What are typical Belarusian surnames? What are the last names of Belarusians? Belarusian surnames - a reflection of the history of the people Belarusian male surnames.

Belarusian surnames

The most ancient and original Belarusian surnames are those surnames that end in "ich". For example, Bobich, Savinich, Smolich, Jaremic and Babich. These surnames appeared at that time of the existence of the Belarusian people, when tribal relations existed. People who belonged to the Smala family began to be called Smolich, and those whose family was Bob began to be called Bobich. The same endings are in the names of all the tribes, which eventually formed the basis of the Belarusian people. These were Dregovichi, Krivichi and Radimichi. Belarus is a country in which a large number of different localities are located, the name of which ends with "ichi". They are Ignatichi, Byalynichi and Yaremichi. These areas are very ancient, they correspond to the Fatherland of the clan. In the set there are both localities in "ichi" and surnames in "ich". Localities on "ichi" originate from the Disna district of Vilenshchyna. Most of these places are in the south, west and center of the Vitebsk region. Most likely, there are many such surnames in the east of the beautiful Vitebsk lands. Often they come across throughout the vast Mogilev region, rarely - on the territory of the rest of Belarus. In addition to Belarusians, of all Slavs, surnames that end in "ich" belong to the Serbs. They are Vujacic, Pasic and Stojanovic.

Belarusian surnames - the origin of Belarusian surnames

There are both the names Smalyachich and Smolich, as well as Smolevich, Rodzevich, Klyanovich, Babrovich and Zhdanovich, who came out of the area Smolevichi, Rodzevichi and others. Those surnames that end in "vich" are considered very ancient. But they are less ancient than those surnames that end in "ich". It is interesting, but in the endings "evich", "ovich" the meaning of belonging intersects with the meaning of kinship. For example, the surname Babr-ov-ich. You can pick up a large number of examples. Surnames like Demidovich, Petrovich and Vaytsyulevich clearly demonstrate that the founders of these clans were Christians. And the surname Akhmatovich says that the founder of this family were Muslims. This comes from the fact that Ahmat is a Muslim name. Similar surnames (Rodkevich) belong to Belarusian Muslims. These surnames have not only a Belarusian ending, but also a Belarusian root or base. Such surnames demonstrate that Belarusians were the founder of their clan in the past. It's just that either they or their children have previously converted to Islam. The most interesting thing is that not all Rodkevichs are considered and are in fact Muslims. Part of the Rodkeviches who live in Minsk belong to the Catholic faith. There are also surnames belonging to Jews, in which the Belarusian ending is “vich”, and the basis is German or Jewish. There are many examples: Rabinovich, Rubinovich and Mavshovich. These surnames are among those that arose in the Belarusian environment among the Jewish population. Surnames ending in "vich" are common throughout Belarus. It is estimated that 30-35 percent of Belarusian surnames in total are surnames with the endings "vich" and "ich". It is known that the names of localities correspond to surnames with the ending "vich". Surnames could be formed from the names of villages, towns and various places in which the carriers of the surname lived. For example, Popelevichi, Kupevichi, Dunilovichi, Klimovichi and Osipovichi. Very often, surnames with "vich" are considered Lithuanian. This happened because in ancient times the territory of Belarus was covered by the Lithuanian state. But the name of Belarusian surnames Lithuanian is considered a misunderstanding. Sometimes it happens that characteristic and original Belarusian surnames are also called Polish at the same time. There are no Poles with such surnames. The Sienkiewicz, Mickiewicz and Kandratovichi are Belarusians. They created the wealth of Polish culture in ancient times. A vivid example can be given: there are representatives who bear the surname Mitska and there is a village of Mitskavichi. These are unambiguous names. Only in the latter did the accent change and the “ts” hardened.

Belarusian surnames - endings in Belarusian surnames

Surnames ending in "tsky" and "sky" arose from the names of beautiful gentry estates and localities. Such surnames spread among the Belarusian gentry, which belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the fifteenth century. The gentry of Belarus, who owned the estate of Tsyapin, bore the surname Tsiapinsky, and the Belarusian gentry, who owned the estate of Ostrog, was called Ostrozhinsky. The same applies to Oginta - Oginsky, Dostoev - Dostoevsky, Mir - Mirsky and many others. Other Belarusian surnames were formed from the names of the localities. Dubeykovo - Dubeysky, Sudokhol - Sudokholsky. People living near the lake bore the surname Ozersky, and those who lived across the river - the surname Zaretsky. Then a student studying in Vilnius was named Vilna, and a student in Prague - Prague.
We found out that surnames that end in “vich” or “ich” are a gender designation. Belarusian surnames that end in "yonok" and "onok", "ik" and "chik", "yuk" and "UK" denote a son. For example, the surnames Yulyuchonok, Artyamenok, Lazichonok, Marcinchik, Ivanchik, Alyakseychik, Mikhalyuk, Vasilyuk, Aleksyuk are often found. Belarusian surnames that end in "enya" simply mean "child". For example, Vaselenia is a child of Vasily. Typical Belarusian and common people's surnames are surnames that end in "onak", "enya", "yonak", "ik" and "chik". They are not older than surnames ending in "vich" and "ich". Some Belarusians have surnames that end in "yonak" or "onak". These surnames correspond to Ukrainian surnames starting with "enko". 25-35 percent in Belarus are surnames that end in "yonak", "onak", "ik", "chik", "yuk". "uk". The same number of surnames ending in "vich" and "ich". In the Disna povet, the most common surnames end in "yonak" and "onak". Most of all they are common in the Vitebsk region. A little less - in the Mogilev region, as well as in the east of the Menshchina. There are such surnames throughout Belarus. In western Belarus, there are often surnames for "enya", "yuk", "uk". There are many surnames derived from a variety of names of plants, birds, animals, the name of the day of the week or month.

The surnames of the Slavic peoples are similar to each other in terms of the basic lexical composition of the root. The difference can be a change in the ending or suffix. The history of origin on the territory of modern Belarus is peculiar and interesting. Learn how to distinguish a person with Belarusian roots.

Belarusian names and surnames

Belarus belongs to the group of Slavic peoples, whose ancient ancestral roots are closely intertwined. The neighboring states of Belarus had a great influence on family formations. Representatives of Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish communities mixed their ancestral path, creating families. Belarusian names are not much different from other East Slavic ones. Common names: Olesya, Alesya, Yana, Oksana, Alena, Vasil, Andrey, Ostap, Taras. A more detailed alphabetical list can be found in any dictionary.

Belarusian "nicknames" were formed by using a certain ending or suffix. Among the population, one can find derivatives from the Russian direction (Petrov - Petrovich), Ukrainian (Shmatko - Shmatkevich), Muslim (Akhmet - Akhmatovich), Jewish (Adam - Adamovich). The names have changed over the centuries. The sound that has come down to our days could take different forms several centuries ago (Gonchar - Goncharenko - Goncharenok).

Belarusian surnames - endings

Modern endings of Belarusian surnames can be different, it all depends on the roots of origin from which they had to be formed. Here is a list of the most recognizable Belarusian surnames ending in:

• -evich, -ovich, -ivich, -lich (Savinich, Yashkevich, Karpovich, Smolich);
• based on Russian -ov, -ev (Oreshnikov - Areshnikov, Ryabkov - Rabkov);
• -sky, -sky (Neizvitsky, Tsybulsky, Polyansky);
• -enok, -onok (Kovalenok, Zaboronok, Savenok);
• -ko consonant with Ukrainian (Popko, Vasko, Voronko, Shchurko);
• -ok (Snopok, Zhdanok, Volchok);
• -enya (Kravchenya, Kovalenya, Deshchenya);
• -uk, -yuk (Abramchuk, Martynyuk);
• -ik (Yakimchik, Novik, Emelyanchik);
• -ets (Borisovets, Malets).

Declination of Belarusian surnames

The possible declension of Belarusian surnames depends on the ending. In most cases, according to the rules for writing the used case, the last letters will change:

• Remizovich: in the male version it will change (the absence of Taras Remizovich), in the female version it will remain the same (absence of Anna Remizovich).
• Music - no Music.
• With the ending -o remains unchanged (Golovko, Shevchenko).

Origin of Belarusian surnames

The very first ancient family changes among Belarusians began to appear among wealthy representatives of the noble and merchant family in the 14-15th century. The serfs belonging to one or another house, which they served, wore the same common noun "nicknames". Boyar Kozlovsky, all the peasants were called Kozlovsky: this meant that they serve and are related to one owner.

The ending -ich indicated a noble origin (Toganovich, Khodkevich). The origin of Belarusian surnames was greatly influenced by the name of the area where the people lived (the village of Berezy - Berezovsky), who at that time had the dominant power on the territory of modern Belarus. A derivative on behalf of the father could give a chain to the whole subsequent generation - AleksandrOvich, Vasilevsky.

It has always occupied humanity. Each of us involuntarily thought about the history of our family tree and the meaning of the surname. Even a superficial historical and linguistic research in this area can lead to unexpected results. So, for example, the surname Khazanov can turn into Khazanovich, Khazanovsky or Khazanovuch by virtue of the location of a person. Depending on the ending, the nationality of the individual is judged, but this is not always an indicator. Khazanovich can be Russian, Belarusian, and Jewish.

Anthroponymy, a science that collects and studies the origin of proper names, will help to figure out who is who really. It helps to understand their belonging to a certain region, where and for what reasons they appeared. Belarusian surnames and their origin are very confused, since the invasions of Poles, Russians, Tatars and Lithuanians have influenced the lands of Belarus at all times.

The period of the appearance of the first surnames on the lands of Belarus

Belarusian surnames can contain a variety of roots and endings. Anthroponymic analysis shows that the culture of the country was greatly influenced by many individual states. They occupied the lands and established orders according to their ideas. One of the most significant influences is the power of the Principality of Lithuania. It made changes not only in the development of the language of Belarusians, but also began to call the noble estates by their family name.

Surnames began to appear at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century, their carriers were mostly boyars, people of high ranks. The name of the genus was influenced by the culture and language of other states. A great many roots and endings depend on the time period and the peoples ruling the Belarusian lands during this period.

Surnames of peasants and gentry class

With the family names of noble families, the situation was more or less stable and understandable. These included the most ancient and well-known Gromyko, Tyshkevich, Iodko or Khodkevich. Basically, the ending -vich / -ich was added to the base of the name, which indicated the noble and ancient origin of the family. The gentry class did not differ in constancy in the name of the house. The surname was taken by the name of the father or grandfather, for example, Bartosh Fedorovich or Olekhnovich. An interesting fact was the transfer of the names of estates and estates to the family estate. The peasants also received their hereditary names after the owners. For example, the surname Belyavsky arose due to the name of the estate. And the owners-boyars and peasants were called the same - Belyavsky. It could also happen that the family of serfs had several names. During this period, their surnames were of a sliding nature.

18th-19th century

At this time, the areas and differences in the names of both peasants and the noble class began to appear. More than half of the population had surnames ending in -ovich / -evich / -ich, for example, Petrovich, Sergeich, Mokhovich. The regions of these generic names were the central and western parts of the Belarusian lands. It was during this period of time that common proper names were formed, they are also considered the most ancient. For example, the surname Ivashkevich refers to the 18-19 centuries in its origin.

The name may have deep roots and have a direct connection with the nobility. Aleksandrovich - a surname that tells not only about belonging to a noble family, but also the name of the father of the house - Alexander, the generic name dates back to the 15th century.

Such interesting hereditary names as Burak or Nos have peasant roots. were not subjected to assimilation and addition of endings adopted during this period.

Russian influence

Russian surnames, usually ending in -ov, began to be worn by Belarusians due to the Russian invasion of the eastern lands of Belarus. A typical Moscow ending was added to the basics of names. So there were Ivanov, Kozlov, Novikov. Also, endings in -o were added, which is more typical for Ukrainians than Russians. For example, the wonderful surname Goncharenok turned into Goncharenko. The trend of such changes in the name of the genera is typical only for regions where the influence of Russians was observed - the east of the country.

Interesting and beautiful surnames of Belarus

The most interesting and unforgettable surnames of Belarusians came from the depths of centuries, which have not undergone changes and assimilation. Their origin is due to the rich imagination of the peasants. Very often, people named their genus in honor of weather phenomena, animals, insects, months of the year and human characteristics. The well-known surname Frost appeared just like that. The Nose, Windmill, March or Beetle can be attributed to the same category. These are typically Belarusian surnames, but they are quite rare.

Male names

It was interesting to designate a clan in the Belarusian lands, the basis of which were male surnames. By the name of the clan, it was possible to understand who is the father and who is the son. If it was a son, the ending -enok/-ik/-chik/-uk/-yuk was added to his name. In other words, for example, surnames starting with “ik” indicate that a person is the son of a noble family. These include Mironchik, Ivanchik, Vasilyuk, Aleksyuk. So purely masculine surnames appeared, talking about belonging to a particular clan.

If a simple family simply wanted to designate a child as the son of their father, then the ending -enya was used. For example, Vaselenia is the son of Vasil. Common surnames of this etymology date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. They began to appear a little later than the famous Radzevich, Smolenich or Tashkevich, related to

The most common hereditary names

Belarusian surnames differ from the general mass by the endings "vich", "ich", "ichi" and "ovich". These anthroponyms indicate ancient roots and primordially Belarusian origin, denoting the pedigree.

• Smolich - Smolich - Smolich.
• Yashkevich - Yashkevichi - Yashkovich.
• Zhdanovich - Zhdanovichi.
• Stojanovic - Stojanovici.
• Surname Petrovich - Petrovichi.

This is an example of well-known Belarusian generic names, the origin of which dates back to the early 15th century. Their consolidation took place already in the 18th century. The official recognition of these designations dates back to the end of the 19th century.

The second layer of names in terms of popularity and prevalence refers to surnames with the endings "ik", "chik", "uk", "yuk", "enok". These include:

• Artyamenok (everywhere).
• Yazepchik (everywhere).
• Mironchik (everywhere).
• Mikhalyuk (west of Belarus).

These surnames more often indicate that a person belongs to a noble or gentry family.

Russified and unusual surnames

The third layer of common surnames implies the endings "ov", "o". Most of them are located in the eastern part of the country. They are very similar to Russian surnames, but more often they have a Belarusian root and stem. For example, Panov, Kozlov, Popov - these can be both Belarusians and Russians.

Surnames ending in "in" also refer to the eastern part of the country and have a Russian echo. Muslims were attributed "in" to the basis of the name. So Khabibul became Khabibulin. This part of the country was strongly assimilated under the influence of Russians.

No less common are surnames derived from the names of villages, estates, animals, holidays, plants, months of the year. These include such beautiful and interesting surnames as:

• Kupala;
• Kalyada;
• Tit;
• Tambourine;
• March;
• Pear.

Surnames that describe the main distinguishing feature of a person and his entire family also have a significant distribution. For example, the lazy will be called Lyanutska, the absent-minded and forgetful - Zabudzka.

Prevailing stereotypes and misunderstandings

Belarusian surnames, the list of which is diverse and rich in origin, are often confused with Jewish, Lithuanian and even Latvian ones. Many are sure that, for example, the surname Abramovich is purely Jewish. But this is not entirely true. At the time of the formation of anthroponyms on Belarusian lands, people bearing the names Abram or Khazan were added the ending -ovich or -ovichi. So Abramovichi and Khazanovichi came out. Often the root of the names was German or Jewish in nature. Assimilation took place in the early 14-15 centuries and became the basis of the family heritage of Belarus.

Another misconception is the opinion that -wich surnames come from Lithuanian or Polish roots. If we compare the anthroponyms of Latvia, Poland and Belarus, then it is impossible to find a similarity between them. There are no Senkeviches or Zhdanoviches either in Latvia or in Poland. These surnames are originally Belarusian. The Lithuanian principality and other states undoubtedly influenced the formation of generic names, but did not introduce their own, original names. It can also be said that many common surnames of Belarusians are very similar to Jewish ones.

The origin of surnames on the Belarusian land was formed over several centuries. It was an interesting and lively linguistic process. Now generic names have become a reflection of the rich and diverse history of Belarus. The multi-layered culture of the country, the development and formation of which was influenced by the Poles, Lithuanians, Tatars, Jews and Russians, can be clearly traced by the names of people. The final and official adoption of proper names on the territory of Belarus occurred only in the middle of the 19th century.

Let's start with the fact that Belarus had never been an independent state until the end of the 20th century. The territory of modern Belarus throughout history was part of Kievan Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (VLK), Poland, the Russian Empire, and the USSR. The concept of Belarusians was introduced by Catherine II. The territorial name of Belarus appeared only after 1917. For example, in the first half of the 19th century, only residents of the Vitebsk and Mogilev regions (eastern regions of Belarus) were called Belarusians. The people who lived in other areas called themselves Poles, Litvins (Slavs) or Zhemoits (Balts). The same Tadeusz Kosciuszko called himself a Litvin.

In history, there was not a single Belarusian prince or nobleman, there were only Lithuanian ones. Belarusian peasants, like others, did not have surnames. Originally Belarusian surnames sound a bit like nicknames: Kochan, Skorina, Kulik; surnames ending in -nok/-onok (Luchenok).

Also common in Belarus last names ending in -ich(Mankevich derived from Emmanuel, Stankevich - from Stanislav), on -sky/-sky(Olshevsky, Pototsky). A little history about them. These surnames are of Polish, often noble origin.

The gentry, which Krass mentions in his answer, has nothing to do with Belarusians, since it originated from chivalry, and there was no chivalry among the Eastern Slavs.

The very word gentry - derived from the old German words Slahta (Geschlecht) and means clan, family. This word came to the Polish language from the Czech Republic, which was under the control of the German emperors.

Warriors for military merit were knighted, bestowed with lands. Knights formed the basis of the nobility. The family that came from the knights was considered noble. Initially, most of the gentry did not have surnames, only family coats of arms. The old coats of arms of the Polish gentry have the names Janina, Rogala, Vonzh, etc.

Around the beginning of the 16th century, the Polish gentry began to add surnames to their names and nicknames to indicate their origin or territorial influence. This is how Polish noble families appeared with the ending in -sky (Yasinsky). In the middle of the 16th century, an alliance (Union of Lublin) was concluded between the VLK and the Kingdom of Poland, according to which the VLK, together with the Belarusian lands, became part of the Polish-Lithuanian state of the Commonwealth. Part of the Polish noble coats of arms was transferred to the VLK.

The descendants of Rurik (Svyatopolk-Chetvertinsky, Drutsky-Lyubetsky, Mosalsky, Oginsky, Puzyn), Gediminas (Chartorysky, Voronetsky, Sangushki) and representatives of the non-dynastic clans of Sapieha and Radziwill, who entered together with the VLK, have nothing to do with Belarusians, except for land holdings on the territory of Belarus .

In the future, representatives of families who received from the Seimas a letter of nobility for special merits, and with it a surname, considered themselves Polish panship. For example, the well-known Polish surname Tyshkevich appeared on the territory of the VLK, but is of Polish origin - it is a derivative of Tyshka (Timofey).

In Belarus, there are surnames, as in Russia and Ukraine, which end in ov and ko. But most often their surnames end in ich and sky.

For example on ich:

Martinovich

Sinkevich

Pashkevich

Petrovich

Ivashkevich

Zakharevich

Or in sky:

Basinsky

Yurovsky

Sikorsky

Typical surnames among Belarusians usually end in -ich, -vich, -sky (-tsky), -chik, -onak (-nak), -ka (-ko):

Small ich, Vuyach ich, Ignat ich, Ksendzev ich;

Zhdanov ich, Demidov ich, Radke hiv, Mitsk hiv, Tumilo hiv;

Zubov sky, Dubi tsky, Dubov sky, Hall sky, Krasnov sky, Uspen sky, Vasilev sky, Romanov sky ;

Myron chik, Kukhar chik, Vasil chik;

Artem nok, Scab onok, Vasil nok, Koval nok;

Zakhar ka, Lived to, Dubrov ka, Budz to, Brov ka, Kostyush to, Tere shko.

There are also many Belarusian surnames with household sounding:

Koval, Busel, Verabey, Fox, Korsak, Gut, Mushroom, Titmouse, Kazan, Crook, Hat.

Unfortunately, over the years of the Russian Empire and the USSR, many surnames were Russified (or Polished, on the contrary - if only they did not sound in Belarusian): Dubroka became Dubrovko, became Kostyushko or Kostyushkin, Areshka - Oreshko, Ozheshko or Oreshkin, - Verbitsky or Vzhebitsky ...

Surnames ending in -vich and -sky (-sky) usually (but not always, of course) indicate that these Belarusians belong to the descendants of aristocratic and gentry Belarusian families *: Khodkevich, Khrebtovich, Vankovich, Tumilovich, Radkevich, Stankevich, Mitskevich, Senkevich, Ostrovsky, Dubovitsky, Golshansky, Komarovsky, Pottsky, ..

(According to modern ethnographers, among almost 10 million Belarusians, 1 million are descendants of the Belarusian gentry).

• It must also be taken into account that many Tatars and Jews, those who lived numerously on the territory of Belarus during the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Commonwealth, the Russian Empire and the USSR received from the authorities - surnames also in -ich and -sky:

Akhmatovich, Aslamovich, Murzich, Sulevich, Sulemanovich, Rabinovich, Davidovich, Movshovich...

If the Jews lived, for example. in the town of Berza, then the Russian authorities in Ros. The empires recorded them all as Berezovsky.

You can read more about Belarusian surnames here.

A lot of Belarusian surnames came from baptismal names - both Orthodox and Catholic. Such surnames end in -ovich / -evich. The following surnames are popular - Klimovich, Karpovich, Makarevich, Demidovich, Kostyukovich, Lukashevich, Tarasevich, Bogdanovich, Pashkevich, Pavlovich, Yurevich, Aleshkevich, Petrovich, Matskevich, Gurinovich, Adamovich, Zinkevich, Radevich, Sakovich, Kurlovich, Matusevich, Vashkevich, Dashkevich, Yaroshevich, Aleksandrovich, Gerasimovich, Ignatovich, Yaskevich, Davidovich, Mikhnevich, Mitskevich, Maksimovich, Antonovich, Kasperovich, Grinevich, Romanovich, Borisevich, Yushkevich, Stankevich, Nesterovich, Prokopovich, Yurkovich, Kondratovich, Urbanovich, Grinkevich, Vasilevich, Fedorovich, Grigorovich, Sinkevich, Danilovich, Shinkevich, Yakimovich, Radkevich, Leonovich, Yanushkevich, Zakharevich, Filipovich, Protasevich, Levkovich, Tikhonovich, Yakubovich, Lavrinovich, Lashkevich, Parkhimovich, Martinovich, Mikhalevich, Danilevich, Grishkevich, Tishkevich Ermakovich, Yatskevich, Kononovich, Stasevich, Mankevich , Ivashkevich, Naumovich, Stefanovich, Ermolovich, Gritskevich, Petkevich, Pitkevich, Yanovich, Sinkevich, Denisevich, Filippovich.

Many surnames intersect and overlap, as closely living peoples mix, so there are many family ties between Poles, Bulbash and Khokhols for a long time, respectively, and surnames seem to be the same but are pronounced in their own way, for example, the surname Koval is Ukrainian, Kaval is Belarusian , while Kowal is Polish. Also, Yanukovych seems to be Belarusian, probably a recruited Bulbash undercover, worked as president.

Hello! And what can be said about the surname Shnigir (Shniger, Schniger, Shnigira, Shnigirya, Shnigirev)? Is she Belarusian, Polish, German? Thank you!

The indigenous people of Belarus can be recognized by the end of the surname with -IC or -HIV.

As in general, the endings of the names of most small towns in Belarus.

But the surname Abramovich or Rabinovich ends in the same way, so what's the matter?

And the thing is that these surnames say that the ancestors of Jews with such surnames once lived on the territory of Belarus and therefore they formed such surnames.

For example, the Jew Abram lived somewhere in Lyakhovichi or Baranovichi, and in order not to be very worried about his nationality, he wrote down his surname Abramovich.

It seems to be heard that a Jew, but you can’t prove that the surname is Belarusian ....



This is some nonsense. In Belarus, surnames are the same as in Russia

It seems to me that now there are no typical Belarusian or any other typical surnames. All sorts of surnames have already crossed the entire globe. And Ivanov will soon be not a typical Russian surname. In general, it is believed that Belarusian surnames end in ich, vich, onak.

There are many surnames in Belarus with the ending -ich - Zygmantovich, Bortkevich, Lukyanovich. Many surnames with the ending -ik or -ok - Kupreichik, Kazachenok. Often there are endings -ov, -in, -ko, -sky, -tsky.

A long history of the formation of Belarusian surnames.

History of Belarusian surnames inseparable from the pan-European political processes. The first generic names appeared among Belarusians in the XIV-XV centuries, when they were part of the multinational Principality of Lithuania. However, at that time they did not yet have stability. Until the 19th century, Belarusian surnames continued to form under the influence of the Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian and Russian languages. Naturally, while maintaining their national characteristics. The formation of Belarusian surnames most rapidly took place in the 18th-19th centuries, and they became legally fixed only in the 30s of the last century.

Originally Belarusian surnames.

Dictionary of Belarusian surnames shows a large number of surnames with the ending -ich. These are the original, ancient hereditary names of Belarusians. They began to appear even in the period of tribal relations and showed belonging to a certain genus. Bobichi came from the Bob clan, Dregovichi - Dregov. Surnames with -vich (Smolevich, Zhdanovich, Rodzevich) can also be attributed here. It's interesting that interpretation some Belarusian surnames allows you to determine belonging to a particular faith. For example, the owners of the surnames Petrovich, Demidovich, Vaitsyulevich were Christians. The surname Akhmatovich is based on a Muslim name, most likely, and the members of this family were Muslims. And the Jewish surnames Rubinovich, Rabinovich, Mavshovich can be easily separated from Belarusian, despite their Belarusian ending. Meaning many of these common Belarusian surnames corresponds to the name of the area where their first carriers were from - Kutsevich (from Kutsevichi), Popelevich (from Popelevichi). It is believed that the surnames that are traditionally perceived as Polish (Sienkiewicz, Mickiewicz, Kondratovich) actually have Belarusian roots.

Polish, Ukrainian and Russian influence.

The common Slavic educational suffixes -sk, -sky, -tsky were the first to use the Poles. However, Belarusians also have a lot of them, just look alphabetical list of belarusian surnames. Such surnames, being the privilege of the Polish aristocracy, were considered prestigious among Belarusians as well. "Aristocratic" surnames were usually associated with the names of the lands (Zaretsky, Ostrovsky, Pototsky), but over time, no one followed this rule. Milko was staged by Milkovsky, and Skorubo - by Skorubsky.

A lot of Belarusian surnames are formed following the example of Ukrainian ones and end in -ko. The basis for them was the baptismal names and the names of professions - Kukharenko, Artemenko, Soldatenko, Isaenko. A large part of Belarusian surnames has a Russian ending. They differ in terms of gender and decency such Belarusian surnames complies with the rules of Russian grammar. Surnames ending in -ov, -ev, -in are relatively new. They appeared among the Belarusians as a result of alteration of the original Belarusian surnames or were formed under Russian influence. So, Borisevich became Borisov, and Tsyareshchanok became Tereshchenko.

Top Belarusian surnames in addition to popularity, it also shows their great diversity.