Studying the history of the birth of the generic name reveals the amazing pages of the culture, life and traditions of our ancestors. Each surname has its own unique version of origin, which reveals to us a lot of interesting things about the past of this or that family. The article will discuss the origin and versions of the origin of the Akimov surname.
Church tradition of naming
On a personal behalf, the family name of Akimov occurred. In ancient times, they called babies who were baptized, or who were born on the day of memory of St. Akim. Angel Day is celebrated on September 9, July 25, December 9.
Thus, the origin of the Akimov surname is associated with the church name Akim or Joachim, which is translated from Hebrew as “set by God”.
Over time, derivative generic names were formed: Akimochkin, Akimchin, Yakimov, Akimakin, Akimushkin, Akimychev, Ekimov, Akimkin, Akishev, Akimikhin, Akimchev.
What does the name Akimov mean? In ancient times, Akim was considered the embodiment of simplicity, innocence. It is possible that such a nickname was given to people with a good, broad soul, who were considered a bit rustic and stupid. For example, in Dead Souls, the main character Chichikov, who had the idea of making money for the dead, says: “Oh, I, Akim is simplicity!”
Holy Great Martyr Joachim
The ancestor of the family name, most likely, was named in honor of St. Joachim. In the Orthodox and Catholic traditions, he was the husband of St. Anne, that is, the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He is also called the God-father in Orthodoxy.
According to biblical tradition, Anna and Joachim did not have children, they dreamed about them, therefore they prayed fervently to God. Once again, when they gathered to present gifts to the Almighty, Joachim was accused by the priest of the sin of mercilessness. This really upset him, and he decided not to return home, but to settle in the desert. Anna began to fast and fervently pray to God that he would send a child to them with her husband. The prayers of the spouses were heard, they, at the behest of the angel, met in Jerusalem, where their daughter was born, whom they named Mary.
Old Russian version of the origin of the patrimonial name
Many church names were borrowed from Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, they were difficult to pronounce and incomprehensible in meaning. Therefore, many of them have been transformed. So, in the Old Russian language, the name Joachim turned into Akim, and depending on the dialects of the “yak” or “yekim” - into Ekim, Yakim.
It is possible that the origin of the surname Akimov is directly related to the name Yefim. In ancient times, the language of our ancestors did not have the sound "f", and to convey foreign words it was replaced with the sounds "k" and "x", that is, Akim could sound like Yefim, Yechim, Yekim.
The derivatives of this name gave a great many other names, for example, Akimikhin came from Akimikh, the widow or wife of Akim. The Ukrainian form of Akimenko meant a descendant of Akim. Akimkin, Yakimkin descended from the diminutive and affectionate Yakimka and Akimka.
History of the name Akimov
According to the laws of the formation of Russian family names, Akimov was called not the name bearer himself, but his children, grandchildren, relatives. That is, all those who were directly related to the person Akim.
The family suffixes -ev, -ov, -in are patronymic particles that indicate the origin of the middle name and last name on the territory of the Russian state no earlier than in the 16th century.
Topographical version of the generic name
It is possible that the origin of the surname Akimov is associated with geographical names. In antiquity, the Slavs nicknames of ancient clans were directly associated with the names of clan possessions. It was the aristocrats who had the need to inherit their status, title, inheritance and family name, which would indicate belonging to the clan.
After several centuries, the surname could belong to representatives of different classes, it could indicate a native of places of the same name. Thus, the Akimovo village in the Republic of Karelia could serve as the basis for the generic naming of Akims.
