Today it is very difficult to imagine a society in which there would be no last names. However, such a society existed several centuries ago, when the function of surnames was performed by nicknames, mention of parents or hometown. Fortunately, these times have sunk into oblivion. Now surnames are actively used in order to identify and personalize people. Each surname has its own interesting and sometimes confusing story, which explains its origin. This article will try to figure out the origin of the surname Lebedev.
Religious background
According to the most common point of view, the history of the name Lebedev originates in the time of Russia. Then, when baptized, a person was given two names - one baptismal and one worldly. The swan was one of the rather popular variants of the worldly name.
In truth, in those days there was a strong tradition of naming children after animals or plants. It originated in pre-Christian times. This is explained by the fact that parents wanted to endow their children with the best qualities that the representatives of flora and fauna were famous for. This tradition was a reflection of the pagan beliefs of the Russian people.
As for the swan itself, this bird in humans was associated with love, faith, purity and mercy. That is why in folklore you can meet such a character as the Swan Princess. At the same time, this bird can be considered the embodiment of hypocrisy, because snow-white feathers cover the black body.
This fact was also reflected in folk art, because it was geese-swans who kidnap a little boy for Baba Yaga in one famous fairy tale. That is why when the parents called their child Swan, they wanted to see him kind and gentle, but they were ready to deal with his hypocrisy.
So, the origin of the surname Lebedev is explained by the fact that the name after some time was transformed into the surname of interest to us.
Workshop roots
There is another version of the origin of this surname. It is immediately worth noting that it in some way intersects with the previous version. There is an opinion that the surname Lebedev belongs to the number of seminars, since they differ in their accuracy and harmony.
In the time of Rus, young guys, when they entered the seminary, received artificial surnames as a replacement for existing ones or as their first surname in life. Naturally, they were given not just like that, but on the basis of certain observations.
So, the origin of the surname Lebedev may be due to the fact that a person possessed such qualities as purity of spirit and mercy. It is here that two versions of the origin of the surname intersect, since both of them are based on the characteristic features of the bird.
Other versions
In addition to the above, there are several more versions of the origin of the surname Lebedev. These versions are not very popular, but it is necessary to mention them. According to one of them, this surname has geographical roots. On the territory of Russia and Ukraine you can find a decent number of geographical objects with a consonant name. So, the most famous examples are the villages of Lebedin in Sumy and Lebedyan in the Lipetsk regions, as well as the Lebed River in the upper basin of the Ob.
According to another hypothesis, the origin of the surname Lebedev is associated with the occupation of its founders. So, in Russia there was a special group of slaves, whose task was to deliver snow-white birds to the table to high-ranking nobles. These slaves were called swans, which could become the starting point for the formation of the surname of interest to us.
Famous people with the surname Lebedev
As we saw, this surname boasts a fairly rich and eventful history. That is why there is no doubt that there were quite a lot of famous people with such a surname.
Among them, one can single out Yevgeny Lebedev, the famous Soviet actor in theater and cinema. He is known to a wide range of viewers for his roles in films such as "Wedding in the Robin", "Virgin Soil Upturned", "Breakfast with a View of Elbrus" and many others.
The surname Lebedev is also well known to fans of Soviet sports, namely hockey. The thing is that in 1974, Yuri Lebedev received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. Throughout his long career, he became the champion of the USSR in 1974, the silver medalist of the Olympic Games in 1980 and the multiple world champion.
