Until the end of the 15th century, it was not customary to use surnames in Russia. The first owners of the surnames were people of noble origin - princes and boyars, a little later - nobles. Peasants received the right to have their own surname only in the 19th century, after the abolition of serfdom. The word "surname" itself comes from the Latin word familia, which means "family". It is customary to designate with this word not only the family, but the whole race. The surname is given to a person at birth.
Where did the last name Stepanov come from?
The mechanism for the emergence of surnames was as follows:
- at baptism, all Slavs received names from the clergyman;
- the surname should have been something unique to the whole family;
- sometimes baptismal names were taken for its formation, which underlies the origin of the names Stepanov, Ivanov, Petrov (from the names Stepan, Ivan and Peter, respectively);
- often used some distinctive features of a person or the whole family;
- it happened that the name of the territory on which this family lived at that moment was taken as the basis of the surname.
Of course, by name you can learn a lot about the history of the clan. The origin of the surname Stepanov goes back deep into the history of Russia and occupies an important place in rich Russian history. Bearers of this surname took an active part in the formation of the Russian Federation, which is embodied in many documents of great historical value.
The origin and meaning of the surname Stepanov
In the second half of the 16th century, surnames of Russian origin were formed mainly using the suffixes -ev, -ov and -in. This feature explains the origin of the name Stepanov. Later, this method of education began to be used by representatives of other nationalities living in the territory of the Russian Empire.
Someone might suggest that this surname originates from the word "steppe", but this is a false judgment. In fact, it comes from the name given at baptism - Stepan. Partly the origin of the last name Stepanov is due to the peculiarities of the Russian language in Ancient Russia. The sound "f" at that time was not characteristic of pronunciation. Thus, the Holy Apostle Stephen also became Stepan in Russia. The history of the name Stefan originates in Greek from "stephane" and in Russian means "wreath". The Apostle Stephen was the first archdeacon who, in his speech at the Sanhedrin, accused priests of the murder of Christ. Stefan suffered from a raging crowd that threw stones at him. So the apostle Stephen became the first martyr.
The prevalence of the name Stepanov
There were among the representatives of the Stepanovs surname and nobles. The old coat of arms of the Stepanovs is a shield divided in two. Part of the shield is silver, part red. In the center of the shield is a lion, which stood on its hind legs, and in the front holds two stripes. Above the lion are three more parallel stripes of blue. The shield is decorated with ostrich feathers, as well as a noble helmet and crown.
The ancestors and the most famous representatives of the Stepanovs among the nobles:
- court adviser and mayor of Kozelsk, Prime Minister Pyotr Semenovich Stepanov, who lived at the end of the 18th century;
- writer and governor of the Yenisei and Saratov provinces Alexander Petrovich Stepanov, who lived in the late XVIII and early XIX centuries.
