Kozlov: the origin of the family and its ancestors

The names of the ancient Slavs, according to the then ideas of the surrounding world, were denoted by the names of animals or plants, which, like man, were part of nature.

Surname Kozlov: origin and meaning

Calling the baby, the ancient Slavs asked Mother Nature to give the child all the best qualities of the animal, whose name he wore.

Kozlov - a name whose origin, according to modern researchers, is associated with the non-church (pre-Christian) name Kozel. In the territory of pagan Russia such names did not surprise anyone, since they were an integral part of the traditions of the cult of idolatry.

Our ancient pagan forefathers revered the goat as the personification of masculinity, an abundance of vitality, creative activity and excellence. Excellence was attributed to the goat as a conqueror of mountain peaks and difficult-to-reach high-altitude paths. Therefore, the child who received the name, consonant with the name of this animal, should grow up brave, tireless, strong and wise.

How the name became a surname

Everything changed after the baptism of Rus by Prince Vladimir in 988 (or 987). Despite the fact that the Gentile Slavs, while respecting the freedom of choice and sovereignty of man, were mostly not ready to accept other religions, global changes affected each of them. How is this historical fact linked to the name Kozlov? The origin of the name, perhaps, is due precisely to the conversion of the Old Believers into Christianity.

After the arrival of the Christian faith, the goat was declared an animal of the devil, a symbol of sin, curse and impermanence. The name Kozel was gradually transformed into the name Kozlov, and the expression "scapegoat" had a new meaning: "Christ, who atoned for world sins."

Where did the expression "scapegoat" come from?

In ancient times the very concept of "absolution" existed only within the framework of the Jewish ritual "Day of Atonement". On the appointed day, through the incantations, all the sins of the people were transferred to two goats, one of which, the one for whom the lot fell, served as an expiatory sacrifice for the Jewish god Yahweh, and the other, called the scapegoat, for Azazel. The scapegoat was sent off to a deserted place and released.

In this connection, there was a custom: a lone walker no man's goat bypassed the tenth road - after all, he may have been the property of the Prince of Darkness, and the man who took the animal himself took the sins of the entire Jewish people ... But, Surname Kozlov means that her carriers - descendants of Old Slavic nobles and to the above historical information have nothing to do.

Pedigree of the Gables

The patronymic, descended from the non-church name Kozel, was very common in the early 15th century. This is not surprising, given the popularity of a similar personal male name. According to the calculations made by B. Unbegaun, in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century, the nickname Kozlov was in 36th place in demand.

It is also established that in the boyars environment the name Kozlov (the origin of the surname is associated with the period preceding the birth of the Christian faith) was formed during the disengagement of the enlarged aristocratic ancient families.

By the middle of the 15th century, the son of Boyar Morozov, Grigory Kozel, was the founder of the Kozlov family, and the other Kozlovs went from the descendant of Leo in the seventh tribe - Ignatii Grigoryevich Kozel-Beklemishev, whose sons were called Turkic names (Karachura, Saltyk and Shadra Kozlovy) in the 16th century and in 1573 Were awarded the title of nobleman.

Surname Kozlov: nationality and meaning

Later, the Kozlovs appeared among peasants who wore the corresponding patronymic or nickname. According to the assumptions of NA Baskakov, the name Kozlov comes from the Turkic-Nogai "goat" ("three-year-old sheep"). When the aristocracy's authority from the nobility reached its peak, in Poland the names began to appear in large numbers, ending with the suffixes -sky, -sky, -ovich, -evich ... Special representatives of the social lower classes had newfangled endings.

The alternative method consisted in doubling the consonant sounds (mostly "c", "l", "p" and "t"), due to which the familiar surnames turned into original and unique: Kozell, Koziello ... So "Kozlov" - surname , The origin of which went from the name of a fearless animal - has become an element of prestige.

Today, a person with the surname Kozel, Kozlanyuk, Kozlyuk, Kozlonok can be found on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus. As for the name Kozlov (whose frequency of use today allowed her to move on the scale of popularity to the 7th place) - her, as before, is the descendants of the ancient Russian boyars and peasants.

The Scandinavians worshiped the goat as a symbol of vitality and considered it the animal of the god Thor. The ancient Greeks also respected the goats (the origin of the name is not associated with either Greek or Scandinavian culture), worshiping the goat-like god Pan.

"Goat" theme is one of the components of the symbolism of Dionysus (he, incidentally, also liked to turn into a goat at leisure), whose constant retinue consisted of goat-legged satyrs. Even the well-known expression "cornucopia", as it turned out, has to do with this animal: Jupiter drank from the goat's horn, which, as is known, was nourished with goat's milk.

Given all of the above, a person named Kozlov can be by nationality and Russian, and Ukrainian, and Byelorussian, and Pole.

Interesting details

The name Kozlov, according to scientists, in 50% of cases comes from Russians, 5% from Ukrainian, 10% from Belarusian, 30% from Tatar, Mordovian, Bashkir, Buryat and in 5% of cases from Bulgarian and Serbian names, nicknames, types of professions and names of settlements.

In the most fascinating historical diaries that have survived to this day, it is said that namesakes of modern Kozlovs were very significant historical figures and came from the Slavic clergy (15th-16th centuries), they were endowed with power and respected. The antiquity of the roots of the Kozlov family (the origin of the surname, we repeat, is related to the period preceding the birth of the Christian faith) is confirmed by the register of the census of All Russia that existed during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The sovereign kept a special list of table and sweet-sounding surnames, which were "issued" especially distinguished as a reward. Researchers consider the name of Kozlov to be unique, retaining an individual, original beginning.