The word "surname" in the Roman Empire meant "a community of people, which consisted of a master and his slaves." This term acquired a different meaning in the Middle Ages, people began to understand the word “family” under the term “surname”. The same understanding of this term existed originally in Russia. And only in the 19th century in the Russian language did it acquire a meaning that is official today: “this is a hereditary family name that is added to a personal name.” After the concept of this term was established, many people became interested in the origin of their surnames. Some out of idle curiosity, others to find out the history of their ancestors. Our article today will discuss the name Danilov, the origin, meaning and history.
Origin of the surname
The family name Danilov is derived from a personal name and belongs to the typical form of Russian surnames. That is, the origin of the Danilov surname is associated with the person's own name Danil, whichderived from the canonical Daniel. In Russia, they believed that if you name a child in honor of a great martyr or biblical hero, then his life will be bright and beautiful, since there is a strong connection between the name and human destiny.
In addition, the Slavs often added patronymics to the personal name of the baby, thereby denoting his belonging to a particular genus. This tradition is connected with the fact that there were few church names and, in order to distinguish their baby, the parents gave him patronymics. But in the future, it was it that became the surname of the descendants.
The basis of the family name was the church name Daniel. From the Hebrew meaning of the name Danilov - "God is my judge." It should be noted that the name Daniel was very popular in ancient times, not only among the Slavs, but also among many European peoples, where it was modified and sounds like "Daniel".
History of the generic name
The origin of the surname Danilov is connected with the church name Daniel. Orthodoxy honors the memory of St. Prince Daniel of Moscow (son of Alexander Nevsky, the first specific Moscow prince, the ancestor of the Rurik dynasty).
The church name Daniel was common among the population, and different strata. And if the children were asked: “Whose son will you be?”, They answered: “Danilov”. This is where the name Danilov comes from. It should be noted that baptismal names first began to appear among the noble strata of the population, therefore, the surname Danilov appeared initially among representatives of the highestestates.
For example, in the pre-Petrine era there was an ancient boyar family of the Danilovs, they are attributed to the Smolensk branch of the Rurikovich.
But the most ancient branch of the Danilovs goes back to Idris, who came from Chernigov with two sons and a retinue. It was his descendant Danilo Durnovo who became the founders of the ancient family.
Prophet Daniel
The popularity of this name is associated with the biblical legendary prophet Daniel. He had the gift of interpreting and understanding dreams, which made him famous after the fall of Babylon at the court of Cyrus and Darius.
According to the Biblical tradition, Daniel and other Jews did not abandon the faith of their fathers, for which they were oppressed, but always miraculously escaped from mortal danger. The prophet himself was thrown into the lions' pit several times, but both times he was saved. During the reign of Cyrus, he encouraged him to free the Jews from Babylonian slavery and restore the Jerusalem Temple. Scientists believe that Daniel lived to be 90 years old and was buried in the city of Susa in a nominal tomb.
Several more versions of the origin of the name Danilov
The history of the formation of a surname may depend not only on the owner of the name Daniel. Often, the inhabitants of Russia took the names of the places where they lived or were born as the basis of their generic names. In different districts, provinces and regions there were villages with the name Danilovo, and their inhabitants could well become Danilovs.
After the abolition of serfdom, all peasants had to acquiresurnames and patronymics. And some of them took the names of their former landowners. One of the versions of the origin of the Danilov surname may be connected with this tradition.
To restore the history of the clan, you need to have information about previous generations.
In our time it is difficult to establish the exact place and time of the origin of the surname. The formation of hereditary names was a long process that began in our country around the 16th century and ended only at the beginning of the 20th century.
