Ukrainian surnames were formed, as in other peoples, under the influence of ethnogenesis. Their origin came from the names of fathers and mothers, belonging to the profession of carrier. Appearance or place of birth could also contribute to the origin of a given family name.
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Origin history
A large role in the formation of Ukrainian surnames was played by the Cossacks. The birth of the Ukrainian Cossacks began in the late 15th - early 16th centuries. It was by this time that the very first names in Ukrainian sent us.
It was male Ukrainian surnames that appeared first, since initially there were no women in the Cossacks. First, the names appeared on Podillia, then - in Kiev, Zhytomyr and Galicia. Much later, they spread to the regions of eastern Ukraine.
The main difference between Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian surnames is their suffixes.
According to them, first of all, the nationality of the second name of the Slavs is determined. Almost 60% of the total number in the 17th century was occupied by surnames with the ending “–enko”: Ponomarenko, Yushchenko, Melnichenko. The semantic load came either from the profession, the position held, or on behalf of the father (mother).
Staying under the Polish yoke of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth left its imprint on Ukrainian surnames, so the endings “-sky” and “-sky” appeared: Khmelnitsky, Kotsyubynsky, Polovetsky, Galitsky. Such endings over time began to highlight those who had an education, more often they were priests. In the same period of Ukrainian history, the suffixes “-uk”, “-ak” and “-yuk” appeared. They were given, as a rule at baptism, and separated the Ukrainian from the nobleman: Kravchuk, Pavlyuk, Poleshchuk, Kondratyuk, Shostak.
Historians argue that the ending "-co" went with the resettlement of Turkic peoples in the Black Sea and Dnieper regions: Goncharenko, Guzenko, Osnovyanenko, Mikhailenko.
And the funniest Ukrainian names went again from the Cossacks. Serf peasants fled to Zaporizhzhya Sich, as well as representatives of other classes who hid their origin for various reasons. They had to leave their names outside the walls of the Cossacks and take the most characteristic name for themselves. So a lot of names appeared, more like nicknames: Tyagnibok, Lupybatko, Zaderykhvist, Netudykhata, Tovchigrechka.
Due to the influence of various states, under which Ukraine was at different periods of history, endings and suffixes of Ukrainian surnames can be very diverse:
- "Yes", "-ba", "that": Dzyuba, Sereda, Golota;
- "-Th", "-ai", "-ey": Paly, Kochubey, Guy;
- “-Lo”, “-la”: Prytula, Pokotylo;
- "-Ar", "-ich", "-ak", "-yak", "-yk": Kobzar, Markevich, Shostak, Smolyak, Bryk.
Popular among Ukrainian surnames are those that simply mean an object or animal, as well as a natural phenomenon: Khmara, Gogol, Frost, Frying Pan, Shpak, Gai, Zozulya, Vovk.
Popular male Ukrainian last names
The formation of Ukrainian surnames originated precisely with male options. Their significance often spoke of the origin or employment of the owner.
War, revolution, captivity left a big mark on word forms and the formation of Ukrainian surnames.
Among the most popular are:
- by origin - Ascension, Sagaidachny, Khmelnitsky;
- according to work - Skrypnyk (violinist), Miller, Strelchenko (shooter);
- on paternity - Tabachnik (son of a tobacco), Davydovsky (son of David), Mamaev (son of Mamaia);
- in appearance, character or ability - Curly (curly), Chaly (weak), Klitschko (loud), Dovzhenko (high).
Ukrainian surnames that belong to famous people: Poroshenko, Grushevsky, Shevchenko.
Beautiful surnames for girls
Women mostly bore the name of their husband or father, and therefore there are quite few surnames belonging to Ukrainian beauties by gender. There is a difference when writing cases using declension - female Ukrainian surnames ending in "-o", "-th", "-ich", "-ik", "-uk" are not inclined. Such surnames include: Vakarchuk, Petrik, Fedko.
Beautiful surnames belonging to Ukrainians: Pysanka, Kosach-Kvitka, Lastivka, Ognevich, Nightingale, Mavka, Yarilo, Viit, Serdechna, Kokhan.
List of unusual surnames
The most unusual surnames are more common among the Western Ukrainian versions. The most popular in them is the suffix "-iv": Illiv, Ivantsiv.
And so the most strange surnames look:
- Kpekich;
- Growl;
- Babaryk;
- Sosyura;
- Veleten;
- Stus;
- Dryness;
- Good evening;
- Nebaba;
- Jerk;
- Otutyunchik;
- Sukhozad;
- Chalupa;
- Zhovna;
- Hole;
- Grouse;
- Tree frog;
- Pechiborsch;
- Yop;
- Sold out;
- Ubykony;
- Saloid.
You can continue the list for a long time. As can be seen from the derivation of these names, they were not taken from scratch and designated various household items, abilities, or, conversely, ridiculed the carrier. Many surnames, such as Thank you, Freebie, Tselovnik, carry whole family legends and stories.
