The origin, mystery and history of each surname is individual, interesting and unique. Hereditary generic names were formed from names, nicknames, names of professions, places of residence, customs, appearance, nature of ancestors.
Young people have now increased interest in the issue of the origin and formation of their surnames. They want to know their family history and lifestyle, the culture and customs of their ancestors. Generic name information helps uncover the secrets of ancestors. The article will discuss the origin of the Khokhlov surname, its history and nationality.
Generic Name Origin
The origin of the name Khokhlov is associated with a personal nickname. The Slavs for a long time there was a tradition of dual-name. At baptism, the child was given a baptismal or church name, but there were very few such names, so they were often repeated, and in order to identify a person, he was given a middle name or nickname, often used middle names. The sources of nicknames were the names of professions, features of the person’s appearance or character, the name of the area where the person was born or where he came from.
The origin of the name Khokhlov is connected with the nickname Khokhol. This is the Russian name of the Ukrainians, which, most likely, came from the name of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. In ancient times, they shaved their heads, leaving only a forelock or crest. Over time, they began to call all the inhabitants of the territory of modern Ukraine, regardless of what hairstyle people wore. The nickname passed on to other nationalities. For example, in the 19th century in Siberia, Ukrainians were called not only Ukrainians, but also Russians who migrated from the southern regions of the Russian state.
There is a hypothesis that the origin of the Khokhlov surname is associated with the verb “to have fun”, which means “sit puffed up”, “frown”, “sit hunched over”. In this case, a gloomy and touchy person could be called Khokhl.
In the Vologda dialect, the word "crest" meant "lover, friend, hahal." Probably, the origin of the surname could be associated with this common nickname. Perhaps the origin of the name Khokhol is associated with the dialect word “khokhlyach, ” as they used to call an unshaven, long-haired man.
Thus, the nickname could indicate not only the nationality of the ancestor, but also the features of his appearance or character.
Turkic version
Some ethnographic scholars believe that the word "crest" came to the Russian language from Turkic. For example, from the Mongolian “hal-gol” or “khukh-ulu”, or “khokh-olu” which means “blue-yellow”. It was this color that was characteristic of the symbolism of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
There is an assumption that the nickname Khokhol arose from the Tatar “hol”, which means “sun”, and “ho” - “son”, that is, literally “crest” means “son of the sun”.
The prevalence of the Khokhlov surname: nationality
The surname is 50% Russian, 5% Ukrainian, 10% Belarusian, 30% Tatar, Bashkir, Mordovian, Buryat.
This surname is formed on behalf of the nickname or place of residence of the ancestor. The surname is not widespread in Russia. In ancient documents, the owners of this generic hereditary name are mentioned as noble people from the Novgorod boyars of the 16th century.
The origin of the names of Ukrainians
It is generally accepted that the names on –ov and –in are originally Russian, but in fact they can belong to very different peoples. Among Ukrainians there are also many people whose family names have such endings. This is due to a common history and numerous close ties between peoples.
Ukrainians acquired hereditary family names earlier than Russians. It affected the location of the territory and the influence of western neighbors, for example, Poland. Family names in Ukraine began to appear in the 14-16 centuries. Finally, the process of forming surnames ended in the 19th century. The most common endings of Ukrainian generic names are -enko, -yuk, -uk. But there are original Ukrainian surnames that end with –ov, –in, –ev: Shinkarev, Pankov, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Kostomarov.
