Surname is an integral part of the modern citizen. She distinguishes it, allowing the rest of society to find a person among the millions of inhabitants of our world. The surname unites people in families, in whole generations. However, it is not only an indicator of a person’s belonging to any family. Many of them carry some kind of secret meaning. Therefore, people are so interested in the meaning and origin of their surname. Hence the interest in the origin of the surname Leonov.
Beginning of surnames
In ancient Russia, there was a tradition of naming children in honor of saints who were revered by the Orthodox Church. Most of these names originate from ancient Greek, Latin or Hebrew.
Over time, these ancient names settled down by Russian people and began to sound already in the Orthodox way, turning into a name that is so familiar to our hearing. Therefore, studying the origin of the name Leonov, you need to go back several centuries.
The current model of Russian surnames was not formed immediately. In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, suffixes began to be added to the main name: -in, -ov, -ev. It sounded like this: on behalf of Miron - Mironov, Gregory - Grigoryev, Thomas - Fomin, etc.
Important was the occupation of man. His belonging to a certain kind of action could serve as the reason for the formation of the surname of his kind. For example: Plotnikovs, Kuznetsovs, Goncharovs, etc.
There are several versions of the origin of the surname Leonov. The main of them can be considered a derivative on behalf of Leon.
First version
If we consider that the name Leon is Jewish, then it is worth recalling Catherine ∥. It can be assumed that the origin of the surname Leonov dates back to those times.
At the end of the 18th century, the western regions of Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states joined Russia. It was then that the Empress received "in addition" many Jews. And since they did not have surnames, they were called the sons of their fathers or ancestors, for example, "Ron the son of Joseph."
In the next census of the population, which she conducted every 10 years, Catherine ordered to give the names of all Jews. So it was easier to count and organize a military draft for military service.
Each person received his last name. Someone got the derivative on behalf of (Moses), someone - from the occupation (Sapozhnikov), and someone - from the place of residence (Berdichevsky).
According to this version, it can be considered that the surname of Leonov came from some Jew named Leon.
Second version
The second assumption makes us look at the holy great martyrs. The tradition of naming a child in honor of the saint is still alive. Then it was more relevant than any others.
One of these believers is considered to be Saint Leont of Hadrianopolis. He lived in Adrianople, where in those days the king Leo the Armenian ruled. In 817, the Thracian city was captured by the Bulgarians. But since they were pagans, the Christians had to tight. At the hands of enemies killed about 400 people who could not betray faith. Among them was Leont.
Since then, he was counted among the saints. This gives another assumption about the origin of the name of Leonov.
Third version
Another saint could well have become the progenitor of the Leonov family, whose origin is so confused. This is Leonid of Corinth.
He served as the head of a spiritual choir in which there were only women. Since they were the only ones in the area who were not afraid to openly show their belonging to Christianity, the governor Venust ordered them to be brought to him.
He demanded from Leonid and the seven maidens the worship and sacrifice to the gods, as among the Gentiles. But they refused. And then they were cruelly tortured, but even this could not force them to abandon their faith.
And the tormentors decided to drown them. Having put everyone on the ship, they sailed 6 km into the sea. There, tying stones to their necks, they threw them into the raging waves.
There is also information about another saint - this is Leontius of Nicaea. Being a deeply religious person, he was expelled from his native village to the forest by the khan of Bulgaria Omurtag. There he spent the rest of his life living as a hermit and denying himself all worldly joys.
Glory about him reached the Russian lands. After his death, he was canonized.
From here comes another version about the origin of the surname Leonov. However, apart from the sources, people are interested in the meaning of their surnames, if any.
Surname value
Since the general picture of the origin of this surname is already approximately clear, we can now consider the meaning of the surname Leonov. By itself, this name means "lion."
Based on several variants of the origin of the surname Leonov, it originated on behalf of Leon. Then there were derivatives from it: Leont, Leonid, Leonty. But these names were given not only in honor of the saints.
Perhaps so called those who had common features with the king of beasts. The one who had a formidable appearance, strong-willed character or was a brave man. Therefore, we can say that people who carried this surname were from a noble family.
In any case, historical chronicles indicate that the owners of this surname were important persons in the Slavic merchants. And possessed various honors and power.
