Armenian surnames and their origin. Armenian surnames - alphabetical list

The surname, in Armenian "azganun", means the name of the family. In the Middle Ages, generic names practically did not exist. If there was a need for a name, then it happened like this: if several Arams or several Anahits lived in one settlement, then the inhabitants determined them in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Sometimes, for the nickname, they used worldly nicknames that characterize recognizable trait a person, for example, the lame Hmayak or Anahit, who has twelve children.

The need for the formation of surnames arose due to the development of society and increased migration of the population. People began to move more often from one area to another, so it became necessary to give people “sustainable” nicknames, which eventually evolved into Armenian surnames. In those days, a tradition appeared along with the name to indicate the place where the person came from, for example: Grigor Tatevatsi, Anania Shirakatsi, etc. Or they used their profession to name a person - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsaghkarar, David Kertokh, Grigor Magistros and etc.

Over time, already in the Middle Ages, surnames began to appear in aristocratic Armenian families - Mamikonyans, Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni. When noble families were mentioned, the words “azg” (“kind”) or “tun” (“house”, “smoke”) were added to the surnames. For example, “Clan of Mamikonyans”, “Clan of Rshtuni”, or “House of Artsruni”, etc. Over time, family nicknames appeared among peasants and artisans. For example, Khatstukhyan (baker), Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), etc.

The Armenian surnames also reflected the nicknames of a person, characterizing his appearance or character traits (Chakhatyan - a fox, Karchikyan - a dwarf) and others. In most cases, Armenian surnames originated from the name of the founder of the clan, to which a prefix or suffix was added, expressing kinship or affiliation - “yan”, “yants”, “ents”, “unts”, “onts”, “uni”. The most common are surnames ending in "yan" (Chakhalyan, Aramyan, Zhamkochyan), etc. "Yan" was formed from the form "yants" and also means that "ents" (Margaryan - Margaryants - Margarents, that is, belonging to the genus Margar). Armenian surnames with the suffix "uni" were inherent in the Nakharar families (Bagratuni, Amatuni, Rshtuni) as a feature of belonging to a noble Armenian family. Armenian surnames with the suffixes "enz", "unts", "onts" are common in Zangezur, for example, Adonts, Bakunts, Mamunts, Kalvarents and also means belonging to a noble family.

During the census and passportization of the population, the surnames of some Armenians living in Russia became "Russified", the ending "ts" was sometimes discarded. This happened for two reasons: either as a result of a scribal error, or as a result of a conscious choice. The history of each Armenian surname is interesting and original. Surnames didn't just happen. Each family name is based on interesting story its formation with its own principles, stages of evolution, each Armenian surname has a certain meaning, the solution of which is dealt with by modern philological science - onomastics.

How to find out the nationality of a person if there is no way to ask him about it himself? There are several ways: you can listen to the speech and take a closer look at the appearance, trying to identify characteristics. Still simple but effective method- to analyze the surname. If it ends with "yan", "an", "ents", it is likely that the person you are interested in is an Armenian.

Armenian names and surnames

Initially, the inhabitants of this land did not have full names, because there was no need for them. The Armenians lived in small groups and knew each other very well. If in the village there were several people who had the same name, the people around found distinctive characteristics and added to generic names: according to a similar principle, surnames appeared among many peoples, including Russians.

The origin of Armenian surnames can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when active trade began, craftsmanship separated from agriculture. In this era, people no longer needed only a nickname. To understand who they are talking about, people, talking about each other, added to the name the place where the person comes from, or his type of activity, or a special feature.

If the craft in the family was passed down from generation to generation, then the young man necessarily inherited the name of his predecessors. Often, the name of the authoritative founder of the clan was taken as the basis, a suffix of belonging was added to it, for example, “uni”, “yan”, “ents”, “onts”, “unts” and others. So the generic names of the Armenians constantly developed and gradually turned into modern, familiar ear, but each has its own meaning.

Why do Armenians have a surname ending in yan

At ordinary people full names (in the format we are used to today) began to appear in the early 19th century. In the same era, you can find the answer to the question, why do Armenians have a surname with yang? This ending is very common for this nationality, although it is borrowed from the Iranian language. This suffix was used to indicate belonging to a genus, expressing kinship. Ends with “yan”: Aramyan, Margaryan, Kartyashan, Mirzoyan, Bagdasyan, Arshadyan, Ormanyan and other derivatives of proper names.

Prefix ter in Armenian surnames

This ancient prefix was used until the early 19th century. She was added to full name noble Armenians, clergymen or nobles (moreover, the first a priori belonged to a separate estate and were selected from noble princely families). Prefix ter in Armenian surnames modern representatives not found, but among historical characters you can meet her: for example, the Ter-Yasayants, Ter-Asaturovs, Ter-Hovakimyans, Ter-Guksayans.

Do Armenian surnames decline?

As linguists notice, a flurry of questions about whether the declension of Armenian surnames is possible comes to them in the summer or early autumn, when children begin to enroll in schools, and students enter educational establishments. The exact answer to the question can be found on the Gramota.ru portal or in Rosenthal's trusted reliable reference book.

The rule says that any word obeys the laws of grammar and must decline if the final element lends itself to inflection. That is, you can understand whether the Armenian male surname is inclined by the letter of the ending. If it ends in a consonant, it is inclined; if it ends in a vowel, it is not. Women's Armenian surnames (like any indeclinable ones) do not change under any circumstances. That is, you should write like this: “To Armen Muradyan”, but “Anna Muradyan”.

Armenian Jews - surnames

Jews have been living on the territory of Armenia for more than 2000 years: they once made up a significant part of the urban population, were engaged in trade and crafts. If we talk about Armenian Jews, their surnames are very peculiar, often derived from the names of biblical characters. For example, Petrosyan, Matevosyan, Tadevosyan, Ghukasyan, Ananyan... The list of Armenian surnames of this variety can be continued indefinitely; in addition, it must be borne in mind that earlier names could sound different, but change over time.

Armenian male surnames

For those who are not familiar with the language, alphabet and culture of the country, the names of the Armenians mean nothing. However, almost every one of them has a certain meaning. If you turn to onomastics, you can learn a lot of interesting things. For example, here are some Armenian surnames for men, which mean something specific.

Armenian surnames are a relatively new phenomenon. Officially, surnames began to be recorded only in the 19th century, during the first censuses, when it became necessary to register people. Later, passports appeared, where, along with the names, surnames were also indicated.
We can say that before the 19th century there were no surnames in our current understanding. Meanwhile, the very word "azganun" (surname) in translation means "genus name" ("azg" - clan, "anun" - name). Basically, the surnames of Armenians come from the name of an authoritative tribal ancestor, to whose name suffixes were added expressing belonging. In ancient Armenian it was for the most part the suffix "eants", which then transformed into "ents", and in modern Armenian - into the phonetic form "yants", and then only "yan" remained. For example, if it was said about someone that he was from the Aram clan, then in order to show belonging to this clan, they spoke Arameants or Araments. In Armenian villages, this phenomenon exists to this day, that is, to the question "Who will you be?" the answer sounds - Davidents or Ashotents.
When surnames began to be written down in the 19th century, the ending "c" was automatically discarded. Meanwhile, some Armenians, whose ancestors left Armenia a long time ago and moved to Russia (where the surnames appeared earlier than in Armenia), had the surnames with the ending "yants".
Until now, in the south of Armenia, in the Zangezur region, preserved in in large numbers surnames ending in "ents", "unts", "onts", for example, Adonts, Bakunts, Kalvarents. According to scientists, these are dialect forms of education that have been preserved in the area.
In addition to the most common form of the formation of surnames from given names, some Armenian surnames come from the names of certain professions. The craft, as a rule, passed from generation to generation, and the name of the craft passed to the name of the clan or family. It also happened that one of the family or several representatives became so famous for their skill that they became famous jewelers, masons or bakers and their descendants were named the same surnames Voskerchyan ("voskerich" - jeweler), Kartashyan ("kartash" - stonemason) , Ekimyan ("ekim" - doctor), Zhamagortsyan ("zhamagorts" - watchmaker), etc.
Here it is worth mentioning the origin of Western Armenian surnames. For centuries, the Eastern and Western parts of Armenia developed separately from each other and were part of various empires. Eastern Armenia was under the rule of Persia, and then Russia, and Western - Ottoman Turkey. Separate existence of two parts Armenian people reflected in the surnames. So, in many Western Armenian surnames, many of which are today worn by representatives of the Armenian diaspora, the ending "Ean" was replaced not by "Yan", but by "Ian". In addition, very often in this type of surnames, which indicate a craft, there are Turkic roots, and there are many such roots in Armenian surnames. This is due to the fact that the Armenians in Ottoman Empire very thoroughly occupied the niche of artisans. Therefore, the names of many Armenians, whose ancestors come from Western Armenia, mean the name of crafts, and in Turkish.
For example, the surname of the former Armenian communist leader and later speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Karen Demirchyan, comes from the Turkish word "demirchi", meaning blacksmith. Most likely, the ancestors of the former Armenian leader came from Western Armenia, part of Ottoman Turkey, and were blacksmiths.
According to the correspondent member of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, ethnographer Levon Abrahamyan, the presence of the letter “h” in Armenian surnames, and there are a lot of them, as a rule, indicates a craft, because in Turkish this ending “chi” is an indicator of a craft. For example, the surname Bardakchyan comes from "bardakchi", that is, a potter.
One of the quarters of Yerevan, in which at the beginning of the past century a Muslim population lived in a significant number, is still popularly called Silachi, translated from Turkish "strongmen" means a dyer. Dyers once lived in this area of ​​the Armenian capital.
Some surnames were also formed from nicknames. For example, the surname Shatvoryan comes from the word "shat". Apparently the ancestors of the current Shatvorians got their nickname because they had many children.
But, if the villagers and artisans did not have surnames until the 19th century, because it was assumed that the common people did not need surnames, then the situation was different with noble families. In contrast to commoners, the surnames of noble families went back to ancient times. But the form of education was the same, that is, belonging to one or another clan was indicated, and in the case of kings, to one or another dynasty.
Already in ancient times and in the Middle Ages, noble families necessarily bore surnames - Mamikonyan, usually representatives of this family were military leaders, Khorkhoruni - the bodyguards of the king, Gnuni were royal butlers, etc.
Belonging to a noble family was denoted by the suffix "uni". Thus, surnames with the suffix "uni" in ancient times and in the Middle Ages were inherent in noble families - Amatuni, Bagratuni, Rshtuni, Artsruni, Khorkhoruni, etc.
A number of scientists believe that surnames of this type come from the Urartian language, in which belonging was indicated by the ending "uni". Meanwhile, the people have their own, far from scientific, but peculiar interpretation of the origin of the names of the Armenian nobility. According to folk etymology, the ending "uni" comes from the word "unenal" - to have, in this case, to have wealth. According to Levon Abrahamyan, this is a wrong interpretation, since wealth was in no way expressed in given names or surnames: "This is not typical for the formation of surnames."
Some of the Armenian surnames were formed from the name of the area, often such surnames were worn by ancient or medieval Armenian scientists and writers. For example, Anania Shirakatsi was an Armenian geographer, mathematician and astronomer who lived in the 7th century, Grigor Tatevatsi was a philosopher and theologian who lived in the 14th century. Surnames were also worn by other Armenian scientists, such as the creator Armenian alphabet and writing - Mesrop Mashtots, who lived in the 5th century.
In some Armenian surnames, the prefix "melik" is still preserved, indicating noble origin and "ter", which was used by clerics and has the meaning of "father", "lord", "father". Now many of those whose grandfathers were afraid of wrath Soviet power, got rid of the prefixes "melik" and "ter", again regaining their original surnames. Some Armenians gave children surnames after their grandfather, but later this tradition disappeared due to problems associated with paperwork. There is another tradition that remains unchanged: the vast majority of Armenian women, having married, continue to bear their maiden names as a sign of respect for their parents.

Armenian surnames In discussions of the Internet wars of the Azerbaijani side, Armenian surnames are often exaggerated. Often, the following can be read as a reproach: “You, Armenians, bear Turkic surnames.” And they cite as an example such surnames as Alaverdyan, Karakashyan, Peglivanyan, Shakhnazaryan, Babayan, etc. We will return to the so-called Turkic surnames. In the meantime, let's make a short excursion into Armenian surnames. Surname ("azganun") - in Armenian means "genus name". If it so happened that several Arams or several Anahits lived in one settlement, then they were defined in different ways: for example, Aram, the grandson of Garnik, or Aram, the grandson of Hayk. Or they always found some characteristic feature, for example, the lame Amayak, or Warsi, who has six children. With the emergence of cities, when, in addition to agriculture, trade had already developed, people had to move from one locality in another, and it became necessary to recognize people by the so-called surnames, since it was no longer possible to be content with just a name or a nickname. It was already necessary, along with the name, to indicate the place where this or that person comes from, for example: Kirakos Gandzaketsi, Anania Shirakatsi, Grigor Tatevatsi, etc. Or the name of the main activity was attached to the name of the person - Mkrtich Nakhash, Nikohayos Tsaghkarar, David Kertokh, Grigor Magistros, etc. Over time, already in the ancient and Middle Ages, noble families necessarily bore surnames - Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni, Bagratuni. Mentioning eminent families - “tun” (“house”, “smoke”), it turns out “House of Artsruni”, “House of Bagrat”, etc. Time passed, life dictated its conditions, ordinary people also began to be called by their last names. It so happened that someone from a family or several generations became famous for their skill, they were famous jewelers, masons, bakers; their descendants began to be called by inheritance the same surnames: Voskerchyan (jeweler), Kartashyan (mason), Khatstukhyan (baker) and so on. Mostly among Armenians, surnames began to come from the name of an authoritative tribal ancestor, to which a prefix or suffix was added, expressing belonging or kinship - “-yan”, “-yants”, “-ents”, “-unts”, “-onts” , "-uni". The most common are surnames ending in "-yan" (Margaryan, Aramyan, Zhamkochyan), etc. "-Yan" was formed from the form "-yants", which means the same as "-ents" (Margaryan - Margaryants - Margarents, that is, belonging to the genus Margar). Surnames with the suffix "-uni" in ancient times and in the Middle Ages were inherent in the Nakharar clans (Amatuni, Bagratuni, Rshtuni) as a feature of belonging to a high family. Surnames with the suffixes "-ents", "-unts", "-onts" are common in Zangezur, for example Adonts, Bakunts, Tonunts, Shakhunts, Shalunts, Mamunts, Kalvarents and also mean belonging to the genus. Over time, along with Christianity, the Armenians had biblical and Greek-Byzantine names, and from them surnames. However, like all Christian nations. Sarkis-Sarkisyan emerged (the Russians have Sergey and Sergeev), Petros-Petrosyan (the Russians have Peter-Petrov), Hovhannes-Ovanesyan (respectively, Ivan-Ivanov) and others. But such times came when the Armenians found themselves in the West under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, in the East - under the Persian Empire. The Armenians remained true to their traditions, religion and language. No matter how hard the Ottomans tried to convert the Armenians to Mohammedanism, they failed to do so. In the censuses of the population of their empires, the Mohammedans endowed Armenians with nicknames and surnames close to their ears. For example, Asvaturyans became Alaverdyans. At the same time, the ending "-yan" remained untouched. This was done so that, despite the rewriting of the surname in, say, the Turkic manner, belonging to the nation was retained by the person. By the way, not only Armenian surnames, but also Greek surnames underwent onomastic mutations and translations in the Ottoman Empire. That is why among the Pontic Greeks, and not only Pontics, one can often find Turkic surnames with a typical Greek ending "-idis", "-adis" and so on. So if some Armenians have surnames with Turkic derivatives, this does not mean that the surname was adopted from the Turks. Moreover, the Turks never had surnames. Pay attention to what a deep historical path the Armenian surnames have passed. And now attention: in Turkey alone, the Turks had surnames in 1928 (in the last century), when Mustafa Kemal issued the Law on surnames “Hell to Canon”, he himself called himself Atatürk (father of the Turks) as a surname and ordered all Turks to acquire surnames. The same thing happened to their brethren in the Caspian region. Only in the Azerbaijan SSR did the Kremlin begin to endow Transcaucasian Tatars with surnames. It was unsuitable for the new Soviet nation to go around with only names without surnames. How to passport them then?! So the surnames went for the most part not even Turkic and all-Muslim with - attention! - Slavic endings: ALIev, AGAev, IBRAGIMOV, RZAev, i.e. answering the question: “Whose son?”. My dad is Ali. I am ALI's son… AGA's son, IBRAHIM's son and so on. Sometimes you can meet Azerbaijanis with surnames ending with a hyphen -zade: Taghi-zade, Mamed-zade, Ali-zade, etc. This is a native Iranian ending, and has nothing to do with the Turks. In Azerbaijan, these are Talysh endings. Or those Azerbaijanis whose ancestors were Talysh and Turkified later. And sometimes it is strange to hear from a nation that is not even a hundred years old, how it acquired surnames, reproaches against Armenian surnames that have a huge and rich background. I will say more: the Turks not only did not have a surname, but they also gave names to children anyhow. For example, a woman gives birth in a yurt. The right to give a child a name is given to the eldest nomadic tribe- I'm running. If the baby was strong, they called him Iron, for example Temir (hence Timur), if the girl is healthy, then, for example, Guzu, Guz - Sheep; and if she is beautiful, then Botagoz - camel eye. But sick, weak children were also born. And so that evil spirits would not take them away, such children were called unpleasant-sounding names, for example, Meret (Pus), Bok (Turd), Dung. All this was also written by Olzhas Suleimenov, Kazakh writer, in the book "Az and I". You can also read the works of L. Gumilyov. Or other Turkologists. And, by the way, most of the Turks from Kazakhstan to Yakutia still adhere to such an onomastic tradition.

Where do the names Dzhugashvili and Tsereteli come from? What connects Armenian surnames with the Turkish language? Why do Azerbaijanis cancel the "Russian" endings in their surnames? We answer these and other questions.

Georgian surnames

Ethnographers attribute the origins of Georgian surnames to the 7th-8th centuries. They most often came from the place of residence, a little less often - from professions, names, patronymics or family titles (for example, Amilakhvari or Eristavi).
The structure of Georgian surnames is the same as that of most others: root + suffix. By the suffix of the surname, in many cases it is possible to understand from which region it comes and to which ethnic group its carrier belongs to. For example, among Megrelians, surnames often end in “-ua” (Todua, Gogua) or “-iya” (Gamsakhurdia, Beria), and among the Lazes - in “-shi” (Khalvashi, Tugushi).
Linguists distinguish 13 main varieties of suffixes. In many regions of Georgia, mostly in Imereti, Guria, Adzharia, Lechkhumi, surnames with the suffix "-dze", which translates as "son" (Gongadze, Shevarnadze, Dumbadze), are common. According to data for 1997, 1,649,222 people had surnames with this ending.

The second most common is the suffix "-shvili". Its translation is very close to the previous suffix - "child", "child", but sometimes it's just "descendant". By 1997, there were 1,303,723 surnames with the suffix "-shvili". Such an ending is very common in Kakheti and Kartli (Peikrishvili, Kululashvili, Elerdashvili).

The suffix "-iani" is also popular in Georgian surnames. This is a "Svan" ending, which is more typical for western regions Georgia. Often such a suffix indicates the noble origin of the ancestor. For example, Dadeshkeliani, Dadiani and Gelovani are princely surnames.
The formation of Georgian surnames has various sources. Some of them come from baptismal names - Nikoladze, Georgadze, Davitashvili. Some surnames are derived from Muslim names. For example, the surname Jalagonia is derived from the Muslim male name Jalal (“greatness”, “leadership”) and the Georgian noun “drive” (“mind”, “reasoning”). There are surnames associated with animals - Lominadze ("lomi" - "lion"), Dzhugashvili ("dzug" - "flock", "flock").
Often Georgian surnames tied to any locality. Its first carrier often became at the origins of the princely family. This is precisely the surname Tsereteli, which comes from the name of the fortress and the village of the same name, located in the north of the Zemo region - “Tsereti”.

Armenian surnames

Armenian surnames are a relatively new phenomenon. At least officially, they began to register only with 19th century when the census began and the need for documents arose. However, in aristocratic families, surnames appeared in the Middle Ages - Mamikonyans, Artsruni, Amatuni, Rshtuni. Traditionally before noble families put the words "azg" ("genus") or "tun" ("house"). It sounded like "Mamikoyan family" or "House of Artsruni".
Before the appearance of surnames in the common people for in order to to distinguish between two people bearing the same name they could say, for example, like this: “Hayk grandson of Arno” and “Hayk grandson of Garnik”. Sometimes a person was given a characteristic nickname - "lame Amayak", or "Anahit, who has twelve children." The need for the formation of surnames arose with the development of society and increased migration of the population.
For the most part, Armenian surnames come from a generic ancestor, to whose name an ending was added indicating belonging. This ending has undergone a noticeable evolution: in ancient Armenian it was the suffix "-eants", which was transformed into "-ents". In modern Armenian, it took the phonetic form “-yants”, which subsequently lost the “ts”, becoming “-yan”.
If earlier, to show belonging to a genus, they said, for example, Davidents, now it sounds like Davidian. However, the last "c" has not disappeared in all surnames. So some Armenians who moved to Russia in the 19th century retained this ending. But in Armenia itself, in particular, in the Zangezur region, such surnames are still found - Adonts, Bakunts, Kalvarents.
The most common form of formation of Armenian surnames from given names, but often they come from the names of professions and crafts - Atstukhyan ("baker"), Voskerchyan ("jeweler"), Ekimyan ("healer"), Kartashyan ("mason") or are based on feature human - Chakhatyan ("fox"), Karchikyan ("dwarf").
The surnames of the inhabitants of Western Armenia have their own peculiarity. The entry of this part of the country into the Ottoman Empire affected the fact that the roots of many Armenian surnames are of Turkish origin. So, the surname Demirchyan comes from the Turkish word "demirchi" - "blacksmith". The ethnographer Levon Abrahamyan notes that the letter “h” in Armenian surnames usually indicates a craft, because in Turkish the names of crafts end in “chi”, for example, “bardakchi” (“potter”). An Armenian surname derived from this word is Bardakchyan.
A curious feature of some Armenian surnames is the prefix "melik", indicating a noble origin (Melik-Hakopyan), as well as "ter", which was used by clergy and meant "father", "lord" (Ter-Petrosyan).

Azerbaijani surnames

The appearance of surnames among Azerbaijanis falls on the beginning of the 20th century - mainly, these are the first years of the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan. Back in the 19th century, the anthroponymic model of Azerbaijanis consisted of the main name and the name of the father. For men, the words “oglu” or “zade” (both meaning “son”) were added to them, for example, Ibrahim Sattar oglu, and for a woman - “kyzy” (“daughter”) - for example, Reyhan Kurban kyzy.
However, such names were typical for representatives of the privileged classes, they were the first to receive surnames since the formation of Soviet Azerbaijan. Ordinary people for some time retained a two-part anthroponymic model - a nickname-distinguisher and a name attached to it: for example, Kechal Mamed ("bald Mamed"), Cholag Abdullah ("lame Abdullah") or Uzun Hasan ("long Hasan").
Based on the first Azerbaijani surnames often took the name of the father or grandfather. Such a name was attached without changes, but a word denoting a son or daughter merged with it, for example, Aliaga Selimzade. Similar surnames are found now - Jafaroglu, Safaroglu, Ramazanzade. However, already in the first years of Soviet power, Azerbaijanis began to take Russified variants of surnames - Aliyev, Samedov, Vezirova, Mansurov.
Despite the fact that the vast majority of Azerbaijani surnames are patronymics, occasionally there are surnames associated with the occupation, for example, the surname Vekilov comes from the word “vekil” (“lawyer”, “defender”).
Surnames in which there is the word "khan" - Talishkhanov, Gubakhanov, Shekikhanov imply belonging to a noble family. For example, the surname Bakikhanov originates from the "Baku khans".
Azerbaijani surnames are widely used outside the country. According to the data of the Civil Registry Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, in 2011, two Azeri surnames, Mammadov (25,968 people) and Aliyev (17,605 people), were in the top five most common surnames in Georgia.
In March 2013, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Justice decided to return Azerbaijani surnames to their original sound. From now on, as before, they will end in “-zade”, “-oglu” and “-kyzy”. This decision was explained in the Ministry by the fact that the Turkic, Iranian and Arabic roots of Azerbaijani surnames do not combine with the Russian suffixes “-ov” and “-ev”.