Most people often think about what a surname means. Some are just out of curiosity, while others want to find a connection with their ancestors and important historical events. The surname of each person indicates his belonging to a particular family, family - this is a historically formed generic name. However, not always and not everyone had a similar name - it all started a little differently.
In Russia, the process of origin of surnames took a fairly decent period of time - from the end of the XIV to the XIX century. This is due to the fact that at that time only representatives of the upper class had the privilege to belong to a well-known clan, specific princes and boyars were given names by the name of those volosts that they owned (for example, Vitebsk, Smolensk). Here it becomes clear what the surname means. The princes were very proud of this, defended and conquered their lands.
The next owners of the clan names were the rich, famous merchants and nobles who deserved something, and often simply bought this right. They were called by occupation or by existing nicknames (Weaver, Rybnik, Likhachev). With the help of the received surname, merchants intended to expand their client base, customers preferred to work with registered houses with their own trademark. The clergy had special rights. By the name of the clergyman, it was possible to determine in which parish he served (Nikolsky, Kazan, etc.).
The rest of the population is commoners. They were nameless, had only a name and a middle name. In the archives there are often records: "Peter, Ivan the Son." Obviously on
Based on this differentiation, a modern family name was obtained whose origin goes far into the past. In addition, ordinary people also had nicknames that were given to them by professional affiliation or by some individual characteristics. Such a surname could easily be lost by changing your craft or character traits, due to which a nickname was obtained.
Subsequently, surnames were also given to former serfs. At first glance, it is not clear what the surname means in this case. But, having figured it out, it becomes clear that they were assigned the name of the former owner, because of which in one district there could be many namesakes who did not have any kindred ties. In 1888, a decree was issued that obliged everyone to have a surname for inclusion in documents. Many peasants, as a last name, entered a middle name.
What does the last name mean? It is of mixed importance. Someone could get it because of the ownership of the territory or because of their craft, and someone - because of their short stature, clubfoot, or other external signs. Then its information content was much greater than now, because by the available surname one could learn a lot about a person. Today it gives us little. Some carriers themselves do not know what their family name means, how it was received, who their ancestors are. Although there are those who are immersed in the search for information in the depths of the genealogy, trying to find their roots.
