The surname is the name of the genus, it is the same for many relatives. Translated from Latin, the word "surname" means "family". Each generic name is unique, with its own unique and interesting fate. Knowing the origin of your family name means respecting the memory of your ancestors, honoring your name and family, passing on knowledge about your predecessors to your descendants. So, the article will discuss the origin of the surname Mazur, its meaning, history and representatives of the genus.
Versions of the origin of the surname
So, what does the name Mazur mean? What is its origin story?
Mazur belongs to the type of ancient Slavic family names, which are formed from personal nicknames.
In Russia until the 17th century there was a tradition to give an additional nickname to the name given at baptism. This is due to the fact that there were not so many church names, and in order to distinguish a person from other carriersof the same name, he was given an additional nickname: according to his occupation, according to his character traits, according to his appearance, according to the area in which the family lived. So the nicknames appeared: Blacksmith, Gray-haired, Snub-nosed, Murom and so on. Nicknames were attached to the names, for example, Ilya Muromets, but they were soon forced out both from everyday life and from documents.
According to one version of the origin of the surname Mazur, it is formed from the nickname of a person - Mazur. So in ancient times they called the "Poles", who were originally from Masuria (currently the Polish region is called Mazowsze).
It is quite likely that the origin of the surname Mazur is connected with the dialect words: “mazurin”, “mazur”, “mazurik”, which were used in the meaning of “swindler, rogue, pickpocket”. It can be assumed that the nickname Mazur was given to a person with unbridled imagination and ingenuity, thanks to which he achieved his goals.
According to another hypothesis, the origin of the surname Mazur is associated with the verb "to smear". Perhaps the surname refers to the name of the profession. That is, it was associated with the name of the activity of the ancestor. This version is confirmed by the fact that in some dialects plasterers are called Masurians, who coated the huts with lime and clay.
Tribe Masurians
The most interesting version of the origin of the surname Mazur says that this generic name was formed from the name of a person from Masuria.
As mentioned above, in ancient times, people from Poland were called Masurians. This istribes of the Slavs, who from time immemorial lived in the north-eastern part of the said country. In the 13th century, Masuria was captured by the Teutonic Order crusaders from East Prussia.
Masurians were brutally oppressed by the invaders and were forced to move from their native lands. So they ended up in Ancient Russia, where they settled in the territory that currently belongs to Ukraine and Belarus. During the time of the Commonwe alth in Ukraine, all Poles who lived in the region were called Masurians. Most likely, the family name Mazur comes from the nickname given to a person by his nationality. The surname Mazur is currently widespread in Ukraine, in Belarus.
An interesting fact is that the word "mazur" in the old Polish language meant "knight", that is, a person who was knighted by the king.
Family suffix
The surname Mazur is formed from the nickname of a person. Worldly names were banned by the church only in the 17th century, but despite this, they were still used among people and were found in documents as official names. And there is nothing surprising in the fact that the family names of descendants were often formed not from a baptismal name, but from a nickname more familiar to people.
In each region, generic names were formed according to local customs and traditions. Ancient East Slavic surnames were formed, as a rule, without a suffix, that is, without adding typical for Russia -ev, –ov and -in.
Ancient origin of the surname
The process of forming family names was quite long. Therefore, it is currently quite difficult to talk about the exact time and region of the origin of the Mazur surname. But since this nickname was fixed as a generic name, and it was formed without a suffix, it can be assumed that it has an ancient origin.
Representatives of the Mazur clan
The ancient history of the surname Mazur is evidenced by the fact that it is mentioned in ancient documents. For example, in the census of the troops of the Principality of Lithuania, which united the lands of Western and Southern Russia, the gentry Stanislav Mazur and his brother Voitko are mentioned, the document dates back to 1528.
The clan of nobles with such a surname was known far before the beginning of the 20th century, they owned plots of land in Podolia.
Representatives of the Mazurs were among the Cossacks. For example, in the Register of the Zaporizhian Army, which was compiled in 1756, six Cossacks are mentioned who bear this generic name: Vasyl, Stepan, Martyn, Dmitro, Ivan and Andrey.
Without a surname it is impossible to imagine our life. But not everyone thinks about how their family name was formed, what is its history and fate. Meanwhile, this is an important knowledge that every person needs for the development and formation of him as a person.
