A surname is a generic name that goes from father to children (with rare exceptions). Each person at least once in his life tried to find out about the origin of his surname and its meaning. Many now even compose a family tree, according to which you can track how the surname passed from generation to generation. In this article we will talk about where the name Goncharov came from.
Who is a potter?
The origin of the surname Goncharov comes from the occupation, unlike other "speaking" Russian surnames. From ancient times, people learned to make household items from various materials. At first they did it out of stone, then they adapted to grind dishes and household utensils out of wood with stone scrapers.
As the "growing up" of humanity and the increase of the intellectual abilities of the ancients, people learned to take natural clay, mix it with water and sculpt any product from the resulting mass. But they were not strong enough. Probably, once an earthenware object fell into the fire and grew stronger there. So people realized that firing gives strength to clay pots.
In Old Slavonic, “garno” meant a hearth, a kiln for roasting. Here are the origins of the name Goncharov. By the way, in the Indian language there is also an analogue of this term - ghrnas, which means "heat" or "heat".
Birth of a craft
Man needed to store water, grains, flour in something. It was necessary to make dishes for food. So the oldest profession appeared - the potter. This craft is the main version of the origin of the name Goncharov.
People managed to improve the technology for the production of clay products and created a potter's wheel. It is known that the potter’s wheel appeared in the III millennium BC! At first it was manual: with one hand the master rotated the round table, and with the other - he formed the product.
Later, both hands were released: they came up with a mechanism that could be unwound with your feet. It was a real leap forward! Immediately improved quality, increased the number of manufactured dishes. Pottery became very profitable, the basics of the craft passed from generation to generation.
Even now, in the age of high technology, everyone knows who a potter is. And now pottery is in demand. Here are just clay products now do not with their hands, but in factories. But painting is most often done manually. The potter’s wheel still exists, but as a colorful subject of national craft in some regions of Russia. Handwork has always been and remains in the price. A worthy profession has become the basis of the origin of the name Goncharov.
Surname prevalence
Since people needed dishes for all ages, the profession of a potter became very widespread. The craftsmen taught this craft to boys who, having matured, opened their pottery shops. In Russia, and throughout the world, there were their unsurpassed masters of pottery.
Pottery really became art. In addition to dishes, potters created souvenirs: figurines, flower vases, toys and even clay brooches! And the profession has become a surname! The potter is the father, and his children are the son of the potters, the daughter of the potter. This is the origin of the name Goncharov. The suffix "ov" played its role, which, according to the rules of the Russian language, means belonging to something or someone.
The descendants of the first potter could no longer be engaged in family affairs, but they continued to be so called among the people - the Goncharovs. In the ancient archives, this surname has been mentioned since the XV century.
Last name fame
This surname in Russia is very popular. And now everyone who reads this article now has at least one Goncharov among relatives or acquaintances. Surely he is not engaged in pottery.
There are many famous people with the surname Goncharov or Goncharov.
For example, the great Russian writer, literary classic Ivan Alexandrovich Goncharov (1812-1891), who created the famous novel "Oblomov".
Natalie Goncharova (1812-1863) - any school student who did not skip literature classes knows her! The name of the wife of the great Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin is immortalized by his work. Natalie Goncharova was a representative of the family that owned the linen factory.
Goncharovs - this name was worn by well-known noble families in the Russian state. There were twelve in all.
