home-Shoes-Ukrainian surnames list in alphabetical order for women. How to determine the ending of surnames by nationality: features and interesting facts

Ukrainian surnames list in alphabetical order for women. How to determine the ending of surnames by nationality: features and interesting facts

They have a very branched morphology of formation. Of the large number of suffixes that form Ukrainian surnames, only a few can be divided into regions. However, even this division has its exceptions and ambiguities.

Most Ukrainian surnames are formed with suffixes from the following groups:

So, suffixes -uk, -yuk, -shin, -in, -ov often from others they are found in Volyn, Polesie, Podolia, Bukovina, and partially in Galicia and Transcarpathia. Their exceptions generally do not require detailed consideration.

II) Regarding suffixes -enko and -enko It is generally accepted that the surnames derived from them are traditional for the Dnieper region, since it is in this region that they are most common. However, their “peculiarity” needs to be considered in more detail than in the first group, since their exceptions are radically different.

The origin itself suffixes -enko and -enko from the Dnieper region is mainly mentioned from the times of the Cossacks. Therefore, the popularization of surnames with such suffixes was caused by poetic creativity and fiction based on historical texts. Despite this, the region itself - the Naddniepryanshchina - did not occupy the “first and exclusive” place in this issue. According to the research of M. L. Khudash, personal names with suffix -enko for the first time they record Latin-Polish written monuments from the western territory in the first half of the 15th century [ ].

Surnames with suffix -enko There are documents recorded in the Lemko region on both sides of the Carpathians, both in modern Poland and in modern Slovakia back in the 18th century, when the process of stabilization of surnames in Ukraine had not yet been completed, but about the “transfer” of the bearers themselves or the “borrowing” of such surnames from this suffix was out of the question.

After a significant part of the Ukrainian lands came under the rule of the Habsburgs (later the Austrian Empire) - Subcarpathian Rus already from the 16th century, Galicia from 1772 and Bukovina from 1774, a government patent was issued on April 12, 1785, instructions on the procedure for drawing up descriptions by local commissions, which laid down the beginning of the creation of a land cadastre, known in historical literature under the name "Josephin Metrics (1785-1788)".

Strange as it may seem, particularly for modern beliefs regarding "origins" suffix-enko, however, this Land Registry documents that in the northern (Galician) part of the Lemkivshchyna, out of 353 villages in 35 villages there were bearers of surnames with suffix -enko up to twenty "five varieties. More varieties of surnames with suffix -enko are found in the eastern part of the Galician Lemko region, while only two varieties are found in its western part. The most remote settlement in the west of the Galician Lemkivshchyna, where the surname meets suffix -enko The 18th century is the village of Wojkowa in the modern Nowosądecki county of Lesser Poland Voivodeship on the current Polish-Slovak border. The document, in particular, shows that during the census (until 1788) two families lived in the village of Voikova with the surname "Stesenko", and in one of the villages close to it - Tylicz of the same district, three families are mentioned by the surname "Senko".

These two types of surnames with suffix -enko in such a remote western part is a rare manifestation of those exceptions to that general belief-norm, the area of ​​surnames used, even in the historical past, is not always reduced to one generally accepted region.

The closest settlements to the villages of Voykova and Tilich, where bearers of surnames with suffix -enko in the western part of the entire Lemko region there is a particular village of Grabskoe (Hrabsk?) in the modern Bardiivskyi district (okres Bardejov) of the Pryashevsky region (Pre?ovsk? kraj) near the current Slovak-Polish border.

Another “atypical” location for the general belief of bearers of a surname with the same suffix is ​​the extreme northern border of Podlasie - the Ukrainian ethnic territory in modern Poland. In a village called Dzięciołowo in modern Moniecki County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, at the end of the 18th century, a family with the surname “Semenenko” was mentioned. The parents of this Ukrainian family had a son in 1814, who later became a famous philosopher and theologian of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland, co-founder of the monastic congregation of the OO. Voskresintsev (Congregatio a Resurrectione Domini Nostri Iesu Christi (CR) - Piotr Semenenko, who died in Paris in 1886 as a saint. After World War II, the process of his beatification (beatification) began.

To confirm that the origin suffix-enko found much more likely from the time of the Cossacks and outside the traditionally accepted region - the Dnieper region - is the actual historiographical Polish material. Within the modern borders of Poland, already from the middle of the 14th century, there are settlements with ending with suffix-enko. An example of this is the villages: Korostenko (Krościenko) Korostenko Upper (Krościenko Wyżne) Korostenko Niżne (now within the city limits of Korosno / Krosno) - Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Korostenko nad Dunajcem (Krościenko nad Dunajcem) - Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Also at the event of modern Poland, in the Lubusz Voivodeship, is the city of Drezdenko (Drezdenko, with the German Driesen), which, despite many centuries of being part of Germany, remains in the historical past a kind of place of reference for tension in Polish-German relations, mutual claims and at the same time the growth of the power of the Polish state. In order, in particular, to “dot the i’s” and indicate that the city belongs to Polish history and culture, it was renamed, which was considered suitable for Polish perception.

In addition, you need to take into account that surnames with suffix -enko, predominantly have the meaning of “son”, like a nominal or other kind of form: Vasilenko - the son of Vasily, Gritsenko - the son of Grigory, Stetsenko - the son of Stetsko, Goncharenko - the son of Gonchar, etc., refer to three or more constituent surnames due to some exceptions . Before this exception, there are three components of less or less common surnames of the non-nominal form according to the model: Zelenko, Stesenko, etc. To such surnames, as well as to two-syllable surnames such as Senko, Benko, etc. the meaning of "son" does not apply. In these cases suffix-enko has a diminutive or affectionate meaning in relation to a larger one. Less or rare surnames do not always find their unambiguous explanation, unlike those that do not raise objections regarding the meaning.

Regarding the surnames from the category “students” and “place of residence”: Miroshnichuk, Shevchuk, Palamarchuk, Selyuk (village resident), Mishchuk (city resident), they could have been formed in the area of ​​formation of surnames with suffixes -enko, -enko

It should also be added that suffixes -enko, -enko and -uk, -yuk, is balanced, because the alternation of sounds was formed through different endings of the stems, to which the suffix was attached. For example:

Peter V- Peter e nko, Petra To- Petrie h Enko, Gordy And- Gordy There is nko

Mikhailovsky V- Mikhailovsky Yu to (for the sake of euphony it is more often used suffix-yuk, A no-uk), The battle To o - Fight h uk.

But in the popular language, these suffixes received equal meaning, so surnames that were formed from one name are found in different versions, for example: Denisenko (Denis + enk + v), Denishchenko (Deniska + enk + v), Romanyuk (Roman + yuk ), Romanchuk (Romanko + uk). Here we are dealing with alternating consonants. Sometimes the suffixes -chenko/shchenko and -chuk/shuk are mistakenly considered. The fact is that the patronymic markers -chuk and -chenko are formed from stems ending in -ko: Fedya, Vasya, Vanya, and the patronymic markers -shchenko and -shchuk are formed due to the alternation of consonants in stems that end in -sko: Deniska, Borisko, Feska.


1. Historical information

Currently, preus surnames mean a family surname, which is passed on from father to son. Initially, in Rus' only nicknames were used, which can be found in the naming of ancient Russian princes and which were inherited. The use of family surnames in official records began because of the need to indicate ownership of something only later. Generic surnames are found in large numbers in written sources relating to Ukrainian lands in the 14th-16th centuries. At first, family surnames were predominantly given to rich people who had wealth (merchants, boyars, magnates, land owners). However, already in the 17th century. Almost everything Ukrainian had their own surnames, although surnames were often transformed; new surnames could be created on their basis, for example, the son of a person with the surname Koval could receive the surname Kovalenko (son of Koval). Many surnames appeared during the Zaporozhye Sich, since when entering the Sich, a Cossack changed his old surname to a new one. Last names gained stability only in the 19th century. The replacement of old surnames by the aristocratic (noble-lord) order was also widespread, although the gentry and lords in a number of periods tried to counteract this due to the ban on the adoption of certain surnames by commoners. At the same time, official surnames and unofficial nicknames coexisted, which were reflected in Ukrainian business and fiction literature. .


2. Grammatical features are inherent in Ukrainian surnames

2.1. Meaning of suffixes

Most of the suffixes that form Ukrainian surnames can be divided into groups according to meaning.

2.1.1. First group

The first and most common group is patronymic; there are suffixes that indicate the father (ancestor) of a person. These are the suffixes:

    • -Enk, -enk(Danilenko)
    • -Uk, -yuk(Danilyuk)
    • -Ovich, -ich(Danilovich)
    • -Ov(Danilov)
    • diminutives suffixes -ets, -ets, -s, -ko(Danilko)

You can also add patronymic to this group suffix-tire, attached to a woman's nickname after her husband's name. For example: the son of Vasilikha (Vasily’s woman) is Vasylishin. Such surnames, most likely, were formed through the leading role of a woman in the family, or (as the reason for this) the early death of the father, and the patronymic suffix did not have time to stick to the children.


2.1.2. Second group

  • The second group are suffixes indicating the profession or characteristic action of the person who gave it the nickname. For example:
    • -Y(Paliy)
    • -Ay(traction)
    • Lo(Shaking)
    • -Ylo(Minyailo)
    • -Un(Tikhun)
    • -An(Movchan)
    • -Hick, -nick(Beekeeper)
    • -Ar(Kobzar)

Before these nicknames (or already surnames), new suffixes could subsequently be added, which formed a new surname, for example: Paliy chuk, Kobzar enko.

2.1.3. Third group

  • The third group is suffixes that indicate the place of residence or origin of a person.
    • -Sky, -cue. The gentry surnames (Vishnevetsky, Ostrozhsky, Khmelnitsky) indicated the family estate, property, and among ordinary people - where they came from or where they were born (Poltava, Khorolsky, Zhitomirsky). This type of surname is also common among Poles and Jews.
    • In some cases-ets,-ets(Kanivets - from Kanev, Kolomiets - from Kolomyia)
    • In some cases, if the root is a geographical object (Yarovoy, Lanovoy, Gaevoy, Zagrebelny)

2.2. Typical Ukrainian suffixes and endings of surnames

  • -Ko: Sirko, Zabuzhko, Tsushko, Klitschko, Danilko, Khoroshko, Prikhodko, Boyko
  • -Enk, -enk(meaning “someone’s son”): Gritsenko, Demyanenko, Shevchenko, Vdovichenko, Potapenko, Tkachenko, Kovalenko, Bondarenko, Kirilenko, Kozubenko, Simonenko, Zlenko, Lukyanenko, Ivanenko, Petrenko, Pavlenko, Parkhomenko, Ogienko, Saenko, Tar Asenko , Posvyatenko, Kosenko
  • -Enk: trinkets, Openko, Potebenko
  • -Point (less often, point, point, point): Semochko, Tolochko, Marochko (Kiselychka, Osmachka)
  • -Ovsky, -ovsky: Baranovsky, Gladkovsky, Stakhovsky, Shovkovsky, Yavorivsky
  • -Evskiy, -evskiy(mostly gentry): Alchevsky, Miklashevsky, Mogilevsky, Grinevsky, Trublaevsky
  • -Sky, -cue: Kotsyubinsky, Skoropadsky, Saksagansky, Boguslavsky, Starytsky, Boretsky, Kropyvnytskyi
  • -Ovich, -ich(sometimes of Belarusian origin): Davydovich, Andrukhovich, Shukhevych, Shufrich, Zvarych, Stankovich, Tobilevich
  • -Ov: Stetskiv, Kaskiv, Petrov, Ivanov, Pavlov, Bartkiv
  • -Y: Paliy, Crybaby, Povaliy, Krasnoy
  • -Ay: Pull, Mamai, Nechai, Kitsay
  • -Y: Mnogohrishny, Mirny, Poddubny, Red, Yarovoy, Lanovoy, Inanimate
  • -Uk, -yuk: Goncharuk, Dmitruk, Tarasyuk, Palahniuk, Mikhailyuk, Romanyuk, Gnatyuk, Momotyuk
  • -Chuk: Shinkarchuk, Kovalchuk, Kravchuk, Shevchuk, Korniychuk, Boychuk, Yaremchuk. The origin of the surname is from the type of activity: Koval - Kovalchuk, Shvets - Shevchuk.
  • -Shchuk: Polishchuk (from Polesie), Voloshchuk - Vlach by nationality, Grishchuk - son of Grishko;
  • -Look: Gorbach, Kosach, Derkach, Filin, Golovach
  • -Ah, -chuck, -how: Shcherbak, Barbazyak, Burlak, Grabchak, Matchak, Rubchak, Zaliznyak, Andrusyak, Prishlyak Chumak
  • -Ik, -nick: Bilyk, Bortnik, Linnik, Skripnik, Petrik, Berdnik, Pasechnik
  • -Ets-ets: Kolomiets, Baranets, Vorobey, Vasilets, Stepanets
  • -Sya(form of the name, without further addition of a suffix): Vanya, Romas, Mikitas, Petrus, Andrus
  • La: Pritula, Gamula, Gurgula
  • Lo: Muff, Noisy, Big, Shaking
  • -Ylo(from Lithuanian): Mazailo, Tyagailo, Minyailo, Bodailo
  • -Ba: Shkraba, Dziuba, Kandyba, Skiba, Kotsyuba, Zhurba
  • -Yes: Bad weather , Mayboroda , Injustice , Adventure , Baida , Sightseeing
  • -Ra: Bandera, Magera, Petliura, Sosyura
  • -Ar:(mostly professions):

Factors of education, traditions

The origin of Ukrainian surnames is deeply rooted in the history of the Slavic peoples, so they are often consonant with Russian surnames. Despite this, the formation of Ukrainian surnames has a number of distinctive features. The main one is the role of suffixes in word formation.

Few people know that the Ukrainian surname is one of the oldest in Europe. In any case, in the 17th century almost all Ukrainians had surnames. Some of them had surnames that were given to their ancestors back in princely times. For comparison, French commoners received surnames only at the beginning of the 19th century thanks to a decree of Emperor Napoleon I. Russian peasants received surnames only after the Reform of 1861. This is one of the reasons why Russians have so many surnames: Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov. It is known that when yesterday’s serfs were issued “freedom” they were given surnames after their father’s name. The names Ivan, Peter, Sidor at that time were the most common in Russian villages and villages. On occasion, I would like to note that the only people in Europe who still do not have permanent surnames are the Icelanders. For them, the father's name automatically becomes the child's surname. Therefore, men have surnames like Petersen (son of Peter), and women Peterdottir (daughter of Peter).

The Ukrainian surname, like the surnames of most Europeans, was formed from the name, nickname or profession of the father, very rarely from the name of the mother. Numerous Petrenki, Ivanenki, Romanenki, Luchenki, Lutsenki, Ulyanenki are clear confirmation of this. In Western Ukraine, patronymic surnames were formed using the suffix “iv”: Ivaniv, Illiv, Ivantsiv; unfortunately, the feminine suffix (ova) did not take root in Ukraine, so a modern Ukrainian woman bears the male version of these surnames. The only exceptions are surnames with the suffixes –sky, -tsky, -ov-sky, -ev-sky, which have a feminine form.

Groups of surnames by origin

A fairly large group of Ukrainian surnames is formed using the suffix “-enko”. For example: Tymoshenko, Shevchenko, Tkachenko, Bondarenko, Kovalenko, Kirilenko, Ivanenko, Petrenko, Pavlenko, Kravchenko, Zakharenko. No less popular in the formation of Ukrainian surnames are the following suffixes: “-eiko”, “-ochko”, “-ko”, for example: Andreyko, Butko, Boreyko, Semochko, Marochko, Klitschko, Shumeiko.

The suffixes “-evskiy” and “-ovskiy” are somewhat less common. This method of word formation is clearly illustrated by the surnames: Kotovsky, Alchevsky, Grinevsky Petrovsky, Maslovsky, Mogilevsky.

It is extremely rare for Ukrainian surnames to be formed using the Old Church Slavonic suffix “-ich”: Davydovich, Germanovich, Shufrich. But the suffixes “-ik” and “-nik”, on the contrary, are found quite often. Examples are the Ukrainian surnames Petrik, Berdnik, Pasichnik, Linnik.

Let us give a few more examples of the participation of suffixes in the formation of Ukrainian surnames, for example, the surnames Bondarchuk, Kravchuk, Savchuk, Khitruk, Polishchuk, Tarasyuk, Serdyuk, which were born with the help of the suffixes “-uk”, “-yuk” and “-chuk”. It’s also worth mentioning the surnames: Shcherbak (formed using the suffix “-ak”), Durnovo (suffix “-vo”), Taranets (suffix “-ets”), the infamous surname Chikatilo (suffix “-lo”), and well the famous surname Makhno, formed with the suffix “-no”.

A significant part of Ukrainian surnames originate from given names. For example, Zakharchenko, Zakharenko (on behalf of Zakhar), Yushchak, Yushchenko (on behalf of Yushko, Yuri), Klim, Klimenko (on behalf of Kliment), Makarenko, Makarchenko (on behalf of Makar), Nikolenko, Nikolchuk (on behalf of Mikola).

The source of origin of the next group of Ukrainian surnames was popular in

Ukraine professions. For example:

Ukrainian surnames Bondar, Bondarenko, Bondarchuk - from the profession of cooper, that is. barrel manufacturer;

Ukrainian surnames Gonchar, Goncharenko, Goncharuk - from pottery;

Ukrainian surnames Koval, Kovalenko, Kovalchuk - from the blacksmith business;

Ukrainian surnames Kravets, Kravchenko, Kravchuk - from the profession of a tailor.

Ukrainian surnames derived from the names of animals deserve special attention. For example: Gogol (that is, a bird), Gorobets (more specifically, a sparrow), Komar, Komarovsky (respectively, a mosquito), Leshchinsky, Leshchenko (thanks to the bream), Khrushch, Khrushchov (meaning May beetle). The most interesting group is represented by such Ukrainian surnames as Beloshtan, Krasnoshapka, Sinebryukh, Ryabokon, Krivonos, Podoprigora, Nepiyvoda, Zabeyvorota and others, formed from two parts (noun + adjective or verb + noun).

Some Ukrainian surnames were formed by combining two parts. It could be a connective: an adjective and a noun, for example, Ukrainian surnames: Beloshtan, Krasnoshapka, Sinebryukh, Ryabokon, Krivonos. Or a combination of verb and noun was used: Podoprigora, Nepiyvoda, Zabeyvorota and others.

Thus, Ukrainian surnames have both common and distinctive features compared to the surnames of other nations. General information about the origin of surnames can be found in the surname history section for free, located on our website. The secrets of surnames will be revealed to you by the section on surnames and their meanings, dedicated to the interpretation of surnames.

Summarizing the analysis of the ways of forming Ukrainian surnames, it should be noted that original Ukrainian surnames were distorted either by the bearers themselves or by clerks. Surnames such as Minyailov, Shumilov, Pluzhnikov, Ryzhkov, formed by adding the Russian suffix “-ov” either by the speakers themselves, who moved from Little Russians to Great Russians, or by clerks.

We should touch upon the distortion of Ukrainian surnames. Such current Russian surnames as Shevchenkov, Luchenkov, Ivanenkov, Kolesnichenkov were created during the time of general passportization during the reform of 1861. They were provided to the children of Ukrainian immigrants who did not live compactly on the territory of Great Russia. In Siberia, the local population also rebaptized Ukrainians. This is how the surnames Savitsky, Romanenkov, Chernetsky were formed.

Ukrainian surnames in their origin and meaning they have much in common with Russian surnames, since both are closely connected with the history of the Slavic peoples. At the same time, Ukrainian surnames have their own characteristics, which will be discussed in this review.
Suffixes of Ukrainian surnames

One of the most common suffixes in Ukrainian surnames is the suffix “-enko” meaning “someone’s son”. Examples of such Ukrainian surnames: Shevchenko, Tkachenko, Timoshenko, Kovalenko, Bondarenko, Kirilenko, Ivanenko, Petrenko, Pavlenko, Kravchenko, Zakharenko, etc. This list of Ukrainian surnames can be quite large, since the most common suffix is ​​used here. Also among Ukrainian surnames there are often suffixes: “-eyko”, “-ochko”, “-ko”, for example, surnames: Shumeiko, Boreyko, Semochko, Marochko, Butko, Klitschko, Andreyko. The suffixes “-ovskiy” and “-evskiy” are used a little less frequently. This is, for example, the following list of Ukrainian surnames: Kotovsky, Petrovsky, Maslovsky, Mogilevsky, Alchevsky, Grinevsky. Sometimes among Ukrainian surnames you can find the Old Church Slavonic suffix “-ich”: Davydovich, Germanovich, Shufrich. Quite often among Ukrainian surnames there are suffixes “-ik” and “-nik”. These are, for example, the Ukrainian surnames Petrik, Berdnik, Pasichnik, Linnik. The suffixes “-uk”, “-yuk”, “-chuk” in Ukrainian surnames mean “someone’s servant”, for example: Bondarchuk, Kravchuk, Savchuk, Khitruk, Polishchuk, Tarasyuk, Serdyuk, etc.

Among Ukrainian surnames there are also other suffixes, for example, “-vo” is the surname Durnovo, “-ak” is the surname Shcherbak, “-ets” is the surname Taranets, “-lo” is Chikatilo, “-no” is Makhno, etc. ., which also participate in the formation of Ukrainian surnames.
Ukrainian surnames derived from professions

Similar to the surnames of other nations, the origin of many Ukrainian surnames is associated with crafts and professions. For example:

Ukrainian surnames Bondar, Bondarenko, Bondarchuk - from the profession of cooper, i.e. barrel manufacturer;

Ukrainian surnames Gonchar, Goncharenko, Goncharuk - from pottery;

Ukrainian surnames Koval, Kovalenko, Kovalchuk - from the blacksmith business;

Ukrainian surnames Kravets, Kravchenko, Kravchuk - from the profession of a tailor.

Obviously, the meaning of all these Ukrainian surnames will correspond to the profession, the name of which became the source for the origin of the surname.
Ukrainian surnames derived from given names

Probably, most nations have a significant proportion of surnames formed from given names. Ukrainian surnames, the origin of which is connected with given names, are no exception here. Such surnames include, for example: Zakharchenko, Zakharenko (from the name Zakhar), Yushchak, Yushchenko (from the names Yushko, Yuri), Klim, Klimenko (from the name Kliment), Makarenko, Makarchenko (from the name Makar), Nikolenko, Nikolchuk (from named after Mikola), etc. Of course, the meaning of this type of Ukrainian surname is determined by the meaning of the names from which they originated.
Ukrainian surnames derived from animals

Among Ukrainian surnames, there are some surnames derived from the names of animals. These include the following Ukrainian surnames: Gogol (meaning bird), Gorobets (meaning sparrow), Komar, Komarovsky (meaning mosquito), Leshchinsky, Leshchenko (meaning bream), Khrushch, Khrushchov (meaning cockchafer), etc.
Compound Ukrainian surnames

Some Ukrainian surnames were formed by combining two parts. It could be a combination: an adjective and a noun, for example, Ukrainian surnames: Beloshtan, Krasnoshapka, Sinebryukh, Ryabokon, Krivonos, etc. Or a combination of a verb and a noun was used: Podoprygora, Nepiyvoda, Zabeyvorota and others.

The surname of ex-footballer Andrei Shevchenko has become the most common in Ukraine / photo: ukraina-vpered.com

After the Ukrainian media began to actively interest in the fate of the rector of the National University of the State Tax Service, it turned out that his surname is one of the three most common in Ukraine, reports Segodnya.

The publication writes that the most popular surnames in Ukraine are Shevchenko, Melnik and Boyko. Moreover, Melniks could populate the whole of Kerch, Shevchenko would be enough for Nikopol, and Boyko would be enough for Uzhgorod.

It is curious that the surnames popular in Russia (Smirnov, Ivanov and Kuznetsov) are not even in the top ten in Ukraine. But there are still a lot of them: the same Ivanovs number about 90 thousand.

/ Today

And the rarest surnames in our country are often difficult to pronounce. Among them: Abdugafarov, Abibulla, Alyabyeva, Bordzika, Briharya, Mkoriz, Luft, Likhogvor, Zez, Zatserklyany, Ekh, Durandina, Dudu, Dirbaba, Grob, Vier and Hegel (their representatives have less than 50 namesakes in Ukraine).

As it turned out, many representatives of the world’s most popular families live in Ukraine. For example, there are more than 100 million Chinese people with the surname Li in the world. In our country there are more than 2 thousand bearers of this surname. The second most popular surname in the world is Zhang (also about 100 million people) in Ukraine, 449 people have the surname Wang or Wang (more than 93 million people) - about 1,700 Ukrainians.

There are about 3 thousand people with the Vietnamese surname Nguyen (and there are more than 36 million of them in the world). In addition, the world's top ten includes the names Garcia, Gonzalez, Hernandez, Smith, Smirnov and Muller. Smirnovs, according to telephone databases, we have more than 45 thousand. In addition, 131 Muellers, 29 Garcias, 53 Gonzales, 19 Hernandezes and 46 Smiths live in Ukraine.

We are accustomed to the fact that surnames that end in -in and -ov are considered Russian by default. But in fact, their bearers can be representatives of a variety of peoples: from the Bulgarians and Macedonians in the west to the Buryats and Yakuts in the east. Among Ukrainians there are also many people whose last names have such endings. The common history and numerous connections between fraternal peoples have an impact. So, which Ukrainian surnames are easy to confuse with Russian ones?

Original Ukrainian surnames

Due to a number of factors, Ukrainians acquired surnames earlier than most Russians. The geographical location of the country and the influence of its western neighbors had an impact: mainly the Poles. This process in Ukraine took place in the XIV-XVI centuries. First, surnames appeared among the nobles, then they spread to the merchants and clergy. And although the peasants changed their family nicknames to official surnames a little later, still in the 17th century there was not a single Ukrainian left without this mandatory attribute of citizenship.
However, over time, the surnames of Ukrainians could change. Thus, when joining the Zaporozhye Sich, becoming a Cossack, a man often took a new first and last name to emphasize that he had finally broken with his former life.
Sometimes the son of a man known in Podolia as Petro Pavlyuk, after moving to the Dnieper region, could be recorded there as Pavlo Pavlyuchenko. The process of forming Ukrainian surnames ended in the 19th century, when they were all officially assigned to each person.
And although the endings in -yuk (-uk) and -enko are the most common in this country, some surnames native to Ukraine end with the suffixes -ov (-ev) and -in. For example, Shinkarev, Pankov, Shugaev, Drahomanov, Khrushchev, Kostomarov, Brezhnev, Turchinov. It is quite easy to distinguish them from Russians. It is enough, as they say, to look at the root of the word. If a blacksmith in Ukraine was called a “koval,” then the surname Kovalev could originally only have come from here. Although this is not a reason to consider all its speakers Ukrainians. Over the centuries, various events have taken place: from the banal adoption of children to attempts to hide, getting lost in a neighboring country and “correcting” the surname.
If we talk about the ending -in, then the more expansive form - ishin - indicates Ukrainian origin. Such surnames were formed from women's names or nicknames of residents of Transcarpathia and Galicia. For example, the son of Baba Fedorikha could receive the surname Fedorishin, and the son of Yatsikha could become Yatsishin. Likewise, if unmarried Vasilina gave birth to a baby, and the father did not recognize him as his son, then the boy was registered with the surname Vasylishin, formed on behalf of the mother.
Often women's nicknames came from the names of their husbands: Danilo - Danilikha - Danylyshyn; Pavlo – Pavlikha – Pavlyshyn; Roman - Romanikha - Romanishin, etc.

Ancient surnames

Since the histories of the two fraternal peoples are closely intertwined, some Ukrainian surnames ending in -ov and -in were formed in the era of Kievan Rus, when the ethnic division of the Eastern Slavs had not yet begun. We are talking about representatives of the highest nobility who had surnames already in the 10th century.
For example, the peace treaty between the Byzantine Empire and Kievan Rus, concluded in 944, contains a list of very specific persons who signed it along with the legendary Prince Igor (son of Rurik). Among the noble and influential persons who acted as guarantors of peace on the Kyiv side, this historical document indicates: Karshev, Svirkov, Koloklekov, Voikov, Utin, Vuzlev and Gudov.
Which of the two nations did their descendants subsequently consider themselves to be? There is no longer an exact answer to this question. However, we can say with confidence that the surnames formed during the era of Kievan Rus may well be considered Ukrainian.

Forced Russified surnames

It should be recognized that some Ukrainian surnames were forcibly Russified. So, Romaniv could become Romanov, and Ivankiv could become Ivankov. This process also occurred in neighboring Belarus. During the times of the Russian Empire, some literate person - a county sexton who prepared documents - easily changed Ukrainian surnames just like that, without any malicious intent. Just so that the surname sounds “correct” in the opinion of a scribe transferred to some Kherson office from some Ryazan.
The famous Ukrainian philologist academician Alexander Ponomariv often notes in his journalistic speeches that in pre-revolutionary Russia there was a massive Russification of Ukrainian surnames. And historian Alexander Paliy writes that their rewriting was often carried out in the army, including the Soviet one.
If a person lost his passport, for example, then when replacing it, only one or two letters were corrected. Often people, in response to complaints from official authorities, were told that this spelling of their surnames was more accurate, but previously it was written with an error. Thus, thousands of natives of Galicia, whose surnames are characterized by the ending -iv, lost their national identity.
And in neighboring Belarus, some Ivasheviches became Ivashevs, Lukasheviches - Lukashevs, etc.

"Remade" surnames

Sometimes the process of Russification occurred voluntarily. Usually, after moving to our country, many Ukrainians added the letter “v” to their last names so as not to stand out from the bulk of the population. Porechenkov, Mishchenkov, Petrenkov, Dmitrenkov, Kovalenkov and other similar surnames retain a Ukrainian flavor; they are distinguished by the characteristic suffix “-enko”.
This was done both during the time of the Russian Empire and during the era of the USSR; it was convenient for people to be considered Russian for many reasons: from career advancement to the gossip of their neighbors in the communal kitchen.
It is noteworthy that during the time of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, when part of Ukraine was part of this Polish-Lithuanian state, some people altered their surnames by adding the ending -sky. Thus, the Ukrainians wanted to emphasize their belonging to the gentry - the privileged class of that time.
Many families, after several generations of living in Russia, inevitably acquired Russian endings for their surnames. For example, the grandfather of the great writer Anton Chekhov bore the last name Chekh. However, this happened to almost everyone who moved to our country, because those with the surname Turnip here became Repins, and the Deineks became Denikins.

Where did such surnames as Yushchenko, Khmelnitsky, Gavrilyuk and Shevchenko come from? What do Tyagnibok and Zhuiboroda have in common?

This is a unique “-enko”

Surnames ending with the suffix “-enko” are considered the most typical for Ukrainians, and not because they constitute the largest group, but because practically none are found among other Slavic peoples. The fact that such surnames have become widespread in Russia is explained by the fact that Ukrainians, after joining the Moscow State in 1654, constituted the second largest ethnic group after the Russians.

It should be noted that Ukrainian surnames came into use earlier than Russian ones. The very first mentions of a surname with the suffix “-enko” date back to the 16th century. Their localization was typical for Podolia, a little less often for the Kiev region, Zhytomyr region and Galicia. Later they began to actively spread to Eastern Ukraine.

Researcher Stepan Bevzenko, who studied the register of the Kyiv regiment of the mid-17th century, notes that surnames ending in “-enko” accounted for approximately 60% of the entire list of family names of the regiment. The suffix “-enko” is a diminutive, emphasizing the connection with the father, which literally meant “little”, “young man”, “son”. For example, Petrenko is the son of Peter or Yushchenko is the son of Yuska.

Later, the ancient suffix lost its direct meaning and began to be used as a family component. In particular, it became an addition not only to patronyms, but also to nicknames and professions - Zubchenko, Melnichenko.

Polish influence

For a long time, most of today's Ukraine was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which left its mark on the process of formation of surnames. Surnames in the form of adjectives ending in “-sky” and “-tsky” were especially popular. They were mainly based on toponyms - names of territories, settlements, and water bodies.

Initially, surnames with similar endings were worn exclusively by the Polish aristocracy, as a designation of the rights of ownership of a particular territory - Potocki, Zamoyski. Later, such suffixes spread to Ukrainian surnames, being added to names and nicknames - Artemovsky, Khmelnytsky.

Historian Valentin Bendyug notes that from the beginning of the 18th century, “noble surnames” began to be assigned to those who had an education, primarily this concerned priests. Thus, according to the researcher’s calculations, over 70% of the clergy of the Volyn diocese had surnames with the suffixes “-tsky” and “-sky”.

The appearance in Western Ukraine of surnames with endings in “-uk”, “-chuk”, “-yuk”, “-ak” also occurred during the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The basis for such surnames became baptismal names, but later any others. This helped solve the problem of identification - separating a specific person from society and separating a Ukrainian from a nobleman. This is how Gavrilyuk, Ivanyuk, Zakharchuk, Kondratyuk appeared, although over time these suffixes became more widely used - Popelnyuk, Kostelnyuk.

Eastern trail

Linguists have established that the Ukrainian language contains at least 4,000 Turkic words. This is due to the active resettlement of some Turkic and other eastern peoples in the Black Sea and Dnieper regions due to the increased Islamization of the Caucasus and Central Asian regions.
All this directly affected the formation of Ukrainian surnames. In particular, the Russian ethnologist L. G. Lopatinsky argued that the family ending “-ko”, common in Ukraine, comes from the Adyghe “ko” (“kue”), meaning “descendant” or “son”.

For example, the frequently occurring surname Shevchenko, according to the researcher, goes back to the word “sheudzhen”, which the Adygs used to call Christian priests. The descendants of those who moved to the Ukrainian lands “sheudzhen” began to add the ending “-ko” - this is how they turned into Shevchenko.
It is curious that surnames ending in “-ko” are still found among some Caucasian peoples and Tatars, and many of them are very similar to Ukrainian ones: Gerko, Zanko, Kushko, Khatko.

Lopatinsky also attributes Ukrainian surnames ending in “-uk” and “-yuk” to Turkic roots. So, as evidence, he cites the names of the Tatar khans - Kuchuk, Tayuk, Payuk. Researcher of Ukrainian onomastics G. A. Borisenko supplements the list with Ukrainian surnames with a wide variety of endings, which in his opinion are of Adyghe origin - Babiy, Bogma, Zigura, Kekukh, Legeza, Prikhno, Shakhrai.

And, for example, the surname Dzhigurda - an example of Ukrainian-Circassian anthroponymic correspondence - consists of two words: Dzhikur - the name of the Zikh governor of Georgia and David - the Georgian king. In other words, Dzhigurda is Dzhikur under David.

Cossack nicknames

The environment of the Zaporozhye Cossacks contributed to the formation of a large number of a wide variety of nicknames, behind which serfs and representatives of other classes who escaped from dependence hid their origin for safety reasons.
“According to the rules of the Sich, new arrivals had to leave their surnames behind the outer walls and enter the Cossack world with the name that would best characterize them,” writes researcher V. Sorokopud.
Many of the bright and colorful nicknames, consisting of two parts - a verb in the imperative mood and a noun, subsequently turned into surnames without any suffixes: Zaderykhvist, Zhuiboroda, Lupybatko, Nezdiiminoga.
Some of the names can still be found today - Tyagnibok, Sorokopud, Vernigora, Krivonos. A number of modern surnames come from one-part Cossack nicknames - Bulava, Gorobets, Bereza.

Ethnic diversity

The diversity of Ukrainian surnames is the result of the influence of those states and peoples under whose influence Ukraine has been for centuries. It is interesting that for a long time Ukrainian surnames were the product of free word creation and could change several times. Only at the end of the 18th century, in connection with the decree of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, all surnames acquired legal status, including in the territories of Ukraine that were part of Austria-Hungary.

Professor Pavel Chuchka points out that a “Ukrainian surname” should be distinguished from a surname belonging to a Ukrainian. For example, the surname Schwartz, which is still found in Ukraine, has German roots, but its derivative Schwartzuk (son of Schwartz) is already typically Ukrainian.

Thanks to foreign influence, Ukrainian surnames often acquire a very specific sound. For example, the surname Yovban, according to Czuchka, has always been prestigious, as it comes from the name of St. Job, which in Hungarian is pronounced Yovb. But the researcher sees the surname Penzenik in the Polish word “Penzyc”, which translates as to scare.



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