The most common Belarusian surnames: list, origin

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

The origin of proper names has always occupied humanity. Each of us involuntarily thought about the history of our family tree and the meaning of the surname. Even a superficial historical and linguistic research in this area can lead to unexpected results. So, for example, the surname Khazanov can turn into Khazanovich, Khazanovsky or Khazanovuch by virtue of the location of a person. Depending on the ending, the nationality of the individual is judged, but this is not always an indicator. Khazanovich can be Russian, Belarusian, or Jewish.

To understand who is who in reality, anthroponymy will help - a science that collects and studies the origin of proper names. It helps to understand their belonging to a certain region, where and for what reasons they appeared. Belarusian surnames and their origin are very confusing, since the lands of Belarus at all times were influenced by invasions of Poles, Russians, Tatars and Lithuanians.

The period of the appearance of the first surnames on the lands of Belarus

BelarusianSurnames can contain a variety of roots and endings. Anthroponymic analysis shows that the culture of the country was greatly influenced by many individual states. They occupied the lands and established orders according to their ideas. One of the most significant influences is the power of the Principality of Lithuania. It made changes not only to the development of the language of Belarusians, but also began to call noble estates by their generic name.

Surnames began to appear in the late 14th - early 15th century, their carriers were mostly boyars, people of high ranks. The name of the genus was influenced by the culture and language of other states. A great many roots and endings depend on the time period and the peoples ruling the Belarusian lands during this period.

Surnames of peasants and gentry

With the family names of noble families, the situation was more or less stable and understandable. These included the most ancient and well-known Gromyko, Tyshkevich, Iodko or Khodkevich. Basically, the ending -vich / -ich was added to the base of the name, which indicated the noble and ancient origin of the family. The gentry class did not differ in constancy in the name of the house. The surname was taken by the name of the father or grandfather, for example, Bartosh Fedorovich or Olekhnovich. An interesting fact was the transfer of the names of estates and estates to the family estate. The peasants also received their hereditary names after the owners. For example, the surname Belyavsky arose due to the name of the estate. And the owners-boyars and peasants were called the same - Belyavsky. It could also happen that a family of serfs hadseveral titles. During this period, their surnames were of a rolling nature.

18-19 century

At this time, the areas and differences in the names of both peasants and the noble class began to appear. More than half of the population had surnames ending in -ovich / -evich / -ich, for example, Petrovich, Sergeich, Mokhovich. The regions of these generic names were the central and western parts of the Belarusian lands. It was during this period of time that common proper names were formed, they are also considered the most ancient. For example, the surname Ivashkevich refers to the 18-19 centuries in its origin.

The name can have deep roots and have a direct connection with the nobility. Alexandrovich - a surname that tells not only about belonging to a noble family, but also the name of the father of the house - Alexander, the generic name refers to the 15th century.

Such interesting hereditary names as Burak or Nose have peasant roots. Unusual surnames were not subjected to assimilation and addition of endings adopted during this period.

Russian influence

Russian surnames, usually ending in -ov, began to be worn by Belarusians due to the Russian invasion of the eastern lands of Belarus. A typically Moscow ending was added to the basics of names. So there were Ivanov, Kozlov, Novikov. Also, endings in -o were added, which is more typical for Ukrainians than Russians. For example, the wonderful surname Goncharenok turned into Goncharenko. The trend of similar changes in the naming of generatypical only for regions where Russian influence was observed - the east of the country.

Interesting and beautiful surnames of Belarus

From the depths of centuries came the most interesting and unforgettable surnames of Belarusians that have not undergone changes and assimilation. Their origin is due to the rich imagination of the peasants. Very often, people named their genus in honor of weather phenomena, animals, insects, months of the year and human characteristics. The well-known surname Frost appeared just like that. The Nose, Windmill, March or Beetle can be attributed to the same category. These are typical Belarusian surnames, but they are quite rare.

Male names

It was interesting to designate a clan in the Belarusian lands, the basis of which were male surnames. By the name of the clan, it was possible to understand who is the father and who is the son. If it was a son, the ending –enok/-ik/-chik/-uk/-yuk was added to his name. In other words, for example, surnames beginning with “ik” indicate that a person is the son of a noble family. These include Mironchik, Ivanchik, Vasilyuk, Aleksyuk. This is how purely male surnames appeared, indicating belonging to a certain clan.

If a simple family simply wanted to designate a child as the son of their father, then the ending -enya was used. For example, Vaselenia is the son of Vasil. Common surnames of this etymology date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. They began to appear a little later than the famous Radzevich, Smolenich or Tashkevich, dating back to the 14th-15th centuries.

The most common hereditary names

Belarusian surnames differ from the general mass by the endings "vich", "ich", "ichi" and "ovich". These anthroponyms indicate ancient roots and primordially Belarusian origin, denoting the pedigree.

• Smolich - Smolich - Smolich.
• Yashkevich - Yashkevichi - Yashkovich.
• Zhdanovich - Zhdanovichi.
• Stojanovic - Stojanovici.
• Surname Petrovich - Petrovichi.

This is an example of well-known Belarusian generic names, the origin of which dates back to the early 15th century. Their consolidation took place already in the 18th century. The official recognition of these designations dates back to the end of the 19th century.

The second layer of names in terms of popularity and prevalence refers to surnames with the endings "ik", "chik", "uk", "yuk", "enok". These include:

• Artyamenok (everywhere).
• Yazepchik (everywhere).
• Mironchik (everywhere).
• Mikhalyuk (west of Belarus).

These surnames often indicate that a person belongs to a noble or gentry family.

Russified and unusual surnames

The third layer of common surnames implies the endings "ov", "o". Most of them are located in the eastern part of the country. They are very similar to Russian surnames, but more often they have a Belarusian root and stem. For example, Panov, Kozlov, Popov - these can be both Belarusians and Russians.

Surnames beginning with "in" also refer to the eastern part of the country and have a Russian echo. Muslims were attributed "in" to the basis of the name. So Khabibul became Khabibulin. This part of the country was heavily assimilated under Russian influence.

No less common are surnames derived from the names of villages, estates, animals, holidays, plants, months of the year. These include such beautiful and interesting surnames as:

• Kupala;
• Kalyada;
• Titmouse;
• Beetle;
• Tambourine;
• March;
• Pear.

Also have a significant distribution of surnames that describe the main distinguishing feature of a person and his entire family. For example, lazy people will be called Lyanutska, absent-minded and forgetful - Zabudzka.

Current stereotypes and misunderstandings

Belarusian surnames, the list of which is diverse and rich in origin, are often confused with Jewish, Lithuanian and even Latvian ones. Many are sure that, for example, the surname Abramovich is purely Jewish. But this is not entirely true. At the time of the formation of anthroponyms on Belarusian lands, people bearing the names Abram or Khazan were added the ending -ovich or -ovichi. So Abramovichi and Khazanovichi came out. Often the root of the names was German or Jewish in nature. Assimilation took place in the early 14-15 centuries and became the basis of the family heritage of Belarus.

Another misconception is that surnames with –vich come from Lithuanian or Polish roots. If we compare the anthroponyms of Latvia, Poland and Belarus, then it is impossible to find a similarity between them. There are no Senkeviches or Zhdanoviches either in Latvia or in Poland. These surnames are originally Belarusian. Lithuanian principality and othersstates undoubtedly influenced the formation of generic names, but did not introduce their own, original names. It can also be said that many common surnames of Belarusians are very similar to Jewish ones.

The origin of surnames on Belarusian soil has been formed over several centuries. It was an interesting and lively linguistic process. Now generic names have become a reflection of the rich and diverse history of Belarus. The multi-layered culture of the country, the development and formation of which was influenced by the Poles, Lithuanians, Tatars, Jews and Russians, can be clearly traced by the names of people. The final and official adoption of proper names on the territory of Belarus occurred only in the middle of the 19th century.