Ukrainian name
Encyclopedia
A 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 name
s.
and hypocoristic
forms native to Ukrainian language
have either empty inflexional postfix
(Гринь, Сень) or affixes -o, -e, -ik (Славко, Грицько, Славця, Грицуня, Андрійчик, Петрик). In Eastern Ukraine
, Russian-language forms of diminutives are increasingly popular due to significant Russophony
of the region.
As with most cultures, a person has a given name
chosen by the parents. First names in East-Slavic languages
mostly originate from two sources: Orthodox
church tradition (which is itself of Greek
origin), Catholic church tradition (which is itself of Latin origin) and native pre-Christian Slavic origin lexicons. Most names have several diminutive forms.
Most popular Ukrainian names;
.
Other common suffixes are -yshyn or -ishyn (Panchyshyn, Kostyshyn, Romanyshyn). Such suffixes are simply added to the Ukrainian given names. Unlike the above mentioned these suffixes are considered to be matronymic
.
There are also old Cossack
names from the Zaporizhian Sich
that often can be somewhat comical such as Dobry-vechir, Pereverny-kruchenko, Vyrvy-khvist, Verny-dub, Kryvo-nis, Chorno-vil, Tyahny-bok, Navary-kasha. Those are composite surnames that consist of two actual words. It is impossible to list them all as they vary with a creativity of their owners. Such surnames are considered to be self-invented in 15th-16th centuries with the start of the Cossack movement. For people foreign to a Slavic culture it is close to impossible to identify such names.
Among Cossacks were also much simplified last names such as Hohol (Russified - Gogol), Orel, Horobets (Russified - Vorobei), Syromakha, Rosomakha, Vedmid (Russified - Medved), Moroz, Kulish, Skovoroda, Harbuz, Vovk, and many more that are a common nouns of the Ukrainian language
.
Some surnames can be identified as from the Galicia region. Those surnames often contain suffixes -ets or -iets and -iv (Kolomiets, Korniets, Romanets, Baranets, Petriv, Leskiv, Petrusiv).
Less common suffixes that may identify the Ukrainian origin are -ra, -ukh, -un, -ash, -la or -lo, series of -aba, -yba, and -uba.
Suffixes -skiy, -skyi, -ski are common not only among the Ukrainians, but also other Slavic people. One may encounter a wide use of names having suffix -ych or -ich (Shukhevych, Petrushevych, Andrushevych, Shushkevich, Gorlukovich). Those suffixes usually are considered to be of now extinct tribe of White Croats
that over the years resettled across the Eastern Europe and integrated in various other cultures.
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
, patronymic
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...
, and 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...
, similarly to names in other East Slavic cultures: Russian names and Belarusian name
Belarusian name
A modern Belarusian 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 Ukrainian names.-Belarusian given names:...
s.
Ukrainian given names
DiminutiveDiminutive
In language structure, a diminutive, or diminutive form , is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment...
and hypocoristic
Hypocoristic
A hypocorism is a shorter form of a word or given name, for example, when used in more intimate situations as a nickname or term of endearment.- Derivation :Hypocorisms are often generated as:...
forms native to Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
have either empty inflexional postfix
Postfix
Postfix may refer to:* Suffix * Postfix notation, a way of writing algebraic and other expressions. Also known as reverse Polish notation* Postfix , a mail transfer agent program...
(Гринь, Сень) or affixes -o, -e, -ik (Славко, Грицько, Славця, Грицуня, Андрійчик, Петрик). In Eastern Ukraine
East Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine is a geographical term and generally includes territories of Ukraine east of Dnieper river, particularly Sloboda Ukraine, Donets basin, Left-bank Ukraine, the continental part of a historical land of Taurida.-See also:*Novorossiya...
, Russian-language forms of diminutives are increasingly popular due to significant Russophony
Russophone
A Russophone is literally a speaker of the Russian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with Russian language regardless of ethnic and territorial...
of the region.
As with most cultures, a person has a given name
Given name
A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
chosen by the parents. First names in East-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...
mostly originate from two sources: Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
church tradition (which is itself of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
origin), Catholic church tradition (which is itself of Latin origin) and native pre-Christian Slavic origin lexicons. Most names have several diminutive forms.
Most popular Ukrainian names;
- Іван (IvanIvan-Meteorology:* Tropical Storm Ivan - a number of tropical storms - Places:* Ivan Mountain in Bosnia and Herzegovina* Iván, a village in Hungary* Ivaň, name common to two villages in Czech Republic...
, equivalent to John, of Hebrew origin) - Микола (Mykola, equivalent to Nicholas, of Greek origin)
- Борис (Borys, a pre-Christian Slavic diminutive of Borislav)
- Володимир (VolodymyrVolodymyr (name)Volodymyr is a Ukrainian male given name.The name is a direct descendant from the Old East Slavic Володимир , which is spelled identically in the Cyrillic alphabet, but transliterated differently because of changes in the Ukrainian alphabet since medieval times. The meaning of the name is...
, a pre-Christian name of Slavic origin) - Ярослав (Yaroslav, a pre-Christian name of Slavic origin)
- Петро (Petro, equivalent to Peter, of Greek origin)
- Андрій (Andriy, equivalent to Andrew, of Greek origin)
- Олександр (Oleksandr, equivalent to Alexander, of Greek origin)
- Дмитро (Dmytro, of Greek origin)
- Сергій (SerhiySerge (first name)Serge is a male given name, particularly common in France, Belgium; as Sérgio in Portugal and Brazil; and as Sergio in Italy, Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America. The less common female version is Sergine...
, of Latin origin) - Леонід, Леон (Leonid, from Leonidas, of Greek origin)
- Олексій,Олекса (Oleksiy, Oleksa, of Greek origin)
- Віктор (Viktor, of Latin origin)
- Юрій, Єгор (Yuri, Yegor, equivalent to George, of Greek origin)
- Павло (Pavlo, equivalent to Paul, of Latin origin)
- Костянтин, Кость (Kostyantyn, of Latin origin)
- Кирило (Kyrylo, of Greek origin)
- Василь (Vasyl, of Greek origin)
- Poмaн (Roman, of Latin origins)
- Станіслав (StanislavStanislav (given name)Stanislav or Stanislaus is a very old Slavic origin given name, meaning someone who achieves glory or fame. It is most often given in the Slavic countries of Central and South Eastern Europe. The name has spread to many non-Slavic languages as well, such as French , German and others...
, of Slavic origin) - Михайло (Mykhaylo, equivalent to Michael, of Hebrew origin)
- Ігор (Ihor, from IngvarIngvar (name)The name Ingvar is an Norse first name for males, common in Scandinavia, meaning protected by Ing . Many notable Scandinavians have had this name, for example Ingvar Kamprad, and the legendary Swedish king Ingvar....
, old Norse) - Максим (MaksymMaxim (given name)Maxim , sometimes romanized as Maksim, Maksym or Maksum, is a male first name of Roman origin which is relatively common in Slavic-speaking countries, mainly in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. According to the register of the General Directorate of Moscow, "Maxim" was the second most popular male...
, from Latin, meaning "greatest") - Рycлан (Ruslan, of Tatar origin)
- Рycлана (Ruslana)
- Василина (Vasylyna)
- Михайлина (Mikhaylyna)
- Poмaна (Romana)
- Ганна (Hanna, equivalent to Ann, of Hebrew origin)
- Олена (Olena, equivalent to Helen, of Greek origin)
- Наталія, Наталя (Nataliya,Natalya, equivalent to Natalie, of Latin origin)
- Марія (Mariya, equivalent to Mary, of Hebrew origin)
- Ольга (Olha, a pre-Christian name derived from Varangian Helga)
- Олександра (Oleksandra, equivalent to Alexandra, of Greek origin)
- Оксана (Oksana; most common UkrainianUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
female name; of Greek origin from Xenia) - Катерина (Kateryna, equivalent to Catherine, of Greek origin)
- Тетяна (Tetyana, of Latin origin)
- Анастасія (Anastasiya, of Greek origin)
- Світлана (SvitlanaSvetlanaSvetlana is a common Slavic female name, deriving from the Russian word свет svet, which translates into English as "light", "shining", "pure", or "holy", depending upon context. The name was coined by Alexander Vostokov and popularized by Vasily Zhukovsky in his eponymous ballade, first published...
, meaning "Shining One;"; pre-Christian Slavic name) - Юлія (Yulia, equivalent to Julia or Julie, of Latin origin)
- Віра (Vira, this name means "Faith," calque from Greek Πίστη)
- Надія (Nadiya, this name means "Hope," calque from Greek Ελπίς)
- Любов, Любомира (Lyubov (or Luba), this name means "Love," calque from Greek Αγάπη)
- Софія (Sofiya, equivalent to Sophia, of Greek origin)
- Other names like: Lev, Larysa, Valery, Pylyp, Yosyp, Taras, Panch etc.
Ukrainian family names (surnames)
The Ukrainian surnames can be easily recognized by the most common suffix -nko (Shevchenko, Hordiyenko, Tereshchenko) or less common -ko (Sirko, Pavlychko, Boiko). Another common suffix in surnames that reflects the Ukrainian origin is -chuk (Polishchuk, Palamarchuk, Balanchuk) or its simplified versions -yuk and -uk or -yak and -ak (Palahnyuk, Mochulyak, Romanyuk). Suffixes -ko and -chuk are considered to be patronymicPatronymic
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...
.
Other common suffixes are -yshyn or -ishyn (Panchyshyn, Kostyshyn, Romanyshyn). Such suffixes are simply added to the Ukrainian given names. Unlike the above mentioned these suffixes are considered to be matronymic
Matronymic
A matronymic is a personal name based on the name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. In patriarchal societies, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronyms. In the past, matronymic last names were often given to children of...
.
There are also old Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
names from the Zaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich
Zaporizhian Sich was socio-political, grassroot, military organization of Ukrainian cossacks placed beyond Dnieper rapids. Sich existed between the 16th and 18th centuries in the region around the today's Kakhovka Reservoir...
that often can be somewhat comical such as Dobry-vechir, Pereverny-kruchenko, Vyrvy-khvist, Verny-dub, Kryvo-nis, Chorno-vil, Tyahny-bok, Navary-kasha. Those are composite surnames that consist of two actual words. It is impossible to list them all as they vary with a creativity of their owners. Such surnames are considered to be self-invented in 15th-16th centuries with the start of the Cossack movement. For people foreign to a Slavic culture it is close to impossible to identify such names.
Among Cossacks were also much simplified last names such as Hohol (Russified - Gogol), Orel, Horobets (Russified - Vorobei), Syromakha, Rosomakha, Vedmid (Russified - Medved), Moroz, Kulish, Skovoroda, Harbuz, Vovk, and many more that are a common nouns of the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
.
Some surnames can be identified as from the Galicia region. Those surnames often contain suffixes -ets or -iets and -iv (Kolomiets, Korniets, Romanets, Baranets, Petriv, Leskiv, Petrusiv).
Less common suffixes that may identify the Ukrainian origin are -ra, -ukh, -un, -ash, -la or -lo, series of -aba, -yba, and -uba.
Suffixes -skiy, -skyi, -ski are common not only among the Ukrainians, but also other Slavic people. One may encounter a wide use of names having suffix -ych or -ich (Shukhevych, Petrushevych, Andrushevych, Shushkevich, Gorlukovich). Those suffixes usually are considered to be of now extinct tribe of White Croats
White Croats
White Croats is the designation for the group of Slavic tribes, of which seven tribes led by 5 brothers and 2 sisters migrated to Dalmatia as part of the migration of the Croats in the 7th century, being invited to settle on this vastly depopulated area by Roman...
that over the years resettled across the Eastern Europe and integrated in various other cultures.