Slavic name suffix
Encyclopedia
A Slavic name suffix is a common way of forming patronymic
s, family name
s, and pet names in the Slavic languages
(also called the Slavonic languages).
Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding possessive
and other suffix
es to given names and other words.
An example using an occupation is koval
or kowal
which means blacksmith. It is the root of the names Kowalsky, Kowalchuk
, Kowalczyk
, Kovalenko
, Kovalyov
, and Kovalev. All mean "descendant of a blacksmith".
The given name Petr or Petro (equivalent to Peter) can become Petrov
, Petriv, Petriw, Petrovsky
, Petrovich, and Petric
. All mean "descendant of Peter". This is similar to the use of "-son" or "-sen" in Germanic languages
. For example Johnson means "John's son", Anderson means "Ander's son", etc.
In East Slavic languages
(Belarussian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian) the same phenomenon of name suffixes can be used to express several meanings. One of the most common is the patronymic. Instead of a secondary "middle" given name, people identify themselves with their given and family name and patronymic, a name based on their father's given name. If a man gives his full name as Boris Vladimirovich Kuznetsov, then his father's name must have been Vladimir. Vladimirovich in this case literally means "Vladimir's son".
Similarly suffixes can also be attached to express affection or informality. For example calling a boy named Ivan as Ivanko expresses that he is familiar to you. This the same as switching Jonathan for John or Johnny.
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
s, family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
s, and pet names in the Slavic languages
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...
(also called the Slavonic languages).
Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding possessive
Possessive suffix
In linguistics, a possessive affix is a suffix or prefix attached to a noun to indicate its possessor, much in the manner of possessive adjectives. Possessive suffixes are found in some Uralic, Altaic, Semitic, and Indo-European languages...
and other suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
es to given names and other words.
An example using an occupation is koval
Koval
Koval is a Ukrainian language surname. The words means literally "forge", is commonly used to describe a blacksmith and is the equivalent of "Smith" in the English-speaking world...
or kowal
Kowal
Kowal is a town in Włocławek County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 3,478 inhabitants .The town is the birthplace of Casimir III, King of Poland .Kowal is also a common last name in the Ukraine, which means Smith....
which means blacksmith. It is the root of the names Kowalsky, Kowalchuk
Kowalchuk
Kovalchuk , Kavalchuk or Kowalchuk is a common Slavic surname. The Kowalchuk name extends back to before 1500 AD in the Kievan Rus Empire....
, Kowalczyk
Kowalczyk
Kowalczyk is the 5th most common surname in Poland.-Notable people:The surname may refer to:* Ed Kowalczyk , American rock singer* Józef Kowalczyk , Polish clergyman, archbishop of Gniezno...
, Kovalenko
Kovalenko
Kovalenko, Covalenko is a common Ukrainian surname, used commonly to describe a blacksmith and is the equivalent of "Smith" in the English-speaking world, derived from the root "koval" meaning literally "forge"...
, Kovalyov
Kovalyov
Kovalyov, often spelled as Kovalev , or Kovalyova, Kovaleva , is a common Russian surname, the equivalent of "Smith" in the English-speaking world, and may refer to the following people:...
, and Kovalev. All mean "descendant of a blacksmith".
The given name Petr or Petro (equivalent to Peter) can become Petrov
Petrov
Petrov or Petrova may refer to:People*Petrov *Vitaly Petrov F1 Driver.*Stanislav Petrov Soviet Army officer who possibly prevented a nuclear war.Places*4785 Petrov, an asteroid...
, Petriv, Petriw, Petrovsky
Petrovsky
Petrovsky , Petrovskaya , or Petrovskoye may refer to:-People:*Adolf Petrovsky, Soviet diplomat*Grigory Petrovsky, Ukrainian revolutionary*Ivan Petrovsky, mathematician*Margarita Petrovskaya, Russian astronomer...
, Petrovich, and Petric
Petric
Petric may refer to:*Veliki Petrič, fortress in Serbia*Mali Petrič, fortress in Serbia*Petrich, a town in Bulgaria- People :*Gordan Petrić, a Yugoslav football player*Ivo Petrić, a Slovenian composer*Luka Petric, a Slovenian badminton player...
. All mean "descendant of Peter". This is similar to the use of "-son" or "-sen" in Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
. For example Johnson means "John's son", Anderson means "Ander's son", etc.
In East Slavic languages
East Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
(Belarussian, Russian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian) the same phenomenon of name suffixes can be used to express several meanings. One of the most common is the patronymic. Instead of a secondary "middle" given name, people identify themselves with their given and family name and patronymic, a name based on their father's given name. If a man gives his full name as Boris Vladimirovich Kuznetsov, then his father's name must have been Vladimir. Vladimirovich in this case literally means "Vladimir's son".
Similarly suffixes can also be attached to express affection or informality. For example calling a boy named Ivan as Ivanko expresses that he is familiar to you. This the same as switching Jonathan for John or Johnny.
See also
- Slavic surnames
- Bulgarian names
- Croatian nameCroatian nameCroatian names have considerable similarities with most other European name systems, and with those of other Slavic peoples in particular. Croatian names usually consist of a given name, followed by a family name.- Croatian given names :...
- Czech names
- Polish names
- Russian names
- Serbian names
- Slovak nameSlovak nameSlovak names - consist of given names and the family name. They are very similar to the Czech names.-Given name:Generally may have Christian roots or traditional Slavic pre-Christian origin...
- Ukrainian nameUkrainian nameA modern Ukrainian name of a person consists of three parts: given name, patronymic, and family name, similarly to names in other East Slavic cultures: Russian names and Belarusian names.-Ukrainian given names:...
- Slavic names