Why do Russians have such surnames? Where did the surnames come from? Where did the surname Ivanov and other surnames come from? “Two groups of original Slavic names have developed in Rus'”

“Volost Court”, Mikhail Ivanovich Zoshchenko, 1888

HISTORY OF ORIGIN

Russian surnames are mainly formed as patronymics from ecclesiastical or non-ecclesiastical personal names or nicknames, for example, Ivan > Ivanov son > Ivanov. This also includes surnames derived from nicknames associated with the profession: Goncharov, Melnikov, Krasilnikov.

Much less often - from the names of the area, for example Belozersky from Beloozero. This method of formation is especially characteristic of princely families, however (unlike Western Europe) is not typical for nobles.

The surnames of the clergy are derived from the names of parishes (for example, Kosmodemyansky, Rozhdestvensky) or artificially created in the seminary (Afinsky, Dobrovolsky), and sometimes Greek or Latin tracing paper with a literally translated surname or nickname was used as surnames, for example Solovyov - Aedonitsky.

In various social strata, surnames appeared in different time. The first in the Russian lands to acquire surnames were citizens of Veliky Novgorod and its vast possessions in the north, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Range. Novgorod chroniclers mention many surnames and nicknames already in the 13th century.

So in 1240. Among the Novgorodians who fell in the Battle of the Neva, the chronicler mentions the names: “Kostyantin Lugotinits, Gyuryata Pineshchinich, Namest, Drochilo Nezdylov, son of a tanner.”

In 1268“having killed the mayor Mikhail, and Tverdislav Chermny, Nikifor Radyatinich, Tverdislav Moisievich, Mikhail Krivtsevich, Ivach, Boris Ildyatinich, his brother Lazor, Ratsha, Vasil Voiborzovich, Osip, Zhiroslav Dorogomilovich, Poroman Podvoisky, Polyud, and many good boyars.”

In 1270“Having run to the prince at the Settlement of the Thousand and Ratibor, Gavrilo Kyyaninov and his other friends.” In the same year, Prince Vasily Yaroslavich “went to the Tatars, taking Petril Rychag and Mikhail Pineshchinich with him.”

In 1311“Kostyantin, Ilyin’s son Stanimirovich, was quickly killed.” In 1315, Prince Mikhail Tverskoy demanded from the Novgorodians: “give me Fyodor Zhrevsky”...

And there are many such examples...

Somewhat later, in the XIV-XV centuries, family names appeared among princes and boyars.

The princes were nicknamed by the name of their inheritance, and the moment of the emergence of the surname should be considered the moment when the prince, having lost his inheritance, still retained his name as a nickname for himself and his descendants: Shuisky, Vorotynsky, Obolensky, Vyazemsky, etc.

A minority of princely surnames come from nicknames: Gagarins, Gorbatye, Glazatye, Lykovs, Scriabins (boyar Skryaba Travin, Timofey Grigorievich), etc.

Surnames like Lobanov-Rostovsky connect the name of the reign with a nickname.

Boyarsky and noble families were also formed from nicknames or from the names of ancestors.

The process of formation of boyar surnames from hereditary nicknames is well illustrated by the history of the boyar (later royal) family of the Romanovs. Its founders were those who lived in the 14th century. Andrei Ivanovich Kobyla (his brother Fyodor Ivanovich Shevlyaga - the founder of the ancient boyar family of the Trusovikhs (from Matvey Trus, 15th century), etc.) and Fyodor Andreevich Koshka Kobylin.

The descendants of Fyodor Koshka for several generations bore the nickname-surname Koshkins (however, not all of them: his son Alexander Bezzubets became the ancestor of the Bezzubtsevs, and another son Fyodor Goltyai became the ancestor of the Goltyaevs). The names of his son Ivan and grandson Zakhary Ivanovich were Koshkins. Among the children of the latter, Yakov Zakharovich Koshkin became the founder of the noble family of the Yakovlevs, and Yuri Zakharovich began to be called Zakharyin-Koshkin, while the son of the latter was already called Roman Zakharyin-Yuryev. The surname Zakharyin-Yuryev, or simply Zakharyin, was also borne by Roman’s son, Nikita Romanovich (as well as his sister Anastasia, the first wife of Ivan the Terrible); however, the children and grandchildren of Nikita Romanovich were already called Romanovs, including Fyodor Nikitich (Patriarch Filaret) and Mikhail Fedorovich (Tsar).

At the end of the 15th century. Among the Russian nobles, the first surnames of foreign origin appear, primarily the surnames of Polish-Lithuanian and Greek (eg. Filosofov) immigrants.

In the 17th century to them are added such surnames of Western origin as Fonvizins, Lermontovs.

The surnames of the descendants of Tatar immigrants were reminiscent of the names of these immigrants: Yusupov, Akhmatov, Kara-Murza, Karamzin (also from Kara-Murza). However, it should be noted that the eastern origin of a surname does not always indicate eastern origin its bearers: in some cases, they come from Tatar nicknames that were in fashion in Muscovite Rus'. This is the surname Bakhteyarova, which was borne by the branch of the Rostov Rurik princes (from Fyodor Priimkov-Bakhteyar), or the surname Beklemishev, which came from the nickname Beklemish (Turkic - guarding, guarding), which was borne by Fyodor Elizarovich, the boyar of Vasily I.

During this period, peasants usually did not have surnames; their function was performed by nicknames and patronymics, as well as the mention of their owner, since in the 16th century. The peasantry of central Russia was subjected to mass enslavement.

For example, in archival documents from that time you can find the following entries: “Ivan Mikitin’s son, and his nickname is Menshik,” entry from 1568; “Onton Mikiforov’s son, and nickname is Zhdan,” document from 1590; “Guba Mikiforov, son of Crooked Cheeks, landowner,” entry from 1495; “Danilo Soplya, peasant”, 1495; “Efimko Sparrow, peasant,” 1495.

In these records one can see indications of the status of still free peasants (landowner), as well as the difference between the patronymic and the surname (son of such and such).

Peasants northern Russia, former Novgorod possessions, could have real surnames in this era, since serfdom did not apply to these areas.

Probably the most famous example This kind of person is Mikhailo Lomonosov. You can also remember Arina Rodionovna Yakovleva, a Novgorod peasant woman and Pushkin’s nanny.

Cossacks also had surnames. Surnames were also given to a significant part of the population of the lands that were previously part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - the Belarusian lands to Smolensk and Vyazma, Little Russia. The majority of the indigenous population of the black earth provinces, the descendants of service people: single-lords, state peasants, also had surnames.

Under Peter the Great, by Senate Decree of June 18, 1719, in connection with the introduction of the poll tax and conscription, the earliest police registration documents were officially introduced - travel documents (passports). The passport contained information: name, surname (or nickname), where he came from, where he was going, place of residence, description of his type of activity, information about family members who traveled with him, sometimes information about his father and parents.

By decree of January 20, 1797, Emperor Paul I ordered the compilation of a General Arms Book of noble families, which collected more than 3,000 noble family names and coats of arms.

DISTRIBUTION OF SURNAMS AMONG MERCHANTS AND SERVICE PEOPLE

In the XVIII-XIX centuries. surnames began to spread among civil servants and merchants. At first, only the richest - the “eminent merchants” - were awarded the honor of receiving a surname.

In the 15th-16th centuries there were few of these, mostly of Northern Russian origin. For example, the merchants Kalinnikovs, who founded the city of Sol Kamskaya in 1430, or the famous Stroganovs. Among the merchant surnames there were many that reflected the “professional specialization” of their bearers. For example, the surname Rybnikov, derived from the word rybnik, that is, “fish merchant.”

One can also recall citizen Kuzma Minin, who, as is known, did not belong to the nobility, but had his own surname already at the end of the 16th century, early XVII centuries.

DISTRIBUTION OF SURNAME AMONG THE CLRISH

The clergy began to have surnames only with mid-18th century V. Usually they were formed from the names of parishes and churches (Preobrazhensky, Nikolsky, Pokrovsky, Blagoveshchensky, Rozhdestvensky, Uspensky, Kosmodemyansky, etc.). Before this, priests were usually called Father Alexander, Father Vasily, Father or Father Ivan, without any surname being implied. Their children, if necessary, often received the surname Popov.

Some clergy acquired surnames upon graduation from the seminary: Athensky, Dukhososhestvensky, Palmin, Kiparisov, Reformatsky, Pavsky, Golubinsky, Klyuchevsky, Tikhomirov, Myagkov, Liperovsky (from a Greek root meaning “sad”), Gilyarovsky (from a Latin root meaning “cheerful”) ").

At the same time, the best students were given the most euphonious surnames and those that carried a purely positive meaning, in Russian or Latin: Brilliantov, Dobromyslov, Benemansky, Speransky (Russian analogue: Nadezhdin), Benevolensky (Russian analogue: Dobrovolsky), Dobrolyubov, etc.; vice versa, bad students came up with evil sonorous surnames, for example Gibraltar, or formed from the names of negative biblical characters (Sauls, Pharaohs).

DISTRIBUTION OF SURNAMES AMONG THE PEASANTRY

“...As practice reveals, even among persons born in a legal marriage, there are many people who do not have surnames, that is, bearing so-called patronymic surnames, which causes significant misunderstandings, and even sometimes abuses... To be called by a certain surname is not only a right, but it is also the duty of every full-fledged person, and the designation of the surname on some documents is required by law itself.”

In central Russia, among the peasantry, surnames until the 19th century. were relatively rare. However, one can remember individual examples - famous Ivan Susanin, who lived in the 16th-17th centuries.

In addition, the names of some peasants are known - participants in certain wars, campaigns, defenses of cities or monasteries and other historical disasters.

However, indeed, until the 19th century. mass distribution among the peasants Central Russia had no last name. But this is rather due to the fact that in those days there was no need for a complete mention of all peasants, and there are no documents in which peasants were mentioned without exception or in the majority. And for the official document flow of those years, if a peasant was mentioned in it, it was usually quite enough to mention the village in which he lived, the landowner to whom he belonged, and his personal name, sometimes along with his profession.

The majority of peasants in central Russia were officially given surnames, recorded in documents only after the abolition of serfdom in 1861.

At the root of some surnames were the names settlements(villages, villages), where these peasants came from. Mostly these are surnames ending in -skikh. Brynsky, Lebedevsky, Uspensky

However, most surnames are family nicknames in origin. Which, in turn, came from the “street” nickname of one or another family member. For the majority of peasants, this very “street” nickname was written down in the document, of which another family could have more than one.

Nicknames appeared much earlier than universal family names. These same family nicknames, sometimes going back many generations, actually served as surnames among the peasants of Central Russia - in everyday life, even before they were universally consolidated. They were the first to be included in the census forms, and in fact, family registration was simply the recording of these nicknames in documents.

Thus, giving a peasant a surname often came down simply to official recognition, legitimization, and assignment of family or personal nicknames to their bearers. This explains the fact that in the era before the mass allocation of surnames to the peasants of Central Russia - we still know individual names and the names of peasants who took part in certain important events.

When it became necessary to mention a peasant in a chronicle or in a narration about some event in which he was a participant, the corresponding nickname was simply indicated as his surname - his own, or his family's. And then, during the general assignment of surnames to the peasants of Central Russia, which occurred after the abolition of serfdom, these same nicknames were, for the most part, officially recognized and assigned.

Worldly surnames were formed on the basis of the worldly name. Worldly names came from pagan times, when church names did not yet exist or were not accepted by the common people.

After all, Christianity did not immediately captivate the minds, much less the souls, of the Slavs. Old traditions were preserved for a long time, the covenants of ancestors were revered sacredly. Every family remembered the names of their ancestors up to the 7th generation and even deeper. Legends from the history of the family were passed down from generation to generation. Cautionary stories the past deeds of the ancestors were told at night to the young successors of the family.

Many of the worldly ones were proper names (Gorazd, Zhdan, Lyubim), others arose as nicknames, but then became names (Nekras, Dur, Chertan, Zloba, Neustroy). It should be noted here that in Old Russian system names, it was also customary to call babies protective names, amulets - names with negative content - for protection, scaring away evil forces, or for the reverse effect of the name. This is how it is still customary to scold those taking an exam, or to wish a hunter “no feather, no feather.”

It was believed that Dur would grow up smart, Nekras would grow up handsome, and Hunger would always be well-fed. Protective names then became familiar nicknames, and then surnames.

For some, the patronymic was recorded as a surname. The royal decrees on conducting a census usually stated that everyone should be recorded “by first name and nickname,” that is, by first name, patronymic and last name. But in the XVII - first half XVIII centuries The peasants did not have hereditary surnames at all. The peasant family lived only for one life. For example, Procopius was born into the family of Ivan, and in all metric records he is called Procopius Ivanov. When Vasily was born to Procopius, the newborn became Vasily Prokopyev, and not Ivanov at all

The first census of 1897 showed that up to 75% of the population did not have a surname (however, this applied more to residents of the national outskirts than of indigenous Russia). Finally, surnames appeared for the entire population of the USSR only in the 30s of the 20th century during the era of universal passportization.

The word "" translated from Latin means "family". Just like the patronymic, as a rule, passes to the child from the father, but in this case the rules are still not as severe as with patronymics. Parents can give their children the surname of not only the father, but also the mother and even the grandfather and grandmother.
In the old days, however, such questions did not arise, because people did not have surnames. And yet it was necessary to somehow distinguish them from one another; names alone were not enough, and they often coincided.
At the everyday level, this issue was resolved simply: each person was given a nickname or nickname. They then served as surnames.
For the first time, surnames appeared quite officially in Russia during the time of Peter I, when the tsar, by his decree, ordered to record all people living in Russian state, “by names from fathers and nicknames,” i.e. by first name, patronymic and last name. But even then, not everyone had surnames.

Princes and boyars were the first to receive them in the 14th-15th centuries. Often their surnames were formed from the names of the properties that belonged to them. If the land holdings were located in the Tver province, then the boyar's surname could be Tverskaya, if in Meshchera - Meshchersky, etc. But it happened that boyars also received surnames based on their old nicknames. Thus, once upon a time in the 14th century there lived a boyar named Grigory, nicknamed Pushka. It is unknown why he received such a nickname. Maybe because of the loud voice that sounded like a cannon shot, or maybe it had something to do with military equipment. But no matter what was behind it, only his nickname turned into a surname, which after several generations went to the great poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin, a descendant of the boyar Grigory Pushka.

Later, already in the 16th-18th centuries, nobles began to receive surnames. There was already more diversity here, because the title of nobility was often awarded for special services to the state, and among the nobles there were people who were not at all noble birth who did not have their own land holdings. So the nobles received their surnames by the name of their father or mother, for example, Stepanov, Dmitriev, Efrosinin, sometimes they came up with some kind of name for themselves noble family, it happened that the king granted it to them along with the title of nobility. It happened that nobles also received their surnames from their old nicknames. Of course, they tried to make them more harmonious, and noble families by the surname Durnovo, Chernago, Khitrovo, Ryzhago, etc.

Later, in XVIII-XIX centuries, it was the turn of trade and service people. They, as a rule, received surnames from the names of the places where they were from. This is how the surnames Astrakhantsev, Moskvitinov, Moskvin, Vologzhanin, etc. appeared.

This is how all classes of Russia received their surnames in turn. When the turn came to the largest segment of the population - the peasants (and this happened already in the 19th century), then the most different ways formation of surnames; and by the name of the father and mother (Ivanov, Petrov, Maryin, etc.), and by the name of the craft or trade in which the head of the family was engaged (Carpenters, Stolyarov, etc.), by Street nickname: Khudyakov, Krivonosov, Ryzhov ...

It often happened that peasants took surnames after the first and last names of those landowners they served for or whom they knew. There is a known situation when, during the next population census, the peasants of the current Pushkinogorsky district of the Pskov region, finding it difficult to name their surnames (some forgot, and some did not have one), called themselves by the surname of their famous fellow countryman and his friends who visited him or whom they heard about. Thus, the Pushkin, Pushchin, Yazykov families live here to this day...

Today it is impossible to imagine our life without a surname. This is our family name. However, not everyone thinks about the fact that even before mid-19th centuries, the surname was rather an exception to the rule. Today this sounds like nonsense. Meanwhile, the mass “production” and “appropriation” of surnames began after the fall of serfdom in 1861. Then the peasants ceased to belong to anyone, became independent, and nicknames like “Mikola, Great Lapti” ceased to be quoted. It was then that the need arose to give them surnames.

And, nevertheless, this does not mean that before the abolition of serfdom in Russia there were no surnames at all. If you delve into the depths of history, it becomes clear that there were surnames before. For example, the peasants of northern Russia, the former Novgorod possessions, could have real surnames even during the times of serfdom, since it did not apply to those regions. For example, a Russian genius who reached unprecedented heights - Mikhailo Lomonosov - came from such a background. By the way, Novgorod was a progressive city in many respects. It is a fact that the citizens of Veliky Novgorod and its vast possessions were the first to acquire surnames in the Russian lands. Thus, Novgorod chroniclers mention many surnames and nicknames already in the 13th century. For example, in the chronicles of those years, among the Novgorodians who fell in the Battle of the Neva, Kostyantin Lugotinits, Drochilo Nezdylov, the son of a tanner, and others appear.

Naturally, surnames first appeared among the nobility who owned lands. In the XIV-XV centuries, family names appeared among princes and boyars. They were “nicknamed” by the name of their destiny. It is interesting that the emergence of the surname began to be associated with the moment when the prince, having lost his inheritance, still retained his name as a nickname for himself and his descendants (Tverskoy, Vyazemsky). Some of the surnames came from nicknames: Zubatye, Lykov. Subsequently we met and double surnames, which were based on both the name of the principality and the nickname, for example, Lobanov-Rostovsky.

A study of the history of surnames suggests that some of the first surnames were with clearly non-Russian roots. At the end of the 15th century, the first surnames of foreign origin appeared among Russian nobles: Filosov (they were worn by Greek and Lithuanian-Polish immigrants), Yusupov, Akhmatov (migrated into the Russian language thanks to the descendants of the Tatars). By the way, the well-known Karamzin had such a surname (derived from Kara-Murza). Subsequently, surnames of Western origin were added to the Russian family fund (Fonvizins, Lermontovs).

Returning to the “familying” of former serfs, one of the ways to “reward” them with “family names” was to borrow or partially change the surname of the landowner to whom they belonged. Surnames were also “born” from the names of settlements in which former serfs lived. However, in most cases, surnames were formed from street nicknames of peasants (Vereshchagins, from Vereshchagi, this could be called a peasant for his passion for chatter - “screaming”) or from patronymics (Grigoriev, Mikhailov), they were also given by occupation (Kuznetsov).

The history of work and life left its mark on surnames, the lexical bases of which meant social relations(Patrakov), items of clothing (Laptev), food (Sbitnev), customs and rituals (Mummers). Many surnames are associated with names-amulets designed to deceive " evil spirits", not to scold, but to defend their owners: Nekrasov (from the non-church name Nekras), Scoundrels, Fools. The surnames completely took root only in the 30s of the 20th century.

What is a surname? Where did the surnames come from? There are many theories and versions on this matter. Nowadays, a surname is a hereditary family name, showing that people belong to one common ancestor or, in the narrow sense, to one family. The word "surname" itself is of Roman origin. Ancient Rome the surname was the totality of a person's family and the slaves belonging to him.

For a long time, this word had approximately the same meaning in Europe and Rus'; even in the 19th century, freed peasants often received the surname of the previous owner. Nowadays a surname is a generic name added to a personal name. All peoples of the world have surnames in one form or another, with the exception of the Icelanders, who have a patronymic as a surname. Tibetans don't have surnames either.

Where did the surnames of different classes come from?

Surnames ordinary people, clergy and nobility have different origins, or rather, even different reasons for their appearance, they even formed at different times. The most ancient in Rus' are boyar and noble families of toponymic origin. The nobles received allotments “for feeding”, therefore, in order to distinguish between rulers with the same name, they were called by allotment. This is how the Tverskaya, Shuisky, Starodubsky and many others appeared. History shows that people were very proud of such family names, they were cherished, and sometimes even bearing such a surname was considered a great privilege.

Now you can find less ancient surnames of toponymic origin: Varshavsky (Warshaver), Berdichev, Lvovsky and so on. These surnames appeared only in the 18th-19th centuries; these are classic Jewish surnames. The surnames of some indigenous peoples of Russia (for example, Tuvinians) may also have a toponymic origin. But most often, Russian surnames came from the name (baptismal or secular) of the person’s father. Let us recall the example with the Icelanders: among them, a person receives a patronymic based on his father’s name, which acts as a surname. That is, Sven's son Torvard will be Svensson, and his son will already be called Thorvardsson. A similar system was widespread in Russia in the 14th and 15th centuries.

Where did noble families come from?

There is a well-known history of the origin of the Romanov family, their members were called either Zakharyins, then Koshkins, then Yuryevs, until, finally, an established surname appeared named Roman Zakharyin-Yuryev, the great-great-great-grandson of the founder of the family, Andrei Kobyla. Some of the most common names in the world are derived from the baptismal name. this moment surnames: Ivanov and Petrov. The name "Ivan", translated as "God's gift", was generally the most common male name Among the peasants, the name “Peter” was slightly less common. Sidorov is often added to the company of Ivanov and Petrov, but this is at least strange. The name "Sidor" was not often found in Russia.

A number of Russian noble families have clear or disputed Tatar origins. For example, the well-known count surname “Buturlin” is believed to have its origins in the legendary Ratsha, who came to the service of Alexander Nevsky “from the Germans” (the families of the Romanovs, Pushkins, Muravyovs and others also descend from him). Other scientists believe that the surname “Buturlin” Tatar origin from the word “buturlya” - “restless person”. There is also a version that the ancestor of the Buturlins was the grandson of a native of the Horde, Ivan Buturlya. This is quite plausible, considering that in the 18th-19th centuries it was fashionable to trace one’s family back to the northern ancestors, and not to the semi-wild Mongol-Tatars.

However, the fact remains that many noble families (Arakcheevs, Bunins, Godunovs, Ogarevs) are of Tatar origin. This is due to the fact that in Rus' there were many Tatar rulers who, after the weakening of the Horde, were baptized en masse into Orthodoxy and went into the service of the Russian princes. Now we would call them “experienced managers,” so they received good positions and inheritances. It must be said that they served not out of fear, but out of conscience, as was customary in the Horde. And if we remember that Russian statehood, in principle, is the heir of the Horde, and not of the alien Varangians (who then also did not have a state), then the logical prevalence Tatar surnames in Rus' it becomes clear.

Where did the surnames of the clergy come from?

The most amusing and curious is the origin of the surnames of the clergy. These are, as a rule, very beautiful and sonorous surnames: Giatsintov, Bogoyavlensky, Voskresensky and many others. Surnames of clearly “Christian” origin were given to priests based on the name of the church: Ascension, Krestovozdvizhensky, Pokrovsky, Preobrazhensky. Young priests received surnames in seminaries; these were sonorous surnames with positive meaning: Gilyarovsky, Dobrovolsky, Speransky and so on. The clergy began to receive surnames after the church reform of Peter I. Where did peasant surnames come from?

Most of the Russian peasant surnames, as already mentioned, came from personal names, but there are surnames that came from occupation. By the way, if the surname given by the father could change (like the Icelanders), then the “professional” surname was a more durable phenomenon, since the profession was often passed on from father to son. “Kuznetsov” is the third most common surname in Russia, but not because there were many blacksmiths (rather the opposite), but because everyone in the village knew the blacksmith and could indicate where he lived. By the way, classic English surname"Smith" also translates as "blacksmith".

Professional origin also has a number of Jewish surnames. These include Shuster (shoemaker), Furman (carrier), Kramarov (from the German word “kramer” - shopkeeper). If the surname was formed not of an artisan, but of his son, then the formant -son (-zon) was added to the word: Mendelson, Glezerson. IN Slavic countries the formant -ovich was often used. Thus, the origin of the surname can be different: the surname could appear from a baptismal or secular name, the profession of a person or his father, the area where the family lived and a number of other characteristics. The main function of a surname at all times is to distinguish one person from another.

It may seem to a modern person that people have always had surnames. What is another name for members of the same family? However, until the 19th century most of the population of Russia did not have official surnames recorded in documents. It's about about serfs.

Then the tsarist government set a course for liberalizing life in the country, and the authorities state power it was necessary to somehow take into account those liable for military service. This reform was initiated “from above”, like many other transformations in our country. Surnames began to be distributed to peasants en masse. How did this process take place?

What are they needed for

The first surnames in Rus' appeared in the 13th century. First the nobles acquired them, and then the merchants and clergy. This process proceeded gradually from the center of the country to its outskirts; from the nobility to the common people. TO early XIX centuries, both Cossacks and tradesmen had surnames.

But the serfs were deprived of such a privilege. Lacking personal freedom, they could not make large transactions or somehow participate in public life, so there was no need to give them last names. In revision tales of that time, peasants were recorded by their father's name, nickname or profession. Moreover, the owner was indicated first. For example, they wrote: “Landowner Matveev Kuzma Petrov’s son, carpenter” or “Count Tolstoy’s slave Ivan, pockmarked, Sidorov’s son.”

However, in the 19th century, various departments were faced with the need to introduce strict registration of the country's population. The leadership of the empire needed such reporting in order to know how many people could be conscripted. military service from one province or another? The lack of surnames often led to confusion. In addition, without strict accounting, some unscrupulous landowners could sell their estates, deceiving potential buyers about the number of peasants living there.

Therefore, all nobles were instructed to assign surnames to serfs. However, the landowners did not immediately respond to the call of the country's leadership. And although the abolition of serfdom, which took place in 1861, spurred this process, this problem worried Russian authorities even in late XIX century.

Thus, in 1888, the Senate issued a special decree stating that every resident of the country is required to have a surname, the designation of which in documents is “required by law.” The implementation of this decree was verified during the Russian population census held in 1897.

By nickname

The famous historian-genealogist Maxim Olenev in his work “History of the names of unprivileged classes in Russia XVIII-XIX centuries" analyzed the names of peasants in the village of Ratchino, Kolomna district, Moscow province, based on the revision tale of 1850.

As the scientist noted, most surnames were formed from nicknames that people called each other in the village. During the audit, census takers simply legitimized unofficial or “street” surnames that were established in a given environment. For example, the Shcherbakovs (sherbak - a man without front teeth), the Golovanovs (golovan - a man with a large head), the Kurbatovs (kurbat - a fat, short man), the Belousovs or Golikovs (a golik - a poor man or a bald man, depending on the dialect). That is, any feature of the head of the clan immediately gave a surname to the entire family.

Patronymic

About a quarter of all Russian surnames, according to scientists, originate from patronymics. This was the name given to those who either did not have a “street” nickname or had forgotten it. Ivan's son became Ivanov, Frol's son became Frolov.

It is interesting that children of serf girls born outside of official marriage were registered by their mother’s name. Such, for example, is the surname Ulyanin (son of Ulyana), which was originally borne by the grandfather of the future leader of the world proletariat Vladimir Lenin. The son of the courtyard girl Svetlana was registered as Svetlanin, the son of Tatyana - as Tatyanin. Such surnames immediately testified to the person’s illegitimate origin, so Lenin’s grandfather at the end of his life changed his surname to a more euphonious one - Ulyanov.

By pagan name

Many Russian peasants retained pagan beliefs until the 19th century, therefore, along with the Orthodox, they often gave their children worldly, non-church names. Often these names were supposed to protect the child from evil forces, bring him health and wealth. For example, the name Chur served as a talisman against the evil eye.

Such names were usually given “by contradiction.” The parents hoped that Dur would definitely become smart, and Hunger would never face need. Human imagination knew no bounds - Chertan, Neustroy, Zloba - surnames were also formed from them.

In addition, people have preserved Old Slavonic names, not included in church calendars. For example, Zhdan, Gorazd or Lyubim. All of them are reflected in the names of Russian peasants.

By profession

Many Russian surnames come from the professions that the heads of the families were engaged in. These are the Kuznetsovs, Zolotarevs, Plotnikovs, Prikazchikovs, Klyushnikovs, Khlebopekins, Goncharovs and the like. Military professions and ranks also led to the emergence of surnames: Pushkarevs, Soldatovs, Matrosovs, Streltsovs.

By the name of the landowner

It also happened that the landowner and the census takers were too lazy to figure out how to record each peasant. Then, with the permission of the owner, all his slaves were automatically registered in his last name. This is how entire villages of Aksakovs, Antonovs, Gagarins, Polivanovs, etc. appeared in Russia.

By the name of a village, river, lake

Toponyms also quite often became derivatives for the formation of Russian surnames. Sometimes they ended in "-skih". So, all peasants from the village of Lebedevka could be given the surname “Lebedevskikh” (he will be from the Lebedevskikhs), from the village of Uspensk - Uspenskikh, from the village of Pravdino - Pravdinskikh.

Birds, animals...

According to many experts in Russian genealogy, most bird and animal surnames are based on pagan roots and are directly intertwined with the tradition of worldly names. For example, Bear (strong), Crow (wise), Wolf (brave), Fox (cunning), Swan (faithful, beautiful), Goat (fertile), Boar (powerful, stubborn), Nightingale (singing well) - could well be Not church names, designed to bestow upon children the appropriate qualities. The pagans did not divide animals into good and bad, male and female.

The same can be said about surnames associated with plants. Our ancestors, who worshiped trees, sought to give their children their features. This is how the Dubovs, Berezins, Sosnins appeared...

Clergy names

In the 19th century, among graduates of theological seminaries, the previously established tradition of changing their surname when accepting the priesthood continued. This is how a person showed that he was finally breaking with worldly life. And besides, it was believed that the surnames of Russian priests should be euphonious and corresponding to the rank.

Sometimes priests took surnames according to the parishes they received. For example, grandfather famous critic Vissarion Belinsky served as priest in the village of Belyn. Often the surnames of religious figures were formed from the names church holidays(Epiphany, Epiphany, Assumption, Rozhdestvensky), had a biblical or evangelical origin: Saulsky (King Saul), Gethsemane (named after the garden), Lazarevsky (the resurrected Lazarus).
Some seminarians, without further ado, simply translated their surnames into Latin. So Petukhov became Alektorov, Gusev became Anserov, and Bobrov became Kastorsky.

Illegitimate children of nobles

At all times, nobles also had illegitimate children. It was impossible to give such a child a noble surname, but many aristocratic fathers were not ready to abandon their children to the mercy of fate. Therefore, illegitimate children of nobles received abbreviated, truncated surnames of noble families. For example, Trubetskoy’s son was recorded as Betskoy, Golitsyn’s son as Litsyn, Vorontsov’s son as Rontsov, etc.