The most common Belarusian surnames: list, origin

The origin of proper names has always occupied humanity. Each of us involuntarily thought about the history of our family tree and the meaning of the name. Even a superficial historical and linguistic study in this area can lead to unexpected results. For example, Khazanov's surname can turn into a force of a person's location in Khazanovich, Khazanovsky or Khazanovych. Depending on the graduation judge the nationality of the individual, but this is not always an indicator. Khazanovich may be Russian, Belarusian, and Jewish.

Understand who is who in fact, will help anthroponymy - a science that collects and studies the origin of proper names. It helps to understand their belonging to a certain region, where and for what reasons they appeared. Belarusian surnames and their origin are very confusing, since the invasion of Poles, Russians, Tatars and Lithuanians influenced the lands of Belarus at all times.

The period of appearance of the first names on the lands of Belarus

Belarusian surnames can contain a variety of roots and endings. Anthroponymic analysis shows that the culture of the country was greatly influenced by many individual states. They occupied the earth and established orders according to their ideas. One of the most significant influences is the power of the Lithuanian principality. It made changes not only in the development of the Belarussian language, but also began to call noble estates by generic name.

Surnames began to appear in the late 14th - early 15th centuries, their bearers were mostly boyars, people of high rank. The name of the genus was influenced by the culture and language of other states. A great number of roots and endings depend on the time span and the peoples that dominated the Belarusian lands during this period.

Surnames of peasants and gentry

With the generic family names of notable families, the situation was more or less stable and understandable. These included the most ancient and familiar Gromyko, Tyszkiewicz, Iodko or Khodkevich. Basically, to the basis of the name was added the ending -vich / -which pointed to the noble and ancient origin of the genus. The nobility, however, did not differ in the name of the house. The surname was taken by the name of the father or grandfather, for example, Bartosh Fedorovich or Olehnovich. Interesting was the fact of the transfer of the name of estates and estates to a family estate. The peasants also received their hereditary names after the masters. For example, the name Belyavsky arose due to the name of the patrimony. And the boyar owners and peasants were called the same - Belyavsky. It could also happen that the family of serfs had several names. During this period, their surnames were of a sliding nature.

18th-19th century

At this time, the areas and differences in names of both peasants and noble estates began to appear. More than half of the population wore surnames ending in -owic / -event / -ech, for example, Petrovich, Sergeich, Mohovich. The regions of these generic names were the central and western parts of the Belarusian lands. It was during this period of time that common names were formed, they are considered the most ancient. For example, Ivashkevich's surname refers to the 18-19th centuries in origin.

The name can have deep roots and have a direct connection with the nobility. Alexandrovich is a surname that will tell not only about belonging to a noble family, but also the name of the father of the house - Alexander, the generic name refers to the 15th century.

Such interesting hereditary names, like Burak or Nose, have peasant roots. Unusual surnames were not subjected to assimilation and addition of the endings taken during this period.

The influence of Russia

Russian surnames, usually ending in -ov, began to be worn by Belarusians because of the Russians invading the eastern lands of Belarus. A typical Moscow ending was added to the basics of names. So there were Ivanov, Kozlov, Novikov. Also endings on -o were added, which is more typical for Ukrainians than for Russians. For example, the wonderful name Goncharenok turned into Goncharenko. The trend of such changes in the name of births is characteristic only for regions where the influence of Russians - the east of the country was observed.

Interesting and beautiful surnames of Belarus

From the depths of the centuries came the most interesting and unforgettable names of the Belarusians, who were not subjected to changes and assimilation. Their origin is due to the rich imagination of the peasants. Very often people called their family in honor of weather phenomena, animals, insects, months of the year and human characteristics. Everyone knew the name Moroz exactly. To this category include Nose, Wind Turbine, Mart or Beetle. These are typically Belarusian surnames, but they are quite rare.

Men's names

Interestingly, the genus in the Belarusian lands was designated, the basis of which was male surnames. By the name of the family it was possible to understand who is the father and who is the son. If it was a son, his name was added to the ending -on / -ik / -char / -uk / -yuk. In other words, for example, the surnames of "ik" indicate that the person is the son of a noble family. These include Mironchik, Ivanchik, Vasilyuk, Alexyuk. Thus appeared purely male surnames, speaking of belonging to a particular clan.

If a simple family wanted to simply designate a child as the son of her father, then the ending-yen was used. For example, Vaselenia is Vasil's son. Common surnames of this etymology date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. They began to appear a little later than the famous Radzevich, Smolenich or Tashkevich, dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.

The most common hereditary names

Belarusian surnames differ from the total mass with the endings "vich", "ich", "ichi" and "ovich". These anthroponyms point to ancient roots and originally Belarusian origin, which denotes the genealogical estate.

• Smolich - Smolichi - Smolovich.
• Yashkevich - Yashkevichi - Yashkovich.
• Zhdanovich - Zhdanovichi.
• Stojanovic - Stojanovici.
• Surname Petrovich - Petrovichi.

This is an example of well-known Belarusian generic names, whose origin dates back to the early 15th century. Their consolidation occurred already in the 18th century. The official recognition of these designations dates back to the end of the 19th century.

The second layer of names for popularity and prevalence refers to surnames with endings "ik", "chik", "uk", "yuk", "enok". These include:

• Artiamenok (everywhere).
• Yazepchik (everywhere).
• Mironchik (everywhere).
• Mikhalyuk (west of Belarus).

These names more often indicate the person's belonging to the noble or noble family.

Russified and unusual surnames

The third layer of common surnames implies the endings of "s", "o". For the most part, they are located in the eastern part of the country. They are very similar to Russian surnames, but they often have a Belarusian root and a foundation. For example, Panov, Kozlov, Popov - it can be both Belarusians and Russians.

The names for "in" also refer to the eastern part of the country and have a Russian echo. Muslims were attributed "in" to the basis of the name. So Khabibul became Khabibulin. This part of the country was strongly assimilated under the influence of Russians.

No less common are the names derived from the names of villages, estates, animals, holidays, plants, months of the year. These include such wonderful and interesting surnames as:

• I went swimming;
• Kalyada;
• Tit;
• Beetle;
• Tambourine;
• March;
• Pear.

Also have a significant distribution of names, describing the main distinguishing feature of a person and his whole family. For example, lazy people will be named Lianutska, scattered and forgetful - Zabudzka.

The existing stereotypes and misunderstandings

Belarusian surnames, the list of which is diverse and rich in origin, is often confused with Jewish, Lithuanian and even Latvian. Many are confident that, for example, Abramovich's surname is purely Jewish. But this is not entirely true. At the time of the formation of anthroponyms on the Belarusian lands, the people who bear the names Abram or Hazan were added the ending -ovich or -original. So Abramovich and Khazanovichi came out. Often the root of the names was German or Jewish. Assimilation occurred in the early 14th and 15th centuries and became the basis of the family heritage of Belarus.

Another misconception is the opinion that the surnames of the origin are from Lithuanian or Polish roots. If you compare the anthroponyms of Latvia, Poland and Belarus, then you can not find a similarity between them. There are neither Senkevichs nor Zhdanovichs in Latvia, nor in Poland. These surnames are primordially Belarusian. The Lithuanian principality and other states undoubtedly influenced the formation of generic names, but did not introduce their own, original names. It can also be said that many of the common surnames of the Byelorussians are very similar to the Jewish ones.

The origin of the names on the Belarusian land was formed over several centuries. It was an interesting and lively linguistic process. Now generic names have become a reflection of the rich and diverse history of Belarus. Multilayered culture of the country, the influence on the development and formation of which the Poles, Lithuanians, Tatars, Jews and Russians have had, can be clearly traced by the surnames of people. The final and official adoption of their own names on the territory of Belarus occurred only in the middle of the 19th century.