What does the ending of Georgian surnames mean? Georgian surnames

Origin of Georgian surnames.

History of Georgian surnames much older than, for example, Russians. The first mentions of hereditary generic names among Georgians date back to the 7th-8th centuries. Until XIII centuries meaning of Georgian surnames most often associated with personal names, both male and female. Since Georgia adopted Christianity early, the names that formed the basis of the surnames were baptismal ones - Nikoladze, Tamarashvili, Ninoshvili, Georgadze. Later, surnames began to be formed from the person’s profession and from his nickname - Mchedlishvili (from the word “blacksmith”), Datunashvili (from the word “bear”).

Most Georgian surnames appeared when Georgia was fragmented into numerous feudal estates. This influenced not only political, economic and cultural processes, the language also developed differently. This gave rise to the heterogeneity of Georgian surnames. However, they are all united by the presence of two components - a root and a suffix. Dictionary of Georgian surnames shows that generic names in Georgia were formed using 13 suffixes. Paying attention to the ending Georgian surnames, you can supplement them interpretation the name of the area where the roots of their bearers go.

Local features of surnames.

IN list of Georgian surnames in alphabetical order surnames with the components -dze and -shvili predominate. Surnames with -dze are found in the western part of Georgia, and the particle -shvili indicates that the roots of the owner of such a surname are in Eastern Georgia. Both of these suffixes are close in meaning and mean “son, daughter, descendant, child born of such and such.”

Menrelian surnames are easily distinguished by the ending -ia or -ava (Chanturia, Zarandia, Lezhava, Eliava). Mingrelians also have surnames with other endings - Gegechkori, Ingorokva, Chochua. Svans are characterized by surnames ending in -iani (Mushkudiani, Gelovani, Chikovani). Eastern highlanders (Khevsurs, Mtiuls, Pshavs, Tushins and others) can be distinguished by their surnames in -uri, -uli - Ketelauri, Midelauri, Chincharauli. The surnames Perveli, Machabeli, Khalvashi, Tugushi have their own “connections”. Everyone in Georgia is well aware of which surnames are princely, for example, Dadiani, Eristavi, Bagrationi, Melikishvili. This gives their bearers another reason to be proud of their surname.

As you can see, Georgian hereditary naming can tell a lot about a person’s ancestry, his roots and the area where his ancestors are from. It is worth adding that Georgian surnames are the same for men and women. Despite the complex combination of sounds and significant length, Georgian surnames are rarely distorted in Russian. Declension same Georgian surnames also does not cause any particular difficulties - the absolute majority of them are not inclined towards either the male or female version.

Top Georgian surnames shows which ones are the most common and popular.

It is quite easy to recognize Georgian surnames among others. They are distinguished by their characteristic structuring and, of course, famous endings. Surnames are formed by merging two parts: the root and the ending (suffix). For example, a person well versed in this topic will be able to easily determine in which area certain Georgian surnames are common.

Origin

The history of the country goes back several thousand years. In ancient times, it did not have a name, and Georgia was divided into 2 regions: Colchis (western) and Iberia (eastern). The latter interacted more with its neighbors - Iran and Syria - and had virtually no contact with Greece. If in the 5th century Georgia adopted Christianity, then by the 13th century they were talking about it as a powerful country with reliable ties with the European continent and the East.

The history of the country is steeped in the struggle for sovereignty, but, despite the difficulties, the people were able to create their own culture and customs.

It is generally accepted that real Georgian surnames should end in “-dze”, and they come from the parent case. But a person with a surname ending in “-shvili” (translated from Georgian as “son”) was added to the list of those who do not have Kartvelian roots.

If the interlocutor family name ended in “-ani”, people knew that in front of them was a representative of a noble family. By the way, Armenians have surnames with a similar suffix, only it sounds like “-uni”.

Georgian surnames(masculine) ending in “-ua” and “-ia” have Mingrelian roots. There are many such suffixes, but they are rarely used now.

List of popular surnames by region

Whatever one may say, the most common surnames in Georgia are those ending in “-shvili” and “-dze”. Moreover, the last suffix is ​​the most common. Often people with a surname ending in “-dze” can be found in Imereti, Guria and Adjara. But in the eastern region there are practically no such people.

On this moment surnames starting with “-dze” are attributed to old genealogies, respectively, “-shvili” - to modern or young ones. The latter (the suffix is ​​also translated as “born”) are widespread in Kakheti and Kartli (eastern regions of the country).

The meaning of some surnames

A special group of generic names are those that have the following endings:

For example, Rustaveli, Tsereteli. Also on the list of the most common surnames in Georgia are Khvarbeti, Chinati and Dzimiti.

Another group consists of surnames ending in “-ani”: Dadiani, Chikovani, Akhvelidiani. It is believed that their roots belong to famous Migrelian rulers.

Surnames ending in:

By the way, among them there are many famous stars: Okudzhava, Danelia, etc.

The suffix “-nti” with Chan or Svan origin is considered a rare example. For example, Glonti. These also include surnames containing the participial prefix “me-” and the name of the profession.

Translated from Persian, nodivan means “advice,” and Mdivani means “scribe,” Mebuke means “bugler,” and Menabde means “burok-making.” The surname Amilakhvari is of greatest interest. Having Persian origin, it is a non-suffixed formation.

Construction

Georgian surnames are built according to certain rules. During the baptism of a newborn child, he is usually given a name. Most surnames begin with it, and the necessary suffix is ​​subsequently added to it. For example, Nikoladze, Tamaridze, Matiashvili or Davitashvili. A considerable number of such examples can be given.

But there are also surnames formed from Muslim (usually Persian) words. For example, let's study the roots of the surname Japaridze. It originated from the common Muslim name Jafar. Translated from Persian dzapar means “postman”.

Quite often, Georgian surnames are tied to a specific area. After all, often their first bearers became at the origins princely family. Tsereteli is one of them. This surname comes from the name of the village and fortress of the same name, Tsereti, located in the northern region of Zemo.

Russification of some Georgian surnames

Despite the length and unusual combination letters and sounds, Georgian surnames, which penetrated into Russian linguistics (in particular, onomastics), were not distorted. But, as practice shows, sometimes, albeit very rarely, there are cases when Russification occurred: Muskhelishvili turned into Muskheli.

Some surnames now have suffixes that are uncharacteristic for Georgia: -ev, -ov and -v. For example, Panulidzev or Sulakadzev.

Also, when Russifying some surnames into “shvili”, shortening very often occurs. Thus, Avalishvili turns into Avalov, Baratov - Baratashvili, Sumbatashvili - Sumbatov, etc. We can name many other options that we are accustomed to taking for Russians.

Declension of Georgian surnames

Inclination or indeclinability depends on the form in which it is borrowed. For example, a surname ending in -iya is inflected, but a surname ending in -ia is not.

But today there are no strict rules regarding the declination of surnames. Although there are 3 rules according to which declension is impossible:

1. The male form is similar to the female one.
2. The surname ends in unstressed vowels (-а, -я).
3. Has the suffixes -ia, -ia.

Only in these three cases, neither the male nor female surname is subject to declension. Examples: Garcia, Heredia.

It should also be noted that it is undesirable to decline surnames ending in -ya. Let’s say there is a person named Georgy Gurtskaya who received a document that says: “issued to citizen Georgy Gurtsky.” Thus, it turns out that the person’s last name is Gurtskoy, which is not entirely typical for Georgia, and the name also loses its flavor.

Thus, linguists do not advise inflecting Georgian surnames and recommend writing the endings correctly. There are often cases when, when filling out documents, the letters at the end changed. For example, instead of Gulia they wrote Gulia, and this surname no longer has anything to do with Georgia.

Popularity of surnames in numbers

Below is a table showing the most common endings of Georgian surnames. Let's look at them in more detail and find out in which regions they are most often found.

Georgian surnames: origin, meaning, popular male and female surnames

Among all the others, Georgian surnames are recognized quite easily. They have a characteristic structure and are easy to identify at the end. Georgian surnames are made up of two parts: the ending and the root. If you look into this a little, then in more than half of the cases you can tell which region of Georgia a given genus comes from. There are a total of 13 types of endings for Georgian surnames.

General description of Georgian surnames and possible options

The most common endings are “-shvili” and “-dze”. “-dze” can be found almost throughout the entire territory of Georgia, especially in Adjara, Guria and Imereti, less often in the eastern part. But “-shvili”, on the contrary, is found mainly in the eastern part of Georgia: in Kakheti and Kartli. In Russian this can be translated as “son” or “born”, respectively. Currently, it is generally accepted that “dze” is the ending for the oldest genealogies, and “shvili” is the ending for more modern ones. According to unofficial statistics, there are about three million people with such surnames.

Some Georgian surnames originate from the names that a newborn receives at baptism. For example: Matiashvili, Davitashvili, Nikoladze, Georgadze, Tamaridze and many others. Another part of the surnames comes from Muslim or Persian words. A controversial point arises when studying the roots of the Japaridze surname. Perhaps it comes from the Muslim name Jafar, and perhaps from the Persian name for the profession - postman - dzapar. Apart from these two main types of Georgian surnames special group represent surnames ending in “-eli”, “-iti”, “-eti”, “-ati”. For example, we can cite the well-known people of this world: Tsereteli, Rustaveli, and simply common Georgian surnames: Dzimiti, Khvarbeti, Chinati.

The next group of Georgian surnames are represented by surnames ending in “-ani”: Chikovani, Akhvelediani, Dadiani. These genealogies originate from the rulers of Megrelia. Less common, but still existing surnames of this group have the endings “-uri”, “-uli”, “-ava”, “-ua”, “-aya” and “-iya”. There are even more representatives of this group of “star” surnames: Danelia, Beria, Okudzhava.

Many roots of Georgian surnames, as in the anthroponymy of other peoples of the world, carry a certain semantic load. It is often possible to trace centuries-old ethnic processes, which actively took place in the context of contacts between Georgians and neighboring peoples. For example, the roots of the surnames Khurtsidze and Sturua are clearly of Ossetian origin (respectively, the Ossetian khurts “hot” and styr “big”, “great”); among Georgian surnames of Abkhaz origin, one can indicate not only one like Abkhazava, which does not need etymology, but also Machabeli from the Abkhaz surname Achba; surnames of Adyghe origin include Abzianidze, Kashibadze and some others. There are many surnames in Eastern Georgia Dagestan origin, for example Lekiashvili from leki - the common name for Dagestanis in the Georgian language; Vainakh - Malsagashvili, Kistiauri; Azerbaijani - Tatarishvili; Armenian - Somkhishvili from Somekha - the Georgian name of the Armenians.

Georgian male middle names are formed by adding the word dze “son” to the father’s name in the genitive case: Ivan Petresdze. Female patronymics in Georgian also retained an archaic form in the form of joining to the father's name in the genitive case an ancient Georgian word that has almost fallen out of use in modern speech - asuli (adequate to the old Russian daughter): Marina Kostasasuli. However, patronymic names are practically excluded in live communication among Georgians. They are usually used in official documents. In party and Soviet institutions, often in official business situations they refer to the word amkhanagi “comrade”, calling the person only by his last name. In family and everyday communication, as well as in academic circles, the address predominantly contains the word batono (most equivalent to the Russian sir and the Polish pan) in combination exclusively with the name, regardless of age, rank, position and the person being addressed.

Ossetian and Abkhaz groups and the Russian-speaking environment

In the 90s of the last century, some Ossetians who were on the territory of Georgia were forced to change their surnames in the Georgian manner. In remote villages and settlements, not particularly literate officials did not know how to correctly write down Ossetian surnames, so they wrote them in the Georgian way. And there were also those among the Ossetians who wanted to get lost among the local population, and changed their surnames to more harmonious ones for Georgians. This is how new Georgian surnames appeared, with some accent: Mardzhanov, Tseretelev, Tsitsianov, Tsitsianov. Enormous changes were taking place. For example, the Driaevs were registered as Meladzes.

In Georgian “mela” means fox, in Russian it would be the surname Lisitsin.

The population of Abkhazia, and only about 15% of them are blood Abkhazians, have surnames ending in “-ba”: Eshba, Lakoba, Agzhba. These surnames belong to the North Caucasian Mingrelian group.

When entering the Russian-speaking environment, Georgian surnames, as a rule, are not subject to distortion, even despite the complex combination of sounds and significant length. But in some cases there is still an influence of the Russian language: Sumbatov came from Sumbatashvili, Bagration from Bagrationi, Orbeli from Orbeliani, Baratov from Baratashvili, Tsitsianov from Tsitsishvili, Tseretelev from the well-known Tsereteli.

Georgian surnames

Georgian surnames usually formed from nominal categories: titled surnames, on behalf of the parent, by geographical location, by occupation or by distinctive feature of a person. Georgian surnames began to emerge and be assigned to people during the Middle Ages. It is believed that true Georgian surnames end in the suffixes “dze” (descendant) and “shvili” (child).
We present a list of popular Georgian male and female surnames.

Georgian surname for a girl and a guy:

Beridze
Kapanadze
Mamedov
Gelashvili
Maisuradze
Giorgadze
Lomidze
Tsiklauri
Bolkvadze
Aliyev
Antadze
Berdznishvili
Vachianidze
Sguladze
Miladze
Dzhugashvili
Kikabidze
Parkaya
Mtsituridze
Gigauri

Abazadze
Gabunia
Saakashvili
Davitashvili
Jabadari
Chavadze
Kalantarishvili
Gverdtsiteli
Andronikashvili
Japaridze
Gedevanishvili
Chakvetadze
Onashvili
Lolua
Chiaureli
Surguladze
Nizharadze
Satine
Diakonidze
Tsirgvava

Gogniashvili
Guladze
Darakhvelidze
Asatiani
Kapanadze
Asmogulia
Kilasonia
Kavzharadze
Makharadze
Ninidze
Kalatozashvili
Butskhrikidze
Chogovadze
Tsiklauri
Kerdikoshvili
Japaridze
Kobalia
Vachnadze
Badurashvili
Shervashidze

Duduchava
Baraashvili
Minassali
Chapchavadze
Dzidziguri
Metreveli
Kandelaki
Gvantsa
Shevardnadze
Kaladze
Tsereteli
Parkatatsishvili
Bendukidze
Jokhtaberidze
Mirilashvili
Karchava
Nogaideli
Bezhuashvili
Okruashvili
Sheradze

Georgian surnames declension:

Georgian surnames in Russian can be inflected or indeclinable, depending on the form in which a particular surname is borrowed: surnames in -ia are indeclinable (Daneliya), in -ia - indeclinable (Gulia).

The most common Georgian surnames. Here you can find a truly Georgian surname. Surnames Georgian origin, list popular surnames. The oldest Georgian surnames. List of famous Georgian surnames. Beautiful surnames Georgian for girls and boys.

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Discussions

▬ Georgian surnames

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Most Georgian surnames come from patronymics, less often from local names, with the addition of various suffixes. Georgian surnames tend to vary depending on the part of the country. Thus, many surnames from western Georgia end with the suffix “–dze” (Georgian ძე), literally meaning “son,” while from time to time surnames from eastern Georgia end in “–shvili” (Georgian შვილი), which means “child " Surnames from the mountainous regions of eastern Georgia may end with the suffix “–uri” (Georgian ური), or “–uli” (Georgian ული). Most Svan surnames usually end in “–ani” (Georgian ანი), Mingrelians - in “–ia” (Georgian ია), “–ua” (Georgian უა), or “–ava” (Georgian ავა) , and Lazov - to “–shi” (Georgian ში).

The first mention of Georgian surnames dates back to the 7th-8th centuries. For the most part, they were associated with the names of localities (for example, Pavneli, Surameli, Orbeli), with patronymics, or were derived from professions, social status or the title that the clan traditionally bore (for example: Amilakhvari, Amirejibi, Eristavi, Dekanozishvili). Beginning in the 13th century, surnames were more often based on local names. This tradition has spread almost everywhere in XVII-XVIII centuries. Some Georgian surnames indicate the ethnic or regional origin of the family, but are formed according to the patronymic principle. For example: Kartvelishvili (“son of Kartvel,” that is, Georgian), Megrelishvili (“son of Mingrelian,” that is, Mingrelian), Cherkezishvili (Circassian), Abkhazishvili (Abkhazian), Somkhishvili (Armenian).

As of 2008, the most common Georgian surnames in Georgia are:

1. Beridze (ბერიძე) - 19,765,
2. Kapanadze (კაპანაძე) - 13,914,
3. Gelashvili (გელაშვილი) - 13,505,
4. Maisuradze (მაისურაძე) - 12,542,
5. Giorgadze (გიორგაძე) - 10,710,
6. Lomidze (ლომიძე) - 9581,
7. Tsiklauri (წიკლაური) - 9499,
8. Kvaratskhelia (კვარაცხელია) - 8815.

Georgian surname rules

Georgian surnames are quite easy to recognize among all others. They are distinguished by their characteristic structure and noticeable ending. Georgian surnames are formed using two parts. They are the root and the ending. With good orientation in this topic, you can accurately say in most of the cases presented which region of Georgia this or that surname belongs to. There are only thirteen known types of different endings belonging to Georgian surnames.

Georgian surnames - origin of Georgian surnames

The history of Georgia goes back several thousand years. In ancient times, the country did not have a common name, but was divided into two parts. Western Georgia was called Colchis, and Eastern Georgia was called Iberia. Iberia was in contact with Iran and Syria; it had weak connections with the ancient world. In the fifth century AD, Georgia became a Christian country. By the thirteenth century, Georgia had become a powerful state in the region, with reliable trade links with both the East and Europe. The entire history of Georgia is filled with the struggle for independence. At the same time, the population of Georgia created a unique and high culture.
It is believed that true Georgian surnames end in “dze”. Such surnames occur using the genitive case. People whose last name ends with “shvili” often belong to those people who do not have entirely Kartvelian roots. WITH Georgian language this suffix means "son". If a person’s Georgian surname ends with “ani,” then you have a person with a very noble origin. Such surnames are very ancient in origin. Armenians also have such surnames. Only theirs ends in “uni”. Georgian surnames that end in “ua” and “ia” are of Mingrelian origin. There are many more family suffixes, but they are rarely used.

Georgian surnames - list of Georgian surnames

Still, the most common among Georgian surnames are those that end in “dze” and “shvili”. Throughout almost the entire territory of Georgia you can find surnames with “dze”. They are very often found in Guria, Adjara and Imereti. They are rarely found in the eastern part of the country. Surnames ending in “shvili” are predominantly found in Kartli and Kakheti, which are located in the eastern part of Georgia. Translated from Georgian into Russian, these endings mean “born” or “son”, respectively. Now in modern times, it is generally accepted that the ending “dze” belongs to the oldest genealogies. The ending “shvili” is considered to belong to more modern genealogies. Unofficial statistics number about three million people with such surnames.
When a newborn is baptized, he is given a name. The beginning of some Georgian surnames begins with this name. Several similar examples can be given. These are Matiashvili, and Davitashvili, and Nikoladze, and Georgadze, and Tamaridze. There are many examples. Another part of Georgian surnames takes its origins from Persian and Muslim words. When studying the roots of surnames, small controversial issues arise. For example. If you study the roots of the Japaridze surname. This surname can be derived from both the Muslim name Jafar and the Persian dzapar, which means “postman” in that language.

Georgian surnames - endings of Georgian surnames, the meaning of Georgian surnames

A special group of surnames includes Georgian surnames that end in “eti”, “eli”, “ati” and “iti”. You've probably heard such Georgian surnames as Rustaveli and Tsereteli. The most common Georgian surnames are Khvarbeti, Dzimiti, Chinati. Another group of Georgian surnames includes surnames that end in “ani”. Many examples can also be given. These are Dadiani, Akhvelediani, and Chikovani. The genealogies to which these surnames belong begin with the famous rulers of Megrelia. Not so common, but there are still surnames belonging to this group that end in “uli”, “uri”, “ava”, “aya”, “ua” and “iya”. Among them are many representatives of star families, such as Beria, Danelia and Okudzhava.
It is very rare to find Georgian surnames that end in “nti”. They are of Chan or Svan origin. For example, such surnames as Zhgenti, Glonti. Among such surnames you can find surnames that contain the name of the profession and the participial prefix “me”. Examples: Mdivani. This surname comes from the Persian word nodivan, which translates to advice. Mdivani means clerk. The surname Amilakhvari is of interest. It is of Persian origin and is a familiar suffixless formation. The Georgian surname Mebuke is translated from Persian as a bugler, and the surname Menabde is a burka maker.

Georgian surnames - Russification of Georgian surnames

When Georgian surnames penetrated Russian onomastics, they were not distorted, even despite the unusual combination of sounds and their length. But you can find isolated cases of Russification of Georgian surnames. For example, the Georgian surname turned into the surname Orbeli, and the surname Muskhelishvili into the surname Muskheli. Some Georgian surnames contain the suffixes “ev”, “ov” and “v” appended to them. There are many examples of such surnames: Sulakadzev, Panchulidzev. During Russification, Georgian surnames that end in “shvili” are very often shortened. The surname Avalov is derived from the Georgian surname Avalishvili, Andronnikov - Andronikashvili, Sumbatov - Sumbatoshvili, Tsitsianov - Tsitsishvili, Baratov - Baratashvili, Manvelov - Manvelishvili and many other surnames that we are accustomed to consider Russian.
It is worth adding Abkhaz surnames to the Kartvelian surnames that were considered. The Abkhaz language belongs to the North Caucasian group. In modern times, fifteen percent of the population of all Abkhazia are Abkhazians. This is in most cases due to the fact that larger number Abkhazians have Mingrelian or Georgian surnames. There are also specific Abkhaz surnames, the final element of which is “ba”. This is Eshba, and Lakoba, and Agzhba.

Georgian surnames

Georgian surnames were all formed one by one general rule: by attaching a second component to the base, which has gradually lost its independence lexical meaning and turned into a suffix. And there are about a dozen such suffixes.

Surnames starting with “-shvili” often, but not always, belong to people with not entirely Kartvelian roots. This suffix comes from the Georgian word for "son".

Surnames starting with “-ani” and “-oni” belong to people of VERY noble origin. These are very ancient surnames in origin, and Armenians have similar ones (with “-uni”).

Surnames starting with “-ia” and “-ua” are of Mingrelian origin.
There are also a number of family suffixes, but they are used much less frequently.

All Georgian surnames consist of 2 parts - the root and the ending. At the end of the test, in 70% of cases, you can understand what part of Georgia the person is from. There are 13 types of endings:

1. Dze - a total of 1,649,222 people (data taken from the book “Surnames of Georgia” for 1997).
This ending is the most common, found almost everywhere, less often in the east. Basically, such surnames are common in Imereti, Guria, Adjara, and are also found in Kartli and Racha-Lechkhumi. Translated, the ending means Son.
Examples: Gongadze (Imereti), Dumbadze (Guria), Silagadze (Lechkhumi), Archuadze (Racha). Due to the wide distribution of this ending, it is difficult to determine the origin; in this case, you need to pay attention to the root of the surname.

2. Shvili - a total of 1,303,723 people. In translation it means - Descendant (in Russian there is no direct analogue of this word, it is the combined concept of son and daughter, although back in the 19th century this word meant simply a son, but later the meaning of the word expanded). This ending is found mainly in eastern Georgia. In Kakheti, most surnames have this ending. There are also many such surnames in Kartli. Less common in western Georgia.
Examples: Aslanikashvili (root Aslan), Gligvashvili (this is the surname of Kistov - Ingush living in Kakheti), Peikrishvili, Kululashvili, Elerdashvili (Kakheti), etc.

3. Iya - as you noticed, this is a Megrelian ending. A total of 494,224 people. Apparently, this is the Mingrelian equivalent of Dze or Shvili.
Examples: Chanturia, Zarandia, Kvaratskhelia and so on.

4. Ava - 200,642 people. Also Mingrelian ending.
For example: Eliava, Kuprava, Lezhava and so on.

5. Iani -129204 people. This is a Svan ending, but now it is also found in other regions of western Georgia. Mainly in Lechkhumi, less often in Racha and Imereti. Not found in eastern Georgia.
Examples: Gazdeliani (Svaneti), Dadeshkeliani (Svaneti, princely surname), Mushkudiani (Lechkhumi), Akhvlediani (Lechkhumi), Gelovani (Lechkhumi, princely surname), Ioseliani (Imereti), Zhorzholiani (Imereti), Chikovani (Megrelia), Dadiani (Megrelia - princely surname, they were the rulers of all of Megrelia). This surname, in principle, is a former title that later became a surname (I will talk about such surnames later).

There are also surnames that come from different regions at the same time.
For example: Chkhetiani - this surname is both Svan and Lechkhumi. The root of the Svan surname “Chkheti” means “Pebble” (in Georgian “Kenchi”), but in the Middle Ages part of the clan (the Svans lived in clans) went to Lechkhumi. And the family was divided. Nowadays, the halo of natural distribution of Chkhetianis (except for large cities - Tbilisi, Kutaisi) covers the Svan Chkhetianis - Mestia Region (Upper Svaneti) and our Kodori Gorge, and the Lechkhumi Chkhetianis live in the Tsageri region. Chikovani are divided in the same way - there are Megrelian Chikovani, and there are Lechkhumi ones. There are many such examples.

6. Uri - 76,044 people. This ending is found mainly among eastern highlanders, such as Khevsurs, Pshavs, Tushis, Mtiuls, Khevinians, and so on.
For example: Midelauri, Ketelauri, Patashuri (Erzo).

7. Ua - 74817 people, Mingrelian ending.
Examples: Chkadua, Todua, Gogua.

8. Eli - 55,017 people. This ending is found in Racha - Metreveli, Intskirveli. In Svaneti there is only one surname with this ending - Pirveli (translated as “first”). It is also found in Imereti and Guria. Also in Kartli, but as an exception, is the princely family of Machabeli, which I have already mentioned.

9. Uli - 23,763 people. This ending is found mainly among eastern highlanders, such as Khevsurs, Pshavs, Tushis, Mtiuls, Khevinians, and so on.
For example: Chincharauli, Iarajuli, etc.

10. Shi - 7263 people in total. Mainly found in Adjara and Guria.
For example: Khalvashi (Adjara), Tugushi (Adjara-Guria).

11. Skiri - total 2375, Mingrelian ending. I know only one such surname, Tsuleiskiri, maybe there is more, but I don’t remember.

12. Chkori - total 1831, Mingrelian ending.
For example: Gegechkori.

13. Kva - total 1023, Mingrelian ending.
For example: Ingorokva.

Georgian surnames tend to vary depending on the part of the country.

Some surnames are formed from baptismal names, that is, given at birth: Nikoladze, Tamaridze, Georgadze, Davitashvili, Matiashvili, Ninoshvili, etc. There are surnames formed from Muslim names of various origins: Japaridze (“jafar”, unless this surname is formed from the Persian dzapar - “postman”), Narimanidze, etc. Most surnames (especially with “-dze”) are formed from other less clear roots: Vachnadze, Kavtaradze, Chkheidze, Enukidze, Ordzhonikidze, Chavchavadze, Svanidze (from “Svan”) , Lominadze (lomi- “lion”), Gaprindashvili, Khananashvili, Kalandarishvili (from Persian kalantar - “first person in the city”), Dzhugashvili (“dzug” - “flock”, “flock” / Osset.) In addition to these two main types (patronymic by origin), there are other, less common, but also very fully represented types of surnames, indicating the place or family from which their bearer comes. One of these types are surnames ending in “-eli” (rarely “-ali”): Rustaveli, Tsereteli, etc. A number of localities end in “-eti”. “-ati”, “-iti”: Dzimiti, Oseti, Khvarbeti, Chinati, etc.

In western and central Georgia, many surnames end with the suffix “–dze” (Georgian ძე), literally meaning “son” (obsolete). This ending is the most common, found almost everywhere, less often in the east. Basically, such surnames are common in Imereti, in the regions of Ordzhonikidze, Terzhola surnames on -dze cover more than 70% of all residents, as well as in Guria, Adjara, and are also found in Kartli and Racha-Lechkhumi. Examples: Gongadze (Imereti), Dumbadze (Guria), Silagadze (Lechkhumi), Archuadze (Racha). Due to the wide distribution of this ending, it is difficult to determine the origin; in this case, you need to pay attention to the root of the surname.

Surnames in eastern Georgia (as well as among Georgian Jews) more often end in “–shvili” (Georgian შვილი), which means “child, child” (in fact, both of these endings (-ძე and -შვილი) are synonymous). In Kakheti, most surnames have the ending -შვილი. There are also many such surnames in Kartli. Less common in western Georgia.

Surnames from the eastern mountainous provinces often in Georgia can end with the suffix “–uri” (Georgian ური), or “–uli” (Georgian ული), if the root contains the letter “r” (Example: Gigauri, Tsiklauri, Guruli, Chkareuli ). This ending is found mainly among eastern highlanders, such as Khevsurs, Pshavs, Tushis, Mtiuls, Khevinians, and so on.

Surnames

According to a 2012 report by the Civil Registry Agency of Georgia, the most common Georgian surnames registered in the country are:

Midelashvili Khvtiso Avtondilovich

Names

Among the Georgian names there are many beautiful well-known names and those that testify to the connections of Georgians with neighboring peoples at various stages of history.

Female names

9 most common names in Georgia (as of 2012, according to the database).

What do the endings -dze, -shvili, and others mean in Georgian surnames?

1. Shvili - son
2. Among all the others, Georgian surnames are recognized quite easily. They have a characteristic structure and are easy to identify at the end. Georgian surnames are made up of two parts: the ending and the root. If you look into this a little, then in more than half of the cases you can tell which region of Georgia a given genus comes from. There are a total of 13 types of endings for Georgian surnames.

   GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GEORGIAN SURNAMES AND POSSIBLE OPTIONS:
   The most common endings are -shvili and -dze. -dze can be found almost throughout the entire territory of Georgia, especially in Adjara, Guria and Imereti, less often in the eastern part. But -shvili, on the contrary, is found mainly in the eastern part of Georgia: in Kakheti and Kartli. This can be translated into Russian as son or born, respectively. Currently, it is generally accepted that -dze is the ending for the oldest genealogies, and -shvili for more modern ones. According to unofficial statistics, there are about three million people with such surnames.

   Some Georgian surnames originate from the names that a newborn receives at baptism. For example: Matiashvili, Davitashvili, Nikoladze, Georgadze, Tamaridze and many others. Another part of the surnames comes from Muslim or Persian words. A controversial point arises when studying the roots of the Japaridze surname. Perhaps it comes from the Muslim name Jafar, or perhaps from the Persian name for the profession of postman (dzapar). In addition to these two main types of Georgian surnames, a special group is represented by surnames ending in -eli, -iti, -eti, -ati. For example, we can cite the well-known people of this world: Tsereteli, Rustaveli, and simply common Georgian surnames: Dzimiti, Khvarbeti, Chinati.

   The next group of Georgian surnames are represented by surnames ending in -ani: Chikovani, Akhvelediani, Dadiani. These genealogies originate from the rulers of Megrelia. Less common, but still existing, surnames of this group have the endings -uri, -uli, -ava, -ua, -aya and -iya. There are even more representatives of this group of star names: Danelia, Beria, Okudzhava.

   OSSETIAN AND ABKHAZIAN GROUPS AND RUSSIAN-SPEAKING ENVIRONMENT:
   In the 90s of the last century, some Ossetians who were on the territory of Georgia were forced to change their surnames in the Georgian manner. In remote villages and settlements, not particularly literate officials did not know how to correctly write down Ossetian surnames, so they wrote them in the Georgian way. And there were also those among the Ossetians who wanted to get lost among the local population, and changed their surnames to more harmonious ones for Georgians. This is how new Georgian surnames appeared, with some accent: Mardzhanov, Tseretelev, Tsitsianov, Tsitsianov. Enormous changes were taking place. For example, the Driaevs were registered as Meladzes. In Georgian mela means fox, in Russian it would be the surname Lisitsin.

   The population of Abkhazia, and only about 15% of them are blood Abkhazians, have surnames ending in -ba: Eshba, Lakoba, Agzhba. These surnames belong to the North Caucasian Mingrelian group.

   When entering the Russian-speaking environment, Georgian surnames, as a rule, are not subject to distortion, even despite the complex combination of sounds and significant length. But in some cases there is still an influence of the Russian language: Sumbatov came from Sumbatashvili, Bagration from Bagrationi, Orbeli from Orbeliani, Baratov from Baratashvili, Tsitsianov from Tsitsishvili, Tseretelev from the well-known Tsereteli.

3. lingvoforum.net/index.php?topic=811.0