most cases, female Greek surnames coincide with male ones in the genitive case. Also in Greece, it is customary to stress differently depending on who owns the surname: a woman or a man.
When getting married, Greek women can choose the surname of their spouse or leave the family name of the father. But this opportunity to choose is only for the fair sex, who grew up in an urban area. For rural women, the situation is somewhat different. Here her social subordination to the man is more pronounced. In the village, a woman's surname consists of her given name, her husband's first name, and his ancestral name.
Most Greek citizens have surnames similar to male variants, but with differentendings: -y, -a or -i. For example, if a man's surname is Zarobalas, then in the female version it will sound like Zorbala, Ioannidis - Ioannidi, and so on.
Greek male surnames
Every citizen of the country retains his individual name, received at baptism, throughout his life. Greek surnames for men are almost always inherited from the father. Many of them appeared from personal names, which were transformed with the help of a suffix and a case ending. For example, the name Nikola became the basis for the nickname Nikolaos, that is, "son of Nikola" in literal translation from Greek.
