Nationality of the surname. How to find out nationality by last name

Find out the origin of your last name:

Have you ever wondered about the origin of your last name? In fact, this is very interesting, because the surname makes it possible to find out a person’s nationality and roots. To figure out what nationality a particular surname belongs to, you need to pay attention to suffixes and endings.

So, the most common suffix Ukrainian surnames - “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is “-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor).

Among Russian surnames The following suffixes are common: “-an”, “-yn”, -“in”, “-skikh”, “-ov”, “-ev”, “-skoy”, “-tskoy”, “-ikh”, “ -s.” It is easy to guess that the following can be considered examples of such surnames: Smirnov, Nikolaev, Donskoy, Sedykh.

Polish surnames most often they have the suffixes “-sk” and “-tsk”, as well as the endings “-iy”, “-aya” (Sushitsky, Kovalskaya, Vishnevsky). You can often find Poles with surnames with an unchangeable form (Sienkiewicz, Wozniak, Mickiewicz).

English surnames often come from the name of the area where a person lives (Scott, Wales), from the names of professions (Smith - blacksmith), from characteristics (Armstrong - strong, Sweet - sweet).

In front of many French surnames there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen).

German surnames most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller).

Tatar surnames come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin).

Italian surnames are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto).

Majority Spanish and Portuguese surnames come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez).

Norwegian surnames are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix at all are also popular (Per, Morgen). Surnames are often formed from the given name natural phenomena or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan).

Swedish surnames most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).

Estonians have a last name you cannot understand whether a person is masculine or feminine (Simson, Nahk).

U Jewish surnames There are two common roots - Levi and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed using suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).

Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, “-ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kuharchik ).

Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, “-ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekinci).

Almost all Bulgarian surnames formed from names using the suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).

Male Latvian surnames end with “-s”, “-is”, and female ones end with “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Shurin).

A men's Lithuanian surnames end in “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aytis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Women's endings in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinyuvene). In surnames unmarried girls contains a part of the father's surname and the suffixes “-ut”, “-polut”, “-ayt”, as well as the ending “-e” (Orbakas - Orbakaite).

Majority Armenian surnames end with the suffix “-yan”, “-yants”, “-uni” (Hakopyan, Galustyan).

Georgian surnames end in “-shvili”, “-dze”, “-uri”, “-ava”, “-a”, “-ua”, “-ia”, “-ni” (Mikadze, Gvishiane).

Greek surnames The endings “-idis”, “-kos”, -“poulos” are inherent (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis).

Chinese and Korean surnames consist of one, sometimes two syllables (Tang Liu, Qiao, Mao).

Japanese surnames are formed using one or two words (Kitamura - north and village).

Feature of women's Czech surnames is the obligatory ending “-ova” (Valdrova, Andersonova).

It's amazing how many differences there are between the names of different nationalities and peoples!

So, the most common suffix Ukrainian surnames- “-enko” (Bondarenko, Petrenko, Timoshenko, Ostapenko). Another group of suffixes is “-eiko”, “-ko”, “-ochka” (Belebeyko, Bobreiko, Grishko). The third suffix is “-ovsky” (Berezovsky, Mogilevsky). Often among Ukrainian surnames you can find those that come from the names of professions (Koval, Gonchar), as well as from combinations of two words (Sinegub, Belogor).

In front of many French surnames there is an insertion “Le”, “Mon” or “De” (Le Germain, Le Pen).

German surnames most often formed from names (Peters, Jacobi, Wernet), from characteristics (Klein - small), from the type of activity (Schmidt - blacksmith, Müller - miller).

Tatar surnames come from Tatar words and the following suffixes: “-ov”, “-ev”, “-in” (Yuldashin, Safin).

Italian surnames are formed using the following suffixes: “-ini”, “-ino”, “-ello”, “-illo”, “-etti”, “-etto”, “-ito” (Moretti, Benedetto).

Majority Spanish and Portuguese surnames come from characteristics (Alegre - joyful, Bravo - brave). Among the endings, the most common are: “-ez”, “-es”, “-az” (Gomez, Lopez).

Norwegian surnames are formed using the suffix “en” (Larsen, Hansen). Surnames without a suffix at all are also popular (Per, Morgen). Surnames are often formed from the names of natural phenomena or animals (Blizzard - blizzard, Svane - swan).

Swedish surnames most often end in “-sson”, “-berg”, “-stead”, “-strom” (Forsberg, Bosstrom).

U Estonians by last name you cannot understand whether a person is masculine or feminine (Simson, Nahk).

U Jewish surnames There are two common roots: Levi and Cohen. Most surnames are formed from male names (Solomon, Samuel). There are also surnames that are formed using suffixes (Abramson, Jacobson).

Belarusian surnames end in “-ich”, “-chik”, “-ka”, “-ko”, “-onak”, “-yonak”, “-uk”, “-ik”, “-ski” (Radkevich, Kuharchik ).

Turkish surnames have the ending “-oglu”, “-ji”, “-zade” (Mustafaoglu, Ekinci).

Almost all Bulgarian surnames formed from names using the suffixes “-ov”, “-ev” (Konstantinov, Georgiev).

Men's Latvian surnames end with “-s”, “-is”, and female ones end with “-e”, “-a” (Shurins - Shurin).

A male Lithuanian surnames end in “-onis”, “-unas”, “-utis”, “-aytis”, “-ena” (Norvidaitis). Women's endings in “-en”, “-yuven”, “-uven” (Grinyuvene). The surnames of unmarried girls contain a part of the father’s surname and the suffixes “-ut”, “-polut”, “-ayt”, as well as the ending “-e” (Orbakas - Orbakaite).

Majority Armenian surnames end with the suffix “-yan”, “-yants”, “-uni” (Hakopyan, Galustyan).

Georgian surnames end in “-shvili”, “-dze”, “-uri”, “-ava”, “-a”, “-ua”, “-ia”, “-ni” (Mikadze, Gvishiane).

Greek surnames The endings “-idis”, “-kos”, -“poulos” are inherent (Angelopoulos, Nikolaidis).

Chinese and Korean surnames consist of one, sometimes two syllables (Tang Liu, Qiao, Mao).

Japanese surnames are formed using one or two words (Kitamura - north and village).

Feature female Czech surnames is the obligatory ending “-ova” (Valdrova, Andersonova).

It's amazing how many differences there are between the names of different nationalities and peoples!

To determine nationality by last name, you need to remember the morphemic analysis from school curriculum Russian language. Direct instruction nationality is contained in the root of the surname and its suffixes. For example, the suffix “eiko” in the surname Shumeiko is proof Ukrainian origin families.
To determine nationality by last name, sometimes it is necessary to study many books

You will need

A sheet of paper, a pen, the ability to do morphemic analysis of a word, etymological dictionary Russian language, dictionary foreign words.

Instructions

Take a piece of paper and a pen. Write your last name and highlight all the morphemes in it: root, suffix, ending. This preparatory stage will help you determine what nationality your family's last name belongs to.
Pay attention to the suffix. Since in Russian more often than others foreign names There are Ukrainian ones, these can be the following suffixes: “enko”, “eyko”, “ovsk/evsk”, “ko”, “ochko”. That is, if your last name is Tkachenko, Shumeiko, Petrovsky or Gulevsky, Klitschko, Marochko, distant relatives should be searched on the territory of Ukraine.
Look at the root of the word if the suffix does not answer the question of what nationality your last name is. Often it is based on one or another profession, object, animal, bird. As an example, we can cite the Russian surname Gonchar, the Ukrainian surname Gorobets (translated into Russian as Sparrow), the Jewish surname Rabin (which means “rabbi”).
Count the number of roots in a word. Sometimes the surname consists of two words. For example, Ryabokon, Beloshtan, Krivonos. Similar surnames refer to Slavic peoples(Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, etc.), but are also found in other languages.
Evaluate your surname from the point of view of belonging to the Jewish people. Common Jewish surnames contain the roots “Levi” and “Cohen”, found in the surnames Levitan, Levin, Kogan, Katz. Their owners descended from ancestors who were in the rank of clergy. There are also surnames that came from male (Moses, Solomon) or female names (Rivkin, Beilis), or were formed from a merger male name and suffix (Abrahams, Jacobson, Mandelstam).
Remember, does Tatar blood flow in your veins? If your surname consists of a combination of Tatar words and the suffixes “in”, “ov” or “ev”, then the answer is obvious - there were Tatars in your family. This is especially clearly seen in the example of such names as Bashirov, Turgenev, Yuldashev.
Determine which language the surname belongs to, based on the following clues:
- if it contains the prefix “de” or “le”, look for roots in France;
- if the surname contains the English name of the territory (for example, Welsh), the quality of a person (Sweet) or profession (Carver), relatives should be looked for in the UK;
- the same rules apply to German surnames. They are derived from profession (Schmidt), nickname (Klein), name (Peters);
— Polish surnames can be recognized based on the sound - Kovalchik, Senkevich. Look in the dictionary of foreign words if you have difficulty assigning a surname to a particular language