Armenian surnames. How did Armenian surnames appear?

The Armenians are a very ancient people whose fate has befallen many misfortunes. The numerous vicissitudes that accompanied them led to a significant dispersion of the ethnic group. As a result, there are Armenian diasporas in almost all countries. In this article we will touch upon such a topic as Armenian surnames. Let's discuss their origin, features, and give short list examples.

Ancient Armenian onomastics

In Armenian onomastics, a surname means a clan name. It is called "azganun". Such surnames appeared relatively recently. Until the late Middle Ages, family names did not exist. For in order to to distinguish between people of the same name, Armenian surnames were not required. As in everything eastern world, they resorted to designating something like the Russian patronymic, but they mentioned in it not the father, but the grandfather. That is, in fact full names among the Armenians they sounded like “Garnik, grandson of Aram,” for example. But this was an official address, but in everyday life they often got by with a nickname. For example, “Garnik Hmayak”, which means “Garnik the Lame”. Obviously, the nickname most often came from some recognizable trait or characteristic of the person.

Origin of surnames

For the first time, Armenian surnames were required when the demographic situation sharply improved, and along with it the number of emigrants increased. The movement of people from place to place necessitated the creation of stable nicknames that would apply not only to a person, but also to his entire family and descendants. This is how Armenian surnames gradually developed from nicknames.

Features of ancient surnames

In addition to the first surnames, the Armenians had the custom of adding to them an indication of the place from which the person came. For example, Anania Tatevatsi or Grigor Shirakatsi are vivid examples of such names, to which a geographical indication of the person’s homeland is attached. Sometimes, however, a different approach was used. Namely, a person was defined by his gender professional activity. For example, Mkrtich Magistros.

Parallels in the world

It is worth saying that this process was not unique among the Armenians. Almost all nations had a similar pattern for the formation of surnames. Well, for example, the Russian surnames “Novgorodtsev” and “Kazantsev” clearly indicate the historical homeland of the bearers. And the professional affiliation of the founder of the family is given away by such surnames as “Kuznetsov” or “Voinov”.

Varieties of Armenian surnames

IN late Middle Ages nobles also began to appear aristocratic surnames in relevant circles. Such are, for example, the beautiful Armenian surnames Mamikonyan and Amatuni. When they were used in speech, they were preceded by the particle “azg”, which means “genus”. The second option is the “tun” particle. Therefore, the surname sounded like “Azg Mamikonyan” or “Tun Amatuni”. Over time the same family names began to appear among artisans and even among peasants. In addition to the already mentioned professions, personal characteristics and geography of settlement, indications of character traits also began to appear in surnames. For example, cunning man could be awarded the surname “Chakhatyan”, which means “fox”.

But still, the most common Armenian surnames come from the personal names of the founders of the clan. And in order to make a surname from a given name, the Armenians simply added one or another traditional suffix to the word. Most often these were “yang”, “yantz”, “unz”, “uni”, “onts”, “ents”. Of these, “yang” is the particle that Armenian surnames most often contain. Men's and female surnames however, they did not differ. This suffix itself is the result of a reduction of the suffix “yantz”, which simply means belonging to the genus. That is, the surname “Abazyan” indicated that its bearer comes from the family of a man named Abaz.

The Naharar ones stood out especially against the general background. Armenian names and last names. For example, the latter were accompanied by the suffix “uni”. As for the suffixes “ents”, “onts” and “unz”, they are most often found in Zangezur.

Further evolution

It is most important for us to note the Russification of a number of Armenian surnames. This process was launched when systematic population censuses began, and then total passportization. In the process, many Armenian surnames, female and male, dropped their traditional endings. Sometimes this happened due to the mistake of an ignorant copyist. Sometimes this was done deliberately.

If you study Armenian surnames more deeply, you can be sure that they did not arise in empty space. Each of them has a unique and interesting story, in which certain stages of development, influencing factors, guiding principles, and so on can be distinguished. This is what professional onomastics does.

About the list of Armenian surnames

Armenian surnames, the list of which will be given below, are not even the tip of the iceberg, but just a drop in the ocean. There are actually many of these surnames, because in the process of resettlement the Armenian diasporas created more and more new versions of their surnames. Therefore, one should not be surprised that a good half of them, if not the majority, are Armenianized roots from other languages - Turkish, Greek and many others.

Armenian surnames: list

Avazyan. Means "replacement".
Aganjanyan. This surname consists of two Turkic roots meaning “soul” and “lord”.
Aghayan. Just "Mr."
Adilyan. Has Arabic origin. Among the Arabs, it serves as an epithet for a ruler distinguished by justice.
Arazyan. Comes from an Azerbaijani word that can be translated as “bliss, happiness.”
Aramyan. Means "peace" and "comfort".
Arzuyan. A surname of Persian origin with the meaning “dream”, “hope”.
Asadyan. "Happiest"
Asgaryan. "Jr".
Afsarian. Comes from a word that means something like a crown or crown, which served as the headdress of a ruler in the East.
Arshadyan. This surname is translated as “senior”.
Arshakyan. Derived from an ancient Iranian word meaning "courage".
Hakhverdiyan. Same as the Russian surname Bogdanov, that is, “given by God.”
Azaryan. This surname is translated by the word “fire”.
Akhadyan. A surname of Arabic origin meaning “the only one.”
Ashrafyan. Another surname of Arabic origin. But this time it means "most noble."
Hayazyan. This surname comes from a word that refers to a cool, light breeze.

Arslanyan. Translated as "lion".
Altunyan. This surname came into the Armenian language from ancient Turkic. It means "gold".
Azizyan. From the word “Aziz”, which translates as “great”.
Azadyan. Ancient surname, which literally translates as “free,” hinting at social status in feudal society.
Atayan. Comes from the Turkic word "Ata". It means either a father, or a saint, a righteous mentor, or simply an older person.
Abdalbekyan. Complex compound name, general meaning which is conveyed by the expression “possessing power.”
Garakhanyan. This is the surname of noble houses. It means "great ruler".
Kagramanyan. In Persian, this surname could be translated as “lord” or “hero”.
Kalantaryan. Last name with religious significance, associated with the Islamization of some Armenians. It means a hermit, a dervish who spends his life wandering around the world.
Kocharyan. Means "nomad".
Khosrowian. The meaning of this surname can be roughly conveyed by the words “ good fame" or "good news", or even "good reputation".
Khudaverdiyan. Another variation of the surname with the meaning “given by God.”
Shirinyan. Literally means "sweet".
Yuzbashnyan. The surname probably comes from a military background. Consists of two roots - “hundred” and “chapter”. Literally translated as "hundred-headed". Apparently, it hints at the title of centurion.
Babayan. "Baba" is a respectful address to father.
Bagiryan. WITH Azerbaijani language this surname should be translated as “studying” or “comprehending the teaching.”
Bagramyan. It is translated into Russian as “victorious”.
Bashkhiyan. This surname comes from the word “to teach”, and, accordingly, means “teacher”.

The surname, in Armenian “azganun”, means the name of the clan. In the Middle Ages, generic names practically did not exist. If there was a need for a name, then it happened like this: if several Arams or several Anaits lived in one settlement, then the residents identified them in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Sometimes, for nicknames, worldly nicknames were used, characterizing a recognizable feature of a person, for example, the lame Amayak or Anahit, who has twelve children.

The need to form surnames arose due to the development of society and increased migration of the population. People began to move more often from one area to another, so it became necessary to give people “stable” nicknames, which over time evolved into Armenian surnames. In those days, a tradition arose to indicate along with the name the place where he came from. originally a person, for example: Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, etc. Or, to name a person, they used his profession - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsakhkarar, David Kertoh, Grigor Magistros, etc.

Over time, already in the Middle Ages, surnames began to appear in aristocratic Armenian families - Mamikonyan, Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni. When mentioning noble families, the words “azg” (“clan”) or “tun” (“house”, “smoke”) were added to the surnames. For example, “Clan of Mamikonyans”, “Clan of Rshtuni”, or “House of Artsruni”, etc. Over time, family nicknames appeared among peasants and artisans. For example, Khatstukhyan (baker), Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), etc.

Armenian surnames also reflect a person’s nickname, characterizing his appearance or character traits (Chakhatyan - fox, Karchikyan - dwarf) and others. In most cases, Armenian surnames are derived from the name of the founder of the clan, to which a prefix or suffix was added to express kinship or affiliation - “yan”, “yantz”, “ents”, “unz”, “onts”, “uni”. The most common surnames ending in “yan” (Chakhalyan, Aramyan, Zhamkochyan), etc. “Yan” was formed from the form “yants” and also means “ents” (Margaryan - Margaryants - Margarents, that is, belonging to the Margara family). Armenian surnames with the suffix “uni” were characteristic of Naharar families (Bagratuni, Amatuni, Rshtuni) as a feature of belonging to a noble Armenian family. Armenian surnames with the suffixes “ents”, “unz”, “onts” are common in Zangezur, for example, Adonts, Bakunts, Mamunts, Kalvarents and also mean belonging to a noble family.

During the census and certification of the population, the surnames of some Armenians living in Russia “Russified”, the ending “ts” was sometimes discarded. This happened for two reasons: either as a result of a copyist's error, or as a result of a conscious choice. The history of each Armenian surname is interesting and original. Surnames did not just appear. Each surname is based on an interesting history of its formation with its own principles, stages of evolution, each Armenian surname contains certain meaning, which modern science is trying to solve philological science- onomastics.

Armenian surnames In discussions of Internet wars on the Azerbaijani side, Armenian surnames are often discussed. Often the following can be read as a reproach: “You Armenians bear Turkic surnames.” And they give examples of such surnames as Alaverdyan, Karakashyan, Peglivanyan, Shakhnazaryan, Babayan, etc. We will return to the so-called Turkic surnames. In the meantime, let's take a short excursion into Armenian surnames. Last name (“azganun”) – in Armenian means “family name”. If it happened that several Arams or several Anahits lived in one settlement, then they were identified in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Or they always found some characteristic feature, for example, the lame Amayak, or Varsi, who has six children. With the emergence of cities, when, in addition to agriculture, trade had already developed, people had to move from one settlement in another, and the need arose to recognize people by so-called surnames, since it was no longer possible to be content with only a name or nickname. It was already necessary to indicate along with the name the place where this or that person comes from, for example: Kirakos Gandzaketsi, Anania Shirakatsi, Grigor Tatevatsi, etc. Or the name of the person’s main activity was added to the name of the person - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsakhkarar, David Kertoh, Grigor Magistros, etc. Over time, already in the ancient and middle ages, noble families necessarily bore surnames - Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni, Bagratuni. Mentioning the famous clans - “tun” (“house”, “smoke”), one gets “House of Artsruni”, “House of Bagrat”, etc. Time passed, life dictated its conditions, ordinary people They also started calling me by my last name. It so happened that someone from a family or several generations became famous for their skill; they were famous jewelers, masons, bakers; their descendants were already given the same surnames by inheritance: Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), Khatstukhyan (baker) and so on. Basically, among Armenians, surnames began to come from the name of an authoritative ancestral ancestor, to which a prefix or suffix was added, expressing affiliation or kinship - “-yan”, “-yantz”, “-ents”, “-unts”, “-onts” , "-uni". The most common surnames are those ending in “-yan” (Margaryan, Aramyan, Zhamkochyan), etc. “-Yan” was formed from the form “-yants”, which means the same as “-ents” (Margaryan - Margaryants - Margarents, that is, belonging to the genus Margara). In ancient times and in the Middle Ages, surnames with the suffix “-uni” were characteristic of Naharar clans (Amatuni, Bagratuni, Rshtuni) as a feature of belonging to a high clan. Surnames with the suffixes “-ents”, “-unts”, “-onts” are common in Zangezur, for example Adonts, Bakunts, Tonunts, Shakhunts, Shalunts, Mamunts, Kalvarents and also mean belonging to the clan. Over time, along with Christianity, the Armenians developed biblical and Greek-Byzantine names, and from them surnames. However, like all Christian peoples. Sarkis - Sarkisyan (for Russians it is Sergey and Sergeev), Petros - Petrosyan (for Russians Peter - Petrov), Hovhannes - Hovhannisyan (respectively Ivan - Ivanov) and others arose. But times came when the Armenians found themselves in the West under the rule of Ottoman Empire, in the East - the Persian Empire. The Armenians remained faithful to their traditions, religion, and language. No matter how hard the Ottomans tried to convert the Armenians to Mohammedanism, they failed. In the censuses of the population of their empires, the Mohammedans gave the Armenians nicknames and surnames that were familiar to their ears. For example, Asvaturyans became Alaverdians. At the same time, the ending “-yang” remained untouched. This was done so that, despite the alteration of the surname in, say, the Turkic manner, belonging to the nation was retained by the person. By the way, not only Armenian surnames, but also Greek ones underwent onomastic mutations and translations in the Ottoman Empire. That is why among the Pontic Greeks, and not only the Pontic people, one can often find Turkic surnames with the typically Greek endings “-idis”, “-adis” and so on. So if some Armenians have surnames with Turkic derivatives, this does not mean that the surname was adopted from the Turks. Moreover, the Turks never had surnames. Pay attention to the deep historical path that Armenian surnames have gone through. And now attention: in Turkey alone, Turks began to have surnames in 1928 (in the last century), when Mustafa Kemal issued the Law on Surnames “Ad Kanonu”, he himself called himself Ataturk (father of the Turks) as a surname and ordered all Turks to acquire surnames. The same thing happened to their brothers in the Caspian region. Only in the Azerbaijan SSR did the Kremlin begin to assign surnames to Transcaucasian Tatars. It was no good new Soviet nation walk around with only first names and no last names. How to passport them then?! So the surnames for the most part are not even Turkic and common Muslim - attention! - Slavic endings: ALIev, AGAev, IBRAGIMOV, RZAev, i.e., answering the question: “Whose son?” My dad is Ali. I am ALI's son... AGA's son, IBRAHIM's son and so on. Sometimes you can meet Azerbaijanis with last names ending with a hyphen -zade: Tagi-zade, Mamed-zade, Ali-zade, etc. This is a native Iranian-language ending and has nothing to do with the Turks. In Azerbaijan these are Talysh endings. Or those Azerbaijanis whose ancestors were Talysh and were Turkified later. And it is strange sometimes to hear from a nation that is not even a hundred years old since it acquired surnames, reproaches against Armenian surnames, which have a huge and rich backstory. I will say more: not only did the Turks not have a surname, but they also gave their children names anyhow. For example, a woman gives birth in a yurt. The right to give a child a name is given to the eldest of the nomadic tribe - the bey. If the baby was strong, they called him Iron, for example Temir (hence Timur), if the girl was healthy, then, for example, Guzu, Guz - Sheep; and if she is beautiful, then Botagoz is the Camel's Eye. But sick, weak children were also born. And so that evil spirits would not carry them away, such children were called names that were unpleasant to hear, for example Meret (Pus), Bok (Poop), Dung. All this was also written by Olzhas Suleimenov, a Kazakh writer, in the book “Az and I”. You can also read the works of L. Gumilev. Or other Turkologists. And, by the way, most of the Turks from Kazakhstan to Yakutia still adhere to this onomastic tradition.

The surname, in Armenian “azganun”, means the name of the clan. In the Middle Ages, generic names practically did not exist. If there was a need for a name, it happened like this: if several Arams or several Anaits lived in one settlement, then the residents defined them in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Sometimes, for nicknames, worldly nicknames were used, characterizing a recognizable feature of a person, for example, the lame Amayak or Anahit, who has twelve children.

The need to form surnames arose due to the development of society and increased migration of the population. People began to move more often from one area to another, so it became necessary to give people “stable” nicknames, which over time evolved into Armenian surnames. In those days, a tradition arose along with the name to indicate the place where the person came from, for example: Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, etc. Or, to name a person, they used his profession - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsakhkarar, David Kertoh, Grigor Magistros and etc.

During the census and certification of the population, the surnames of some Armenians living in Russia “Russified”, the ending “ts” was sometimes discarded. This happened for two reasons: either as a result of a copyist's error, or as a result of a conscious choice. The history of each Armenian surname is interesting and original. Surnames did not just appear. Each surname is based on an interesting history of its formation with its own principles, stages of evolution; each Armenian surname has a certain meaning, the solution of which is the work of modern philological science - onomastics.

Origin of Armenian surnames

The surname, in Armenian “azganun”, means the name of the clan. In the Middle Ages, generic names practically did not exist. If there was a need for a name, it happened like this: if several Arams or several Anaits lived in one settlement, then the residents defined them in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Sometimes, for nicknames, worldly nicknames were used that characterize a recognizable feature of a person, for example, the lame Amayak or Anahit, who has twelve children.

The need to form surnames arose due to the development of society and increased migration of the population. People began to move more often from one area to another, so it became necessary to give people “stable” nicknames, which over time evolved into Armenian surnames. In those days, it became common to indicate along with the name the place where the person came from, for example: Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, etc. Or, to name a person, they used his profession - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsakhkarar, David Kertoh, Grigor Magistros and etc.

Similar processes occurred during the formation of surnames for almost everyone peoples of the world. For example, from the names of the area where a person was from, such Russian surnames as Kazantsev (from the city of Kazan), Novgorodtsev (from the city of Novgorod) originated. Such Russian surnames as Kuznetsov, Goncharov, or Ukrainian surname Kovalenko (Koval means blacksmith in Ukrainian).

Types of Armenian surnames. Endings in Armenian surnames

Over time, family nicknames appeared among peasants and artisans. For example, Khatstukhyan (baker), Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), etc.

Armenian surnames also reflect a person’s nickname, characterizing his appearance or character traits (Chakhatyan - fox, Karchikyan - dwarf) and others.

In most cases, Armenian surnames are derived from the name of the founder of the clan, to which a prefix or suffix was added, expressing kinship, or affiliation, or - “yan”, “yantz”, “ents”, “unz”, “onts”, “uni”.

The most common surnames ending in “yan” (Chakhalyan, Aramyan, Zhamkochyan), etc. “Yan” was formed from the form “yants”, and also means “ents” (Margaryan - Margaryants - Margarents, that is, belonging to the Margara family).

Armenian surnames with the suffix “uni” were characteristic of Naharar families (Bagratuni, Amatuni, Rshtuni), as a feature of belonging to a noble Armenian family.

Armenian surnames with the suffixes “ents”, “unz”, “onts” are common in Zangezur, for example, Adonts, Bakunts, Mamunts, Kalvarents and also mean belonging to a noble family.

Evolution of Armenian surnames

During the census and certification of the population, the surnames of some Armenians living in Russia “Russified”, the ending “ts” was sometimes discarded. This happened for dubious reasons, either as a result of a copyist's error, or as a result of a conscious choice. The history of each Armenian surname is interesting and original. Surnames did not just appear. Each surname is based on an interesting history of its formation with its own principles, stages of evolution, each Armenian surname has a certain meaning, the solution of which is being solved by modern philological science - onomastics.

History of Armenian surnames, using the example of the surname Chakhalyan

Research Institute "Center for the Study of Surnames" long years is engaged in scientific research of surnames of the peoples of the world, including Armenian surnames. Our Center has carried out work to study several hundred Armenian surnames. We invite you to familiarize yourself with an example of the Armenian surname Chakhalyan that we researched.

At the Research Institute "Center for the Study of Surnames" you can order a scientific study of the Armenian surname, as well as the surnames of other peoples of the world as a gift to yourself, your family, friends and loved ones!!!

The surname Chakhalyan is one of the very rare Armenian surnames, the origin of which is associated with the borrowing of words from the languages of the peoples neighboring Armenia.

Armenians (self-name - hai) - one of ancient peoples world, the formation of which as a nation began in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The ancient core of Armenia was the population of the northeastern part of Asia Minor. This country was called Armatana in Hittite inscriptions (XVI-XV centuries BC), and later (XIV-XIII centuries BC) Hayasa. Since ancient times, Armenia had to fight with numerous conquerors. They were the Cimmerians, Scythians, Persians, Romans, Parthians, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks. In the fight against them, the Armenian nation strengthened and developed. The era of Turkish rule left the most difficult mark on the history of the Armenian people. But despite everything, the Armenian people created a high and unique culture that entered the treasury of world culture.

According to the time of their origin, Armenian surnames are among the most ancient in the world. The surname (“azganun”) in Armenian means the name of the clan. Armenian surnames, as a rule, are formed from the name of the revered ancestor, to which is added an ending expressing belonging to the clan - “yan”, “yantz”, “ents”, “unz”, “onts”, “uni”. The most common surnames are those ending in “Yang”. "Yang" was formed from the form "Yantz", going back to oldest form“ents”, which means “from such and such a family.” The surname Chakhalyan therefore means “from the Chahal family.”

However, neither the word nor the name Chahal is in the Armenian language. The nickname Chahal, apparently, was formed on the basis of other languages. There are two versions of the origin of the Chakhalyan surname: Crimean Tatar and Persian.

It is known that even in ancient times on the banks of the Crimea, Kuban and the Caucasus were formed Greek colonies. They existed until the Middle Ages, and some, for example, in Crimea, much longer. They were multinational in composition. Communities of Armenian merchants and artisans were also prominent ethnic group. From the Greek word “chukalas” the Crimean Tatar word “chakala” was formed, which in the Crimean cities was used to describe skilled pottery masters who made clay vessels of the finest workmanship, very popular among the Crimean Tatar nobility. It is possible that the nickname Chahal may go back precisely to the word “chakala”, and means “skilled potter”. What is surprising is that in this case the surname Chakhalyan is close in origin and even consonant with such a well-known Russian surname too Tatar origin, which was worn by the great Soviet pilot Valery Chkalov. His surname is also derived from the Crimean Tatar word “chakala”.

Another, more romantic and, perhaps, even heroic version of the origin of the Chakhalyan surname is quite probable. Translated from Persian, the word Chahal, which, by the way, was included in Turkish language, means "jackal". We must assume that this is exactly what the Persian and Turkish conquerors called the Armenian rebels who tried to fight with arms in their hands for the independence of their homeland. Among them was the founder of the Chakhalyan family, who took the nickname Chahal. After all, it is well known that an insult from the lips of an angry enemy is the best praise for a warrior.

Over the long centuries of our bright and eventful much of history has been forgotten and has become a thing of the past ancient traditions and customs, crafts disappeared, the language changed. It is all the more important and interesting for descendants to preserve the memory of the reasons for the appearance of a name or nickname that became the basis of their surname - a precious monument of national culture.

Bibliographical sources:
Garibyan A.S. Short course Armenian language. Yerevan, 1960

Bryusov V.Ya. Chronicle historical destinies Armenian people. M., 1918

Baskakov N.A. Introduction to Study Turkic languages. M., 1969